West Conshohocken and San Fransisco-based First Round Capital has announced it will be opening a new office in the 67th Ward.
Managing Director Josh Kopelman has made no secret about the firm’s affinity for the Big Apple, citing the success of First Round’s “Office Hours” events held in the city’s Silicon Alley. First Round has funded more than 10 NYC startups, launched a NYC mentoring program and are often seen attending meetups throughout the city.
So, does this new office mean the West Conshohocken office’s days are numbered?
“No, not at all,” said Kopelman, “the West Conshohocken office has more partners than any of the other offices.”
Kopelman said that he will continue to be based out of Pennsylvania and the New York office is simply an expansion.
In a blog post announcing the event, Kopelman compared Philly and NYC’s private equity relationship in terms of young actors.
Partner Howard Morgan will head up the NYC office
“Despite the fact that Philadelphia has some great theaters,” he wrote, “I’m pretty sure that almost every young Philly-based actor recognizes the unique opportunities to really hone their craft on Broadway or in Hollywood.”
The new firm will be headed up by partner Howard Morgan. Morgan is a New York-native and former Wharton professor who founded one of the first personal computer manufacturing companies in the country. He will be joined by entrepreneur-in-residence Charlie O’Donnell, a former Union Square Ventures analyst.
The announcement comes just two weeks after porfolio company Mint.com sold to Intuit for $170 million netting the firm the highest return in its history, though Kopelman said the planned expansion was in the works before the sale, and that it had no impact on the move.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!
How one-click job listings overtook the process — and slowed down tech hiring
Every startup community wants ‘storytelling.’ Too few are doing anything about it.
EDA director’s advice for Philly to land federal Tech Hubs funding: Make the pitch ‘crisper’
