Rethinking Leadership Event Tomorrow! (and) Before Phone Filters, There Were Subway Walls

Author

Benjamin Friedman
February 03, 2026

Morning beehiivcommunity!

This newsletter turns experience into actionable lessons for your startup. As a growth partner for visionary founders, we sharpen leadership skills and unlock growth potential.

From 1970s NYC Graffiti to Brand Survival

In the late 1970s, teenager Lee Quiñones snuck into NYC subway yards and transformed rusting trains into blazing murals with messages like "Stop the Bomb." Meanwhile, Jean-Michel Basquiat stenciled cryptic "SAMO©" tags across SoHo walls.

These rebels hijacked public surfaces and challenged art's gatekeepers from the streets. Their work evolved from vandalism on dirty walls to prominence in revered galleries.

Today, graffiti aesthetics define streetwear, luxury ads, and festivals, as brands have commodified raw energy. You don’t need to slip through a fence in the dark. Now anyone can create art on almost any surface, and digitally, in almost any domain.

As a business leader, your real moat is no longer your logo or design system. It's building a brand that people choose to remix rather than paint over.

I explain how in this week’s full blog post HERE.

Go Wide: A Life Less Curated explores how major historical events have shaped today’s world and what they might signal about the future. Do you agree? What else should we dive into? Share your thoughts at [email protected].

Join us Tomorrow!
Leading with Quiet Conviction

It's easy to mistake volume for leadership and charisma for impact.

Yet introverts like Steve Wozniak, Larry Page, and Sara Blakely show that powerful builders lead with reflection, focus, and quiet conviction.

This Wednesday at 1 pm EST online, dig into how to lead effectively, engage teams, and manage energy without pretending to be someone you're not.

The panel includes:

· Jerry Colonna, CEO and Co-Founder of Reboot.io
· Pamela Slim, Author of Body of Work and The Widest Net
· Soraya Depowski, Founder & CEO of Sharely

You can register HERE.

CFO Happy Hour

No Pitches, Just Peers

The New York Tech CFO Group (founded in 2016) is a free, invite-only community where NYC finance leaders swap hard-won lessons, compare notes on tools and structures, and ask real questions off the record.

Join us for a CFO Happy Hour on Wednesday, February 11, from 6-8 pm:

· Decompress with peers who face the same pressures
· Share practical insights on what works and what doesn’t
· Build relationships with finance leaders across high-growth companies

Request your spot by registering here. Light food and refreshments will be served. Note: This is an exclusive event for finance leaders only. Non-members will be reviewed for fit.

This event is graciously supported by Drivetrain, an AI-native business planning platform, and hosted by Ice Miller LLP, which provides comprehensive legal counsel. Build Scale Grow is the organizer.

Drivetrain [Sponsor]

Most finance teams are still stitching together spreadsheets and dashboards while trying to forecast a moving target, but these are tools built for a slower world.

Drivetrain replaces that mess with a single AI-native planning layer. This allows you to connect your data and decisions so that budgeting, reporting, and forecasting can move at the speed of your business.

It's used by finance teams in over 17 countries across multiple verticals, including SaaS, professional services, manufacturing, fintech, retail, and healthcare. 

Known for its extensive native integrations, flexibility, ease of use, and responsive customer support, Drivetrain is built for mid-market and enterprise companies looking to move fast and plan with confidence.

Need Some Help?

What if the quietest person in the room is the one who changes the world?

Build Scale Grow provides expert strategies and clear metrics for social impact, EdTech, and health tech startups, with a focus on introverted founders. With five successful M&As in ten years, we’ll help your startup reach its full potential and beyond.

Book a free 30-minute call HERE to see how we can help.