This is the October 2019 edition of the Tech:NYC newsletter. If you're not already getting this in your inbox, sign up now.

Like most of the rest of the world, members of the tech ecosystem here in NYC have been paying more attention to government and politics ever since the 2016 elections. And not just at the federal level, but at the state and local levels, as well.

That’s why, a few months ago, Tech:NYC kicked off Functions.NYC, a series of events to equip employees at our member companies with the insights into how local government works — and the connections and tools to more actively participate in it. We have more events scheduled and would love to have you join us; sign up here if you’re interested.

Another way to be more actively involved is to vote. Next week, on November 5, NYC is holding an election to determine the next Public Advocate, and if you live in Queens, the borough’s next District Attorney. To confirm your polling place check check here, and for an election guide, click here. 

We’ll also vote on changes to the City Charter — our city’s constitution. At Tech:NYC, we are particularly supportive of one proposal to amend the City Charter: to institute ranked-choice voting for NYC primary and special elections. Ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, has been shown to decrease negative campaigning and prevent the need for costly runoff elections (you can read more here about how this works). Ranked-choice voting would be a major step toward making NYC election more efficient and fair.

It’s more important than ever that government and industry are connected — that tech has a seat at the policymaking table and that policy is a core part of how we build the next great tech company. That’s how we’ll ensure our community continues growing.

Julie

P.S. Happy Halloween!

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

For the most recent installment of our Functions.NYC series, we had lunch at Justworks with Aaron Carr, founder of the Housing Right Initiative, and Benjamin Dulchin, executive director of the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development. If you work at a Tech:NYC member company and are interested in attending future discussions, sign up to receive invitations here!

The latest installment of the Cornell Tech @ Bloomberg speaker series featured Zachariah Reitano, co-founder and CEO of Ro. Stay tuned for the podcast of his conversation!

Earlier this month, Tech:NYC co-sponsored the annual Tech Gives Back initiative, connecting a record-breaking 1,000+ NYC tech employees to more than a dozen community groups across all 5 boroughs for a day of service. Stay tuned for next year’s plans!

GET INVOLVED

Applications are open for Cyber NYC Inventors to Founders Startup Accelerator! Cyber startups receive capital, mentorship, and access to Columbia, Cornell Tech, NYU, CUNY & NYCEDC networks. University startups (students, faculty, alumni) are eligible. Cyber NYC is a $100M public-private partnership focused on cyber entrepreneurship in NYC. Apply by November 3 here.

Applications are open for the 2020 New York Fashion Tech Lab! Launched in partnership with leading fashion and retail brands in 2014, the lab lab focuses on women-led early & growth stage companies that have developed B2B innovations at the intersection of fashion, retail, and technology.  The 12-week program will launch in early March and finish in early June. Apply by November 15 here.

Applications are open to women entrepreneurs for the Tory Burch Foundation’s 5th annual Fellows Program! Selected entrepreneurs participate in the year-long program, visit the Tory Burch office in New York for a five-day workshop, receive $5,000 grant for business education, and have the chance to be selected to pitch their business to investors and industry leaders. Find more details and apply by November 19 here.

Applications are now open for the next cohort of Living Lab startups. With the program, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership partners with tech companies to pilot products in real world situations. Using DBP-operated public spaces as a testing ground for smart city technologies, participating groups share their data and findings with DBP for future planning purposes. Get more details here.

The Hub is a marketplace that connects highly vetted photographers to anyone who needs photography. Their platform has 37,000 highly vetted creators, where one simply goes to their website, posts a “job” (e.g. headshots, photoshoot, product shoots, events, etc.), receive bids from vetted photographers, hires and pays the best fit, and receives images directly on the platform. Use code TECHNYC15 for 15% off a job.

NYC TECH COMMUNITY EVENTS

November 4: With ABNY and the Regional Plan Association, Tech:NYC hosts a presentation on the newly-established David Prize with Executive Director Erika Boll. Register here.

November 5: Company hosts a fireside chat with Kickstarter founder and former CEO Yancey Strickler to discuss his new book, This Could Be Our Future. Get tickets here.

November 6: The FinTech Meet the Media conference brings together finance and media professionals to hear from the best journalists covering FinTech today, learn about new academic research in the industry, and network with colleagues old and new. Get tickets here.

November 7: City & State hosts its 2019 Collaborative Technology Conference, featuring a keynote with NYC CTO John Paul Farmer. Use code TECHNYC for 20% off tickets here.

November 7: Tech:NYC and Gemini kick off the inaugural NYC Blockchain Weekend with an opening networking reception. Registration is required here. 

November 8: Betaworks hosts the next installment of its RENDER conference series, featuring speakers and demos on streaming platforms and gaming technologies. Get tickets here.

November 12: Join Recount Media, Mozilla, and Nasdaq for the first event in Recount Media’s Shift Series: Targeting Tech: Is Antitrust the Answer? Recount Media co-founders John Battelle and John Heilemann will host an intimate conversation about whether antitrust action is the appropriate remedy for tech's growing power in society. Register here.

November 12-13: MIPIM and MetaProp present MIPIM PropTech NYC, bringing together key real estate decision makers from all sectors and technology companies to build the future of real estate. Featuring a keynote from NYC Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development and remarks from executives of Sidewalk Labs, Jetty, Convene, and more. Get tickets here.

November 14: Stacklist hosts a discussion on effective PR strategies for early-stage startups, featuring communications leaders from Ro and others. Get tickets here. 

November 20: FINOS hosts the 2019 Open Source Strategy Forum, to bring together experts across financial services, technology, and open source to deepen collaboration and drive innovation across the industry in order to deliver better code faster. Use code TECHNYC to get discounted member tickets here.

November 21: Join the LIC Partnership, Digital Natives Group, and others for Queens Tech Night, featuring a keynote with Google Founder in Residence Elias Roman. Gets tickets here.

WELCOME TO TECH:NYC

A warm welcome to our newest members:

• Airbud: Turn your website conversational.

• Cloud Native Computing Foundation: Building sustainable ecosystems for cloud native Software.

• Concertio: AI-Powered performance optimization toolkit for turning general-purpose systems into high-performant, tailor-made systems.

• Influreply Inc.: Business management suite for influencers. 

• Live Building Systems: A platform to provide access to all utility activity in real-time.

• Veratad: A suite of cloud-based verification technologies designed to reduce fraud and compliance risk while maximizing profit.

JOIN US

Tech:NYC is looking for a Communications and Marketing Director and for a Policy and Communications Associate to join our team. Apply now or share the listings 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