2020 End of Year letter

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All,

We made it! Happy New Year.

I’m writing to share our 

2020 Annual Report

. I hope you’ll take the time to read it. I’m really proud of how the team rallied this year and served both our members and our city and state. When things first shut down in March, like many of you, I feared we would lose our revenue base and have to lay off team members. Instead, we gained more new members than we lost and not only did our team members stay employed and productive, but we really came together like a family during these crazy times. It’s been an honor to do this work, now more than ever. Thank you for the opportunity and for your ongoing support.

Again, the Annual Report is 

here

. I think the finished product came out great and the team and I are proud of the body of work it represents.

Some highlights (though I really encourage you to read the whole report!):

• We started the year by ringing the bell at the NYSE, celebrating the robust NYC tech ecosystem.

• In partnership with the Center for an Urban Future, we published Plugging In, the first comprehensive citywide analysis of NYC’s tech training and education programs, along with its interactive mapping tool, techskills.nyc.

• We helped our members navigate the new work paradigm by convening them in person (many months ago!), over video, and email to discuss.

• We sent more than 200 daily digest emails, helping our community make informed decisions about their businesses and their lives as New Yorkers.

• We rallied 100 NYC tech companies to provide virtual project-based learning opportunities for over 3,000 youth all across New York City during the summer as part of the Summer Bridge program.

• We supported the city and state in sourcing tech solutions to combat COVID. We partnered with the state to launch COVID Alert NY, the state’s exposure notification app. We also supported the state’s launch of its Technology SWAT Team.

• Together with CSNYC and Microsoft TEALS, we hosted the seventh annual (but first-ever virtual) Computer Science Opportunity Fair for public high school students all across NYC.

• We profiled 25 companies in our Companies to Watch series, focusing on New York startups that are using their tools to support communities through the pandemic response and recovery efforts.

• We continued our work engaging with state and local policymakers to support the tech ecosystem. As part of that work, we testified at more than ten legislative hearings and forums and engaged with more than 20 federal, state, and local elected officials and public leaders.

• We launched Talk:NYC, a new podcast on all things urban life. Hosted by Julie Samuels, it’s not just a podcast about tech — so far, it has featured a wide range of conversations with top leaders in New York government, tech, media, and culture.

• In August, we commissioned a poll to gauge the favorability of the tech industry in NYC. The tech industry and its leaders are remarkably favorable. Entrepreneurs are +45 net favorable (55% favorable to 10% unfavorable), startups are +42, and tech companies are +27 net favorable. 55% believe that tech companies bring jobs and economic opportunity.

Thank you again for your ongoing support. Julie + the Tech:NYC team