Steve Schaffer
Venture Partner at NextGen Venture Partners
Austin, Texas
Overview
Work Experience
Strategy Advisor | Independent Board Director
2016 - Current
Work with a select group of CEOs, founders, and startups. * Assists companies and CEOs with strategy, pitching, fundraising, modeling, marketing, financial reporting, operations, resource planning, and many other aspects of growth. Serves as a strategic advisor for companies including: LoudCrowd, CountertopSmart, Fetch Package and more. * Investor in over 25 early stage companies including: Fetch Package, CountertopSmart, LoudCrowd, Student Playbook, Reflex Careers, Grata, Osano, Rocket Dollar, Bold Metrics, SubjectWell, and more. Successful exits include: yourself.online, Gyft and Meta SaaS.
Public Speaker | Panelist | Podcast Guest | Guest Lecturer
2006
Frequent and regular public speaker, webinar speaker and conference panelist, and guest lecturer. Cover many topics around business strategy, entrepreneurship, marketing and product development. Previous topics include: - Metrics-driven Decision Making - Preparing for an Acquisition - My Entrepreneurial Journey - Product Development: Lessons from the Trenches - An Introduction to Internet Marketing - Is it Time to Pivot? Examples of previous speaking engagements include: Keynote Speeches - Metrics Driven Strategy (Softeq Demo Day - December 5, 2022) Webinars & Online Panel Discussions - The New Business Environment for Start-ups - November 11, 2020 - Is It Time to Pivot - Austin Startup Week — October 8, 2020 - Preparing for an Acquisition - Webinar Panel — July 15, 2020 - Pivot vs. Iterate - Webinar Panel — May 13, 2020 - Is it Time to Pivot - EO Austin/Texas — May 5, 2020 - Is it Time to Pivot - Capital Factory — April 23, 2020 Previous Guest Lectures - Over 10 Guest Lectures to colleges and university classes. Previous Industry Conferences - Over 24 speeches and/or panel participant from 2006 - 2014 Podcasts - Growing Tech Fast - The Org3D Podcast - Steve Schaffer - February 2, 2021
Advisor
2019
CountertopSmart is an online marketplace for purchasing "partial slabs", or "countertop remnants".
Raised $1,870,000.00 from Nextfront Ventures.
Advisor
2020
LoudCrowd helps brands build revenue focused creator programs.
Raised $9,215,000.00 from Mucker Capital.
Board Member
2016
A 501(c)(3) that oversees FIRST Robotics teams and events across Texas with a focus on increasing accessibility for low-income and underrepresented students. Board duties include providing guidance to the Executive Director and helping with strategy and financial reporting.
Mentor & Venture Partner
2016
Mentor Office Hours Monthly. Active participant in Accelerator Assessment Days. Investor in multiple Capital Factory Funds. Assists companies and CEOs with developing strategy, pitching, fundraising, modeling, marketing, financial reporting, resource planning, and many other aspects of operations and growth.
Capital Factory is a venture capital firm and an accelerator that seeks to invest in seed-stage, early-stage, and later-stage companies.
Mentor & Advisor
2019
Techstars is an accelerator that provides pre-seed investment and mentoring for various early stage startups.
Raised $108,919,999.00 from SVB Financial Group and Foundry Group.
Investor
2020
Invest directly in start-ups and through select syndicates.
AngelList is a U.S. website for startups, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups.
Raised $170,200,000.00 from Beyond Capital, FJ Labs, Nomad Ventures, Kyle Tibbitts, Angel Collective Opportunity Fund, Sprint Vc, Ride Home Fund, Palumni VC, Vishal Rao and Tiger Global Management.
Venture Partner
2019
NextGen Venture Partners invests in seed-stage companies with the participation of their venture partners.
Board Advisor
2019 - 2021
Consumer’s social media posts and online lives are now stopping them getting jobs, credit, insurance and more. yourself.online is there for them as their online guardian. We're an intelligent assistant for consumers to manage and grow their online persona. Was an Active Advisor to the company until their acquisition in December 2021. Helped with strategy and growth. Focused on assisting with product, marketing, sales, and operations. Also worked closely with the CEO on fundraising.
yourself.online is a online reputation management service for organizations and individuals
Raised $387,500.00.
Education
BBA
1982 - 1986