Nick Grossman
InvestorGeneral Partner at Union Square Ventures (USV) Β· Board director at Volteras
Splits time between Boston and NYC
Writes $1M β $6M checks Β· typically $4.3M
About
Nick Grossman is a partner at Union Square Ventures (USV), where he has invested in and supported startups since 2012. He describes himself as a lifelong hacker and tinkerer interested in the connection between user experience, design, and infrastructure across both physical and digital worlds. His investing and writing focus on internet decentralization, interoperability, crypto, and AI, and he has been a vocal advocate for driving interoperability as a way to limit the power of big tech companies. He hosts The Slow Hunch, a podcast featuring conversations with founders and thinkers about how ideas evolve into big things. He grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in the Boston area with his wife and two teenage kids.
ContactΒ· published on Nick's own website
Invests in
Climate TechCrypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureEdTechFintechGovTechHealthtechPropTech
Beyond investing
- Boards
- Grossman is on the advisory board of the Data & Society Institute. Grossman is on the advisory board of the Data-Smart City Solutions initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Grossman is on the advisory board of the Tummi urban ventures accelerator. Grossman is on the advisory board of Living Cities. Grossman is on the advisory board of Code for America.
- Communities
- Is a Red Sox fan after moving to the Boston area. Grossman has present and past academic affiliations at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the MIT Media Lab. Grossman helped organize the January 2012 protests against the SOPA and PIPA legislation, working with USV and coalitions of companies, investors, and public interest groups.
- Hobbies
- Enjoys baseball, boats, old cars, and building things.
- Family
- Lives with his wife and two teenage kids.
- More
- Grew up in Brooklyn. Hosts The Slow Hunch podcast, featuring conversations with founders and thinkers.
From Nick's own website β common ground for a warm intro.
Board director at Volteras
Intro paths
In turn, Nick can intro founders to Volteras's investors below.
Volteras's investors Β· 5
Co-founders at Volteras
Experience
- Union Square VenturesGeneral Partnercurrent2019 β presentNew York, NY
- Union Square VenturesSpecial Projects2012 β 2018New York, NY
- Code for AmericaManaging Director2011San Francisco, CA
- OpenPlansDirector, OpenPlans Labs2006 β 2011New York, NY
- StreetsblogCo-Founder2006 β 2011New York, NY
- IndependentWeb Developer2001 β 2007Brooklyn, NY
- Project for Public SpacesProject Manager2002 β 2006New York, NY
- US OpenBallboy2000 β 2003New York, NY
- KW ConstructionLaborer / Apprentice Carpenter2001 β 2002Palo Alto, CA
- Ski ButternutSki Instructor1994 β 1997Great Barrington, MA
Skills & more
+12 more
Table TennisEntrepreneurshipPublic SpeakingProduct DevelopmentCoalition DevelopmentStrategic PartnershipsPolicyStrategyPublic PolicyUser ExperienceNonprofitsEnterprise SoftwareFrom Nick's professional profile.
Investments
Investor
Cloudflare
Per the investor's own website.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Nick GrossmanMatthew Prince (Co-founder & CEO of Cloudflare)
The Slow Hunch
Fred Wilson & Brad Burnham (Union Square Ventures)
The Slow Hunch
Writing
All posts βRecent posts share episodes of Grossman's podcast The Slow Hunch, featuring conversations with Cloudflare's Matthew Prince on AI's impact on the internet's business model, Bluesky's Jay Graber on open protocol social networks, and USV partners Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham on their investment philosophy.
A podcast episode with Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince discussing Cloudflare's origins and how the shift from search to AI answer engines threatens publisher traffic and requires new content-payment models.
A podcast episode with Bluesky CEO Jay Graber covering Bluesky's origins within Twitter, its AT Protocol architecture, user-owned identity, and growth to roughly 30 million users.
A podcast episode with USV partners Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham discussing the firm's founding, their investment philosophy, past mistakes, and views on technology and AI.
Colleagues at Union Square Ventures (USV)
Network3
Investors connected to Nick in public investor directories β a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Nick Grossman?
- Nick Grossman is a partner at Union Square Ventures (USV), where he has invested in and supported startups since 2012. He describes himself as a lifelong hacker and tinkerer interested in the connection between user experience, design, and infrastructure across both physical and digital worlds. His investing and writing focus on internet decentralization, interoperability, crypto, and AI, and he has been a vocal advocate for driving interoperability as a way to limit the power of big tech companies. He hosts The Slow Hunch, a podcast featuring conversations with founders and thinkers about how ideas evolve into big things. He grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in the Boston area with his wife and two teenage kids.
- Where does Nick Grossman work?
- Nick Grossman is General Partner at Union Square Ventures (USV) and Board director at Volteras.
- What does Nick Grossman invest in?
- Nick Grossman invests in Climate Tech, Crypto & Web3, Data & Infrastructure, EdTech, Fintech, GovTech, Healthtech, PropTech.
- What check size does Nick Grossman write?
- Nick Grossman typically writes checks of $1M β $6M.
- What companies has Nick Grossman invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Cloudflare.
- Where did Nick Grossman go to school?
- Nick Grossman studied at Stanford University (BA, Urban Studies); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Visiting Scholar); The Internet (Programming, law).
- What has Nick Grossman written?
- Nick Grossman has 3 tracked posts on nickgrossman.xyz, including "The Internet's Next Business Model: A Conversation with Cloudflare's Matthew Prince", "The Slow Hunch Podcast: Episode 9 with Jay Graber (CEO of Bluesky)", "The Slow Hunch Podcast: Episode 8 with Fred Wilson & Brad Burnham".
- What podcasts and interviews feature Nick Grossman?
- Tracked appearances include "Matthew Prince (Co-founder & CEO of Cloudflare)", "Fred Wilson & Brad Burnham (Union Square Ventures)".
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,387
+ 1,381 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Union Square Ventures20
+ 14 more
Also worked at Code for America8
+ 2 more
