Welcome to Built In NYC

Today we’re excited to launch the newest addition to the Built In network...Built In NYC!

 

New York has one of the strongest tech ecosystems in the country, with a robust entrepreneurial support network, top university talent and an amazing city where people want to both live and work. Built In NYC is an online community for New York City's startups. We hope you’ll join us and spend some time exploring, connecting and contributing — this community exists for you.

 

 

In the 1980s and 1990s, digital tech in New York began to emerge as companies like Razorfish, DoubleClick, Total New York and The Mining Company (which later became About.com) dominated the dot.com landscape. In 1995, venture capitalists Fred Wilson and Jerry Colonna cofounded Flatiron Partners, which quickly became New York City’s leading venture capital firm. In the same year, Jason Calacanis founded the Silicon Alley Reporter (renamed to the Venture Reporter in 2001 and sold to Dow Jones in 2003), a trade publication that covered the burgeoning Silicon Alley scene.

 

In the early 2000s NYC began to be known as a digital media mecca. Sites like Gizmodo, BuzzFeed, Vice, Thrillist and Vox Media made their home in New York City, while other legacy industries like retail, finance and fashion were poised for disruption. By 2011, the number of tech jobs in New York increased by 28.7 percent and venture capital investments in NYC-based startups grew by 32 percent. 

 

 

Today, NYC startups have raised millions and venture capital investment has skyrocketed in recent years, growing twice as fast as rival Silicon Valley according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. And that funding isn’t isolated to Manhattan — VC Charlie O’Donnell, a First Round Capital and Union Square Ventures veteran, launched Brooklyn-based Brooklyn Bridge Ventures in 2012. 

 

NYC is still known for its superior media companies, and has become a major player in the FinTech, Fashion Tech, Data Services and Ad Tech spaces. NYC is home to Warby Parker, Blue Apron, Gilt Groupe, FanDuel and several other billion-dollar companies. 

 

 

New York has made immense strides to foster continued growth, with AngelPad, Techstars,  Entrepreneurs Roundtable, DreamIt Ventures among the top accelerators and a growing population of VCs like RRE Ventures, Lerer Ventures and Union Square Ventures bolstering the city’s entrepreneurs. 

 

The proliferation of coworking spaces creates a collaborative environment for entrepreneurs to thrive. Led by great examples like WeWork, the city’s confidence in synergic work spaces is only echoed by the company’s $10 billion valuation. 

 

 

NYC is home to several leading universities including NYU, Columbia, CUNY, Baruch College, who lead the pack among East Coast institutions with impressive entrepreneurship and STEM programs. The city is also host to exceptional programs like General Assembly, who aid young students and entrepreneurs in the area and ensure a tech-savvy workforce for growing startups.

 

These institutions are strengthened by energizing groups of like-minded people. New York Tech Meetup, founded in 2004 by Scott Heiferman and Dawn Barber and currently led by Executive Director Jessica Lawrence, is an organization that represents professionals from all parts of New York’s technology community. NY Tech Meetup has since evolved into the largest Meetup group in the world and a nonprofit membership organization.

 

 

Most importantly, New York City is an amazing place to call home. Employment at tech companies increased from 2010-­2013 by 10.2 percent according to CBRE. Over 290,000 people are employed in tech jobs and that number is expected to grow. 

 

With that, I’d like to personally invite you to sign up and further discover news, jobs and events in the NYC tech startup community.

 

Once you're signed up:

 

I look forward to connecting with all of you,

 

Rebecca Davidson