Cliff Sirlin Founder, Entrepreneur, Venture Partner and Business Educator
Cliff Sirlin teaches Entrepreneurship and Innovation at The New York University Stern School of Business. With a specific emphasis on Entrepreneurship Thru Acquisition (ETA), Cliff Sirlin’s curriculum focuses on both strategic and tactical applications to grow and expand existing small to medium sized businesses.
Cliff Sirlin is currently a Venture Partner at LaunchCapital, an early-stage venture capital fund that is part of Karen Pritzker’s family office. Prior to his role as Venture Partner, Mr. Sirlin served as the Managing Director of LaunchCapital. Over the past 15 years, LaunchCapital has invested in over 200 companies throughout the United States. With offices in New York, Boston, San Francisco and New Haven, LaunchCapital provides early-stage companies with their first institutional capital. During his tenure at LaunchCapital Mr. Sirlin has led investments in DataSembly, Alloy, Centennial Media, BentoBox, PeopleGrove, and many other up & coming technology disruptors. Additionally, Mr. Sirlin has served on numerous boards of early-stage companies.
Prior to his role at LaunchCapital, Mr. Sirlin was a career entrepreneur and early-stage investor who has founded, invested in and operated a portfolio of high growth businesses. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Sirlin has focused on creating marketplaces and disrupting inefficient supply chains. The companies he has co-founded and invested in have spanned a broad diversity of industries, including technology, energy, food services, e-commerce, dry-cleaning, media and real estate. Three of Mr. Sirlin’s pre-seed stage investments have achieved unicorn status – Alloy,inVision & Seamless. Other pre-seed investments include Pond5, Living Social, Transactis, Big Fuel, and many others that have achieved meaningful returns.
Immediately preceding his tenure as Managing Director of LaunchCapital, Mr. Sirlin was the Co-Founder & CEO of the Domino Media Group, Inc. Earlier, Mr. Sirlin served as the CEO and co-founder of mdenergy, one of the largest independent energy advisory firms in the United States managing more than 1,200 megawatts of electric demand.
Cliff Sirlin received his Juris Doctorate from The New York University School of Law in 1992. While at NYU, Mr. Sirlin also studied at the Stern School of Business. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from Colgate University in 1989.
Mr. Sirlin accomplishments have been profiled by CNBC; Inc.; The Wall Street Journal; The New York Times; Success Magazine; Crain’s Business and numerous other media outlets. Additionally, Mr. Sirlin is a frequent speaker on early-stage ventures & startups.
Mr. Sirlin is currently the President of StartUp Westport, a Public-Private partnership whose mission is to activate, engage & grow the technology and innovation ecosystem in Westport, CT and the greater Fairfield County area. The organization has grown to over 3,000 members in less than 2 ½ years and offers services that include mentorship, education and networking.
If there is a Westport school cancellation or delay due to the weather, we will not have a meeting in person. Call 203-341-1766 for the school district's snow message if you are not sure.
Come for coffee and breakfast at 7:00am.
The meeting will start at 7:30am.
Meeting Opener: Ken Bernhard
Greeters: Bruce Fritz, Bob Galan
VENMO SUSTAINING MEMBER
($100 annual)
@Joseph-Renzulli-1
The Club Calendar is at the end of this newsletter. Please refer to it to see the meeting schedule, social events and more. It will be updated when speakers and events are added.
The updated Greeters and Openers schedule is also near the end of the newsletter, so please check to see if you are on there!
Friday Meeting - March 6
Gavin McMahon CEO fassforward
Gavin shared how one's mission and messaging go hand in hand in building greater value.
It is my great pleasure to invite you to a special District 7980 ceremony on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, recognizing the extraordinary service of Past District Governor Winston “Win” Allen, who led our District during the 2000–2001 Rotary year. This recognition is offered in sincere appreciation of Win’s leadership and his trailblazing commitment to inclusion, diversity, and belonging within Rotary. My hope is that we not only celebrate Win but also honor the strong tradition of inclusive leadership carried forward by the Past District Governors who followed, and that our District continues to strengthen together.
In his honor, District 7980 has established the Winston “Win” Allen Award for Belonging and Diversity, which will recognize individuals who exemplify Rotary’s values through sustained efforts to foster belonging, advance diversity, and strengthen inclusive leadership within their clubs and communities. The presentation will be delivered by Rotary International Trustee Martha P. Helman, with the certificate signed and authorized by Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo.
The ceremony will take place during the Westport Rotary Club lunch meeting:
One of our club’s ongoing and rewarding commitments to community service is our commitment to serving dinner meals on the first Saturday of each month at the Gillespie Center here in Westport.
We are back to serving meals at the newly renovated Gillespie Center. We have the option to drop off prepared meals at 4:30 PM or to bring meals to serve in person at 4:40 PM (allow extra time if the meals need to be reheated). Meal service should include a main dish, side dish, vegetable, and dessert (no nuts or shellfish please). The number of meals to provide, currently 25, will be confirmed to you to in advance when it is your turn to serve.
If you choose to drop off prepared meals at 4:30 PM you have the option to prepare homemade meals, purchase prepared meals at the store/restaurant of your choice, or you can contact Fresh Market on the Post Road in Westport where you can purchase prepared meals (protein, two sides and cookies for $7 - $10 per meal). If you choose the Fresh Market option call Tory at 203 227-2910 on the Monday prior to your meal service to place your order. You can pay for the meals when you pick them up.
If you are unable to work on your assigned Saturday you will be responsible to call other Rotarians on the list to switch dates.
Meal Servers Schedule March 7, 2026 Rachelle Norzelus Bruce Paul April 4, 2026 Joe Renzulli Joe Scordato May 2, 2026 Steven Chin Matt Mandell June 6, 2026 Mark Mathias Paul Keblish July 4, 2926 BBQ
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Join Date
Anil Nair
May 1, 2009
17 years
Ron Holtz
May 1, 1991
35 years
Mark Mathias
May 3, 2003
23 years
Paris Looney
May 3, 2019
7 years
Liz Wong
May 4, 2012
14 years
MEETING OPENERS SCHEDULE
March 6 Senturia
13 Bernhard
20 Augustyn
27 Klein
April 10 Mullen
17 Renzulli
GREETERS SCHEDULE
March Fritz; Galan
April Mandell; Violette
May Monroy-Smith; Zielinski
June Wetmore; Summers
2026
March
6: Gavin MacMahon, FassForward
13: Cliff Sirlin, Buy Build Fund
20: Bill Harmer, Westport Library Common Ground
27: TBD
April
3: NO MEETING - GOOD FRIDAY/PASSOVER
10: Horizons Academy
17: Samantha Sarelli, Ms. Globe USA 2005, social activist
