It's our Birthday, and here is my wish for every Founder...

By Chuck Saia, Co-Founder and Managing Member, June 1 2026

When we started and our members evolved Next Chapter Ventures (we are member driven), I don’t think anyone could ever have imagined what we have become.  I certainly could not have made this up in my mind, but I am grateful for NCV and how it has allowed me to reinvent myself in my professional and personal life.  Even me, who identifies as a professional pioneer, someone that embraces the creative side of my brain (a professional coach told me to do that way back when), who dreams in color not black and white, could not have painted this out on a whiteboard.

What we are is a powerhouse for our Founders through a promise to invest our time and capital in them.  A mindset that we invest in the Founder first through Board Advisory/Board roles and mentorship.  We are not embarrassed to say we invest in the Founder first and their product second.  We are 50 seasoned executives (and growing) that celebrate diversity of thought, leverage our networks, share in our core values and want to help our Founders succeed.  We don’t sit on the sidelines.  If our Founders fail, we fail.

When we assess a Founder we assess their behavior during our interactions with them.  We want to understand if they are coachable, willing to be vulnerable with us and driven.  In order to get advice a Founder has to be willing to receive advice.  Will they receive our advice?    

In this early stage company game, there are ways to receive advice.  It may sound simple, or to corporate, but having the right Governance and Reporting Model works.  It forces Founders to be transparent, show vulnerability and become conditioned to receive advice. 

3 things I WISH every Founder does to get and receive advice:

Monthly Reporting - Frequent Reporting to Board/Advisors and Investors of the Company keeps everyone on the journey and allows a Founder to unlock ideas from their constituents.   The not so obvious benefit - when you need that insider bridge round, your network is already primed to help you fundraise often doing it themselves.

Quarterly Board and Board Advisor Meetings - These meetings keep the Founder grounded in Strategic and Programmatic Growth .  The not so obvious benefit - having a sounding Board to help you make strategic choices quarterly can unlock growth opportunities, bring ideas to reduce cash burn and gets the Founder off the island they often feel like they are on.  

Annual Strategy Refresh - Creating a disciplined approach to setting a strategy and being transparent with your team, Board/Board Advisors and investors about strategic choices in (those you can accomplish this year) and strategic choices out (those you can’t because of resource constraints) allows for clear objectives.  The not so obvious benefit - having a published strategy keeps the Founder and their advice givers (usually to many at this stage) grounded in one strategy eliminating wasted time on big unattainable ideas.

Happy Birthday Next Chapter Ventures, and thank you to our members, strategic partners and our Founders and their teams for making this chapter the best one yet.