How the Crosby Street Hotel became NYC’s venture capital hotspot

I had heard that the 14-year-old hotel is the go-to hotspot for VCs to take meetings and to stay when visiting from out of town, so I decided to scope it out over some coffee and green juice one morning in early August.   

On any given day, you might find investors from all the top firms, so I’ve been told, including Benchmark, Thrive Capital, Coatue, General Catalyst, or Bessemer Venture Partners, working in the courtyard or chatting about the latest hot deals over coffees—or maybe a $26 breakfast buffet plate. (I spotted a couple of them on my outing.) One VC, who splits their time between San Francisco and New York, and joined me at my table on that Wednesday morning, told me the hotel has served as a haven for out-of-towners.  

Courtesy of Anne Sraders

As in real estate and venture, apparently, it’s all about location, location, location. Meeting founders where they’re based—increasingly, the buzzy downtown area of Manhattan—has been a key factor in the Crosby’s popularity with the VC set, they say. 

Andrew Steele, a partner at Activant Capital, whose office is mere blocks away from the hotel, quips there’s a lot of companies popping up along the 6 train line: “Basically anywhere from, like, Madison Square Park down to Tribeca,” he told me. Steele says he’s been meeting with founders and VCs at the hotel for years (His go-to order is the gnocchi). “VCs are always five years late to anything cool, right? So the Crosby hotel has been really awesome for a very long time,” he jokes, but adds it’s increasingly attracting the Midtown crowd. 

Indeed, venture investors have recently been planting roots in downtown Manhattan, including 817 Broadway, which houses VC shops like Union Square Ventures and QED Investors, and 799 Broadway, which hosts Lightspeed Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures—and is, coincidentally, roughly a 15 minute walk from the Crosby. 

Sarah Hinkfuss, a BCV partner based in San Francisco, says she always stays at the Crosby when she’s visiting the city. And according to Hinkfuss, the hotel’s ambiance suits the VC crowd well: “There’s plenty of space and the vibe is private but funky—not stuffy,” she told me. 

The restaurant has been the setting for some memorable moments for Hinkfuss. She recalls that right after the Silicon Valley Bank crisis—which rocked the startup and VC worlds earlier this year—was finally resolved, she was having a drink with a fellow investor at the Crosby. “We were both so emotional and overjoyed. There was a mom and her daughter visiting from out of town, [and] they were so confused about our reaction, so we ended up explaining the entire thing to them,” she recounted. 

I can see why VCs congregate there. It gives off that kind of quirky, artistic yet tasteful vibe that SoHo is known for—something VCs clearly seem to prefer compared to the more buttoned-up, old-school-finance air of Midtown. 

And it’s certainly the place to go if you’re craving term sheets alongside your toast. 

ICYMI, FC Barcelona’s media SPAC…The famous Spanish football club, FC Barcelona, where star player Lionel Messi played for years, is taking its media unit Barça Media public via a New York-listed SPAC. The club said on Friday that it entered an agreement to list with Mountain & Co. I Acquisition Corp, in a deal that would value the company at $1 billion. The media unit houses FC Barcelona’s social media, video, and e-sports content, and existing shareholders are expected to hold 80% of the outstanding shares, the club said. The SPAC comes as the Spanish club has been dealing with financial troubles—and after Messi bid farewell to Europe and joined Inter Miami in the States. 

See you tomorrow,

Anne Sraders
Twitter:@AnneSraders
Email: anne.sraders@fortune.com
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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.

Correction, Aug. 14, 2023: The online version of this newsletter has been updated to correct the spelling of Coatue.

VENTURE DEALS

- Tracer, a New York-based data intelligence platform, raised $18.1 million in Series A funding. NewRoad Capital Partners, Progress Ventures, and BDMI co-led the round and were joined by S4S Ventures and Arbour Way Investors. 

- Spearbit, a Miami-based smart contract audit and security solutions company, raised $7 million in funding. Framework Ventures led the round and was joined by Nascent, 1kx, VoltCapital, Breed VC, and Robot Ventures. 

- Braid, a San Francisco-based text messaging app connecting creators to their fans, raised $6.8 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Initialized Capital. 

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Highland Commercial Roofing, backed by HCI Equity Partners, acquired Skycraft Roofing, a Baldwin Park, Calif.-based commercial roofing contractor. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- The Norlee Group, a White Wolf Capital Group portfolio company, acquired ColwillEngineering, a Tampa, Fla.-based contract and engineering design services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

SPAC

- Barca Media, the content creation unit of FC Barcelona, a Spanish soccer club, agreed to go public via a merger with Mountain & Co. I Acquisition Corp., a SPAC. The deal is valued at $1 billion. 

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- Access Holdings, a Baltimore-based private equity firm, raised $805 million for a fund focused on middle market buyouts and growth capital investments. 

PEOPLE

- ​​Rally Ventures, a Menlo Park, Calif.- and Minneapolis, Minn.-based venture capital firm, hired Ben Fried as a venture partner. Formerly, he was with Google.