Sarah Tambakuchi-Ripa, CEO, 43North Foundation
Dan Magnuszewski, CEO, Radial Ventures
The 43North Foundation is committed to accelerating the next stage of entrepreneurial ecosystem growth and fueling its continued momentum.Â
43North Foundation's venture studio, Radial Ventures, is an entity where promising business ideas with high-growth potential are put into the hands of a dream team of proven builders.
Sarah has helped transform Buffalo’s tech ecosystem as a previous executive with M&T Bank and TechBuffalo, while Dan cofounded ACV Auctions and has been deeply ingrained within the tech community for more than two decades. As the first CEOs of the 43North Foundation and the 43North Foundation Venture Studio, they are now tasked with leading Lightning Strike – a 10-year, $100 million commitment to building on the growth of the area’s tech and startup ecosystem.
Most valuable lesson from your mentors?
Sarah: It’s about creating those safe spaces where leaders can take calculated risks while also having the opportunity to fail and learn. Some of the best learning experiences I’ve had occurred because I was able to take that risk, maybe not get it right, and then sit with that leader to learn and understand.
You can’t capture lessons like that in a classroom, so cultivating and providing spaces for those on-the-job experiences is so key for the generation of leadership coming up.
Overcoming fear of failure?
Dan: The fear of risk is what causes a lot of people to not even start. And if you don’t start, then you’re 100% going to fail. The reality is that anything you do that’s going to be big, scalable or impactful, the most likely outcome is failure. And that’s OK. But if you look at the upside of success, it’s way greater than the downside of failure. So I think we need to really embrace that and have people take risks, get involved and don’t be worried about taking big swings.
One problem you’d like to solve?
Sarah: When I reflect on the community and how we operate right now, in some cases it tends to be siloed. I think there’s a really great opportunity for us to think holistically, which is the essence of an ecosystem, right? There’s so much interconnectivity between how we think about preparing talent, starting companies, engaging with the community and telling our story. Those silos can be counterproductive to that work. Breaking them down starts with creating a shared vision to make sure we’re all running towards the same goal.
Importance of learning from current leaders?
Dan: There are so many lessons to be learned, and we need to make sure existing leaders stick around to empower the next generation with experiences and connections. Anyone who’s become a leader or become successful has had those people in their past that have helped them get there. I’ve experienced it. I feel it’s the duty of people who have done well to then go and help others.
How Buffalo can take the next step?
Dan: I think the community really needs to get back to building with one another, in-person. The great trajectory that we had in 2019 into 2020 was put on hold by Covid, and I think we lost a lot of the social fabric that makes our community strong.
Humans are social beings, but work became virtual and more transactional; you’re not going to lunch or having the one-off conversations that could be the start of big ideas. So in order for Buffalo to truly succeed, I think we need to focus on how we can physically bring people and businesses back together.
On responsibility of leadership ...
Sarah: I’m a new mom of twins. When I thought about next steps in my career, it was very important to me that the work I was going to do could be transformational and have an impact, not just for the twins but for the next generation and those that follow. To be totally frank, some days the responsibility of leadership can be intimidating. I’ve learned that you have to just keep going, because this work is important, and my focus has to be on doing it well. The leadership journey is really humbling when you think about it. I’m thankful every day for the opportunity to make a difference.
