What Greece Taught Me

Hi friends,

I just got back from Athens. My friend Andrew Yeung, who’s a partner at Next Wave NYC, called me a few weeks ago, saying they needed an extra speaker at the Doers Summit. Before I knew it, I was on a plane to Greece. I want to share two quick stories from that experience.

The Cost of Constant Hustle

Before I left for Greece, I kept thinking about the usual talks I give at events like this. You know the kind… scaling strategies, fundraising tips, growth hacks, etc. But as I reflected on the past few years, watching friends, colleagues, and even myself hit burnout, I knew I needed to say something different. I didn’t want to be yet another voice urging founders to hustle at all costs.

So when I got on stage in front of two thousand people, I opened up about the toll constant hustle once took on my mental health and relationships. I shared how therapy kept me from running myself into the ground, why I quit drinking, and how these personal changes have ended up being more valuable than any growth tactic I could share.

I was half-expecting pushback from the event organizers. But the opposite happened. Afterward, folks lined up to talk to me. They confessed they’d felt the weight of silent struggles. They said my words gave them permission to ease off the hamster wheel, if only for a moment.

Seeing The World Up Close

I didn’t get to see much of Greece outside of Athens. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to island-hop. But what I did soak up was the incredible energy of founders from across the Balkans and Eastern Europe. These folks are building world-class companies with far fewer resources than we’re used to in the U.S.

One founder I met raised $7 million and sold for a few hundred million. In the U.S., that might not even make the headlines. But for their local startup ecosystem, it was life-changing (I’ll share more on that story later, because it deserves front-page coverage and I want to help make that happen).

Every time I speak at a tech event abroad, whether in Lisbon, Athens, or Toronto, I’m reminded there’s no single playbook for building a startup. Outside the U.S., founders often have to do more with less, and they don’t wait until they’re “big enough” to expand globally. They start out that way by necessity, sometimes spread across four or five countries with just a five-person team.

I’m not shifting my investment focus overseas, but I’m always blown away by how much we take for granted here. The U.S. ecosystem is mature, well-capitalized, and we can access talent, funding, and infrastructure in ways that simply aren’t universal yet. At the same time, the barriers to building a global company are lower than ever, and you don’t have to be in Silicon Valley, or even the States, to build something amazing.

Hot Links

🎸 The Prelude by Flybridge and Next Wave NYC is a live music experience at SXSW where founders, VCs, and creatives take the stage to showcase their musical talents. I hope to see you there!

🗽 Next Wave NYC is a pre-seed fund focused on the next generation of iconic companies built in NYC. Our investment partners include some of the best founders and operators from NYC's tech scene over the last decade.

​💰 Flybridge is an early-stage venture fund that backs ambitious founders building our AI future. We've backed incredible companies like MongoDB, Nasuni, BetterCloud, Bowery, Codecademy and Chief – typically leading the seed rounds.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.

As always, reach out if you have questions, ideas, or just want to say hi. I love hearing what everyone’s up to.

Talk soon,

Jesse