Ben Lerer, Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau, is a former founder (credits include Thrillist) turned investor and native New Yorker. Ben built Lerer Hippeau to bridge a gap he personally faced as a startup founder: 15 years ago it was nearly impossible to find venture capital funding in New York City. Today, New York City's startup ecosystem rivals that of Silicon Valley and Lerer Hippeau's portfolio contains more than 400 leading consumer and enterprise companies, including Guideline, MIRROR, Blockdaemon, K Health, Allbirds, ZenBusiness, and Palmetto, among others. In this episode of The Deal, Ben shares what he's learned from launching startups, how the Lerer Hippeau team supports its portfolio companies, his thoughts on the evolution of venture capital, and why the most important question you can ask early-stage founders is: "why now?"  

Follow Lerer Hippeau on LinkedIn,  Twitter @LererHippeau, and Instagram.

You can find Ben on Twitter @BenjLerer and LinkedIn.

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