Nick Grossman (Union Square Ventures) on Making Hard Decisions Easier | TNW Conference 2017

Purpose, Mission & Strategy: Making Hard Decisions Easier Every day is full of hard decisions. Which technologies to use, which features to prioritize, which markets to enter (and how), which companies to invest in or acquire, etc. As organizations grow, there are more questions, not fewer. In this talk, we will explore how meaningful investment in cultivating an organization's sense of purpose, alignment around mission, and clarity on strategy will make each question easier to answer, saving time and angst, and powerfully aligning everyone's efforts. Union Square Ventures is an NYC-based VC firm that has, over the past decade, invested in nearly 100 startups, including many household names such as Twitter, Etsy, Lending Club, Twilio, Mongodb, Kickstarter and Cloudflare. USV itself is a "thesis-driven" firm, whose original investment thesis: "large networks of engaged users, differentiated by design, and defensible through network effects" helped make many hard decisions easier along the way. Nick Grossman GENERAL MANAGER UNION SQUARE VENTURES Nick Grossman sits on the USV investment team, works with USV's portfolio companies on trust, safety and security issues, and leads USV's efforts on public policy, regulatory and civic issues. Previously, he led an incubator for startups at the intersection of cities and data at OpenPlans. Nick has a degree in Urban Studies from Stanford University, and learned everything he knows about technology from people on the internet and by using view:source. He grew up in Brooklyn and now lives outside of Boston with his wife and two kids.