In 2013 I met Jonathan Lehr and Jessica Lin, co founders of Work-Bench. They had just started their fund, hadn't made any investments and the NYC enterprise tech ecosystem consisted of a tiny group of trailblazers that nobody had ever heard of. Fast forward 10 years and things are very different. Work-Bench has backed dozens of game changing companies/founders and they've been a huge part of putting NYC enterprise tech on the map (now they invest in enterprise tech all over the world). Throughout the years I've spent countless hours with Jon and Jess, at their events, at their office, sharing a good Japanese whiskey, and I've gotten to know them very well. The things that I believe set them apart are: 1. They hustle for their companies as if they were the founders. Whether it's driving leads, making intros to other investors, helping refine a pitch, interviewing a candidate for a critical role -- they're doing it all. I've never seen that before. 2. Community is at the center of everything they do. There are a bunch of communities that I've been a part of but there is a level of authenticity that comes through from them and their community members that is special. Over the years the three of us talked about how much fun it would be to work with each other but we could never figure out a structure that worked. We finally found something that made sense for them, their founders/CEOs and me. I'm now working with Work-Bench as their CEO in Residence. To be clear, this isn't my full time job, I'm not an investor, not an EIR. Instead, I'm a resource for their CEOs, a sounding board (and maybe a therapist in some cases). I'm trying to help them shorten their learning curve and learn from all my mistakes and the mistakes of the companies I've been involved with. Ultimately, my purpose is to help their CEOs and broader portfolio company teams be more successful. I've already spent time with at least 15 of their CEOs, many of them for multiple sessions. It's been energizing to get involved with early stage founders/CEOs in this way. Also, for those of you that know me, you know that I like to expose my kids to the businesses I'm involved in and a huge benefit with Work-Bench is that they welcome my kids to their office with open arms. I look forward to working with Jon, Jess, Priyanka Somrah, Daniel Chesley Kelley Mak, Kira Colburn and their entire portfolio.
So excited to officially have you onboard David Politis 💪 Create things are cooking at Work-Bench this fall and beyond!
🔟 years in the making!!! So beyond excited and honored to partner and do great things together!! 💪💪 thank you so much for all you have already done for and with us David Politis!! 🔥🔥
Excited for this!! Constantly learning from you and especially your kids who schooled me on the value of PSA 10 rookie cards
You’ve been an incredible source of wisdom for many over the years and it’s exciting to see the position be made official! Thank you for all that you do!
Congratulations David Politis ! What a tremendous resource you will be to the Work-Bench team and its founders !! Can’t think of a better person for the role.
That's a great fit, glad you all figured out how to make it work. So, can I call you "coach" now?
Amazing to see this closure after all these years :-)
Congratulations, this is a huge resource for CEO's! Next up, CTO-in-residence? Ellipsis (YC W24) would be happy to play that role until you can fill the position Daniel Chesley 😂
Co-Founder/General Partner at Work-Bench
1moDavid Politis and I first met through the NY Enterprise Tech Meetup over a decade ago. Back then, the "suits and hoodies" of the NYC enterprise tech scene fit in a conference room at Cooley's office for our monthly events. Building Work-Bench with Jessica Lin while David scaled BetterCloud has been so rewarding. Anytime we'd catch up over whiskeys or at meetups, he had a relevant new experience that he graciously would share so that we could learn from it, and then share that wisdom with our founders. A decade into knowing him Vista acquired BetterCloud, cementing his impact as one of NYC's top enterprise founders. To be able to bring that wealth of experience to our Work-Bench portfolio and the broader enterprise ecosystem is a huge boon that we're so grateful to be able to partner with David on. 🚀 🚀 🚀