youngStartup Ventures

youngStartup Ventures is a New York-based venture community and event-platform organization rather than a traditional venture capital fund. Founded in 1999 by CEO Joe Benjamin and headquartered in Staten Island, the firm's mission has been to assist entrepreneurs in building successful enterprises by connecting them directly with the capital and corporate partners they need. youngStartup runs a roster of recurring 'Venture Summit' conferences that have become well-known capital-raising stages in the US ecosystem, most prominently the Venture Summit West in Silicon Valley, including editions in April 2024, April 2025 and June 2026, the New York Venture Summit at the Javits Center, most recently September 2025, and the New England Venture Summit. Across these summits the company has connected hundreds of emerging startups with VCs, corporate development teams, family offices, angel investors and investment bankers. Because youngStartup is structured as a connector and event operator rather than an LP-backed fund, it does not have a traditional check size, fund AUM or named portfolio companies tracked in standard VC databases; Crunchbase, Tracxn and PitchBook list it as an investor profile but record no direct equity investments. Operators in the network include Associate Michael Steinman. Founders looking to engage with youngStartup typically apply via the upcoming Venture Summit application pipeline. Rather than deploying capital directly, youngStartup Ventures operates as a long-running US venture community and conference platform that connects early-stage founders with the investors and corporate partners they need to raise capital and grow.