August 2018 Newsletter: VOTE! Upcoming Elections and Other Updates

This is the August 2018 edition of the Tech:NYC newsletter. If you're not already getting this in your inbox, sign up now.

In two weeks, we head to the polls for New York State’s primary elections. New Yorkers will vote for party nominees for the November General Election—the offices up for election include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and members of the State Senate and Assembly. In fact, just last night the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination for Governor—Andrew Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon—squared off in their one debate before the election. It was a lively affair, featuring discussion on a wide range of issues, including how to best fund repairs to New York City’s struggling public transit system. Notably absent from the debate, however, was conversation around the increasing role of technology in the state’s economy and how innovation can be leveraged to improve the lives of New Yorkers. We hope to hear more from the candidates on this as New Yorkers get ready to choose their next governor.

While the Governor is the head of New York State’s government, the other positions to be voted on are also incredibly important. These officials have the power to impact the day-to-day lives of New Yorkers. In fact, the New York Times recently dubbed the election for Attorney General “the most important choice facing New York voters this fall” and we at Tech:NYC couldn’t agree more. 

The Attorney General can and likely will indeed play a crucial role when it comes to the tech industry—and in a race that’s largely still considered up for grabs, it’s all the more important we know all the candidates’ positions. Earlier this month, we made an effort to do just that, hosting a first-of-its-kind tech forum for the candidates with Axios and WeWork. Moderated by Axios’ Mike Allen, we gave all four candidates (Tish James, Zephyr Teachout, Sean Patrick Maloney, and Leecia Eve) a unique chance to share their views and talk with voters. The candidates addressed a range of topics, spanning federal and local importance. If you missed the forum, you can watch the video here or read our recap. The specifics of what each candidate said have been reported elsewhere, but all-in-all it was a thorough and productive discussion.

We encourage all of you to head to the polls on September 13. You can check your voter registration status and find your polling place here. As the election season continues, we’ll continue to keep you updated. 

Julie

P.S. Did you see the recap of our first full year of Companies to Watch? Check it out here! 😊

WHAT WE'RE UP TO

Today, the de Blasio administration released a report announcing the Bronx-Queens Connector (BQX) streetcar project will move forward. We’re thrilled to see the plan advancing. Read our full statement here.

Last week, Tech:NYC and some of its member companies took a hard hat tour of Dock 72, a 675,000 square foot development in the heart of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Dock 72 is an exciting new building providing 21st century work space to technology, design, and modern manufacturing startups. Explore the project here.

Also last week, we celebrated Startup Week Across America, an initiative connecting members of Congress to startups in their districts to increase their exposure to the innovation economy. We partnered with our friends at Engine to organize visits for two members of the New York congressional delegation. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries paid a visit to Propel and learned how their innovations are making America’s safety net more user-friendly. Rep. Yvette Clarke visited Industrious in Brooklyn, getting to see how they are providing a collaborative space for startups to flourish.

In addition, Tech:NYC hosted Rep. Jerry Nadler for a conversation with our members on tech issues facing New York and the sector’s relationship to Washington.

GET INVOLVED

Last call for health and life sciences startups to participate in Accenture’s 3rd annual HealthTech Innovation Challenge, a program that brings startups, life sciences companies and healthcare organizations together to tackle the world’s biggest health issues. The program is open to digital health startups of all stages. Apply by September 1 here.
 
Brooklyn Bridge Ventures is organizing its annual Fall Fundraising Days, including VC Open Office Hours on September 13 and its pre-Series A Offsite convening on September 14. If you’re a startup CEO, founder, or seed investor and want to be involved, find more details here.

Access to affordable, high-quality childcare is a huge issue affecting families, employees, and employers. To better understand the needs and pain points of how this impacts the New York tech community, please take this 10-minute survey. Everyone who completes it will be entered into a drawing to receive either a $250 gift card or a month of free childcare at a participating location. And if you are an executive or HR lead at your company and would like to share it with your company, just let us know and we will gladly share the anonymized results with you once we've collected them.

NYC TECH COMMUNITY EVENTS

September 6: Our member Republic has launched a new crypto conference that connects blockchain tech founders, investors, and other innovators in the field. The summit will be followed by an evening of Crypto Poker open to attendees of the summit only. Get tickets here.

September 13: Save the date for the kickoff of the CornellTech@Bloomberg series, co-hosted by Tech:NYC. The first event will feature Shan-Lyn Ma, co-founder and CEO of Zola, in conversation with Bloomberg’s Scarlet Fu. Register here.

September 14: Lesbians Who Tech + Allies is hosting their largest career fair to date, connecting 50+ companies to diverse tech professionals with a variety of skills in NYC. This year’s fair includes both in-person and virtual ways to participate. Register here.

September 16: Join Bloomberg for its 5th annual Data for Good Exchange 2018 (D4GX), a forum on using data science and human capital to solve problems at the core of society and promote positive social change. Register here.

September 17: Tech:NYC Executive Director Julie Samuels will join other industry experts at NYCEDC’s 2018 Development Finance Conference to discuss how the City’s investment capabilities to support tech sector growth. Get tickets here.

September 20: Tech:NYC Executive Director Julie Samuels will join leaders from Facebook, IBM, and others to discuss diversity and inclusion in the tech sector at NYCETC’s annual workforce development conference. Get tickets here.

September 20: NYC Media Lab’s annual Summit is a snapshot of the best thinking, projects and talent from across the City’s corporate, university and innovation ecosystems. The event will include panels and keynotes on the latest media and technology trends; 100 interactive XR and data science research demos; startup pitches; and 12+ hands-on workshops. Use promo code TECHNYC for 20% off Standard Registration tickets here.

September 20: SoulCycle is hosting the next edition of its First Row Talks, a monthly series where product, design, and engineering leaders share stories and learnings on building products, teams, and businesses. This month’s talk features Shreyans Bhansali, the founder and CTO of Socratic (and first-ever employee of Venmo). Register here.

September 28-30: The Empire State Opioid Epidemic Innovation Challenge serves as an open-innovation platform to create solutions to change the trajectory of the local and national opioid crisis. The challenge includes keynotes, panel discussions, and a hands-on solutions sprint with judging and prizes. For more information and to register, visit here.

October 2: Join PRIME’s first TechMeeting in NYC, hosted by Company(formerly Grand Central Tech), to hear from research labs, startups, and corporations on how they’re using urban tech to address challenges for cities. Get tickets here.

October 11: Save the date for the next installment of Tech:NYC’s Policy Labs series, Drones 101. In partnership with DJI, the event will feature a keynote, demos from local drone firms, and the chance to fly a drone yourself! Pre-register here.

October 16: Bloomberg hosts Sooner Than You Think, a premier tech summit on how artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cryptocurrency are reshaping how we spend, save, and invest. Register now using code TECHNYC to unlock a special partner rate.

WELCOME TO TECH:NYC

A warm welcome to our newest members:

• Blockseed Analytics, Inc: News, research and analysis around digital assets for individuals and institutions.
• Boyle Software, Inc: A software company that designs, develops, and delivers technology solutions.
• Casebook PBC: Next generation platform for human services.
• Elude: Personalized travel based on your budget.
• HotelsByDay: Gives travelers a comfortable daytime hotel room for half the price of an overnight stay. Book a day room in your next destination here.
• Meritas Technology: A finance platform tailored to students interested in equity investing.
• MusicFirst: Offer music teachers and their students easy-to-use, affordable cloud-based solutions that enable music learning, creation, assessment, sharing, and exploration on any device.
• Po.et: The decentralized protocol for content ownership, discovery, and monetization in media.
• Preferred Return: Specialize in cost-efficient, audit-proof valuations.
• Transfix: A technology company that's changing the way companies manage their supply chain. 

JOIN US

Tech:NYC is looking for a Communications and Marketing Director to join our team. Apply now or share the listing with someone you know!

We want your company to be a member of Tech:NYC! Sign up at our membership page, and let us know if you have any questions.

Red white and blue by Barbara Kalbfleisch/Shutterstock