November 2020 monthly newsletter

A year unlike any other

December 02, 2020 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

What a year this has been, to say the least. This newsletter is one Tech:NYC typically sends monthly, but of course, so much has changed in 2020. When the pandemic hit, we scrambled to support our members and help make sense of what an impending shutdown would mean for our community. So we scaled back on some projects, reworked some others, and devoted a lot more time to supporting our network through the pandemic.Now nine months later, we’ve learned a lot. Through it all, Tech:NYC has charged ahead, not only with long-planned initiatives, but we’ve jumped into action to support New York’s response and recovery efforts —  we helped stand up SWAT teams of technologists from our member companies to aid the state’s response agenda, we facilitated the city’s Summer Bridge program to ensure more than 35,000 students could keep summer employment opportunities at NYC tech companies, and we launched New York’s official exposure notification app to aid our state’s testing and tracing efforts.And through it all, we’ve also made it a priority to continue getting resources out to our community with our COVID-19 Digest, a daily newsletter that breaks down everything you need to know about COVID-19 and how it impacts your businesses and your lives here in New York. We’ll continue sending these monthly updates on Tech:NYC’s work and the latest on our community, but I really encourage you to also sign up to receive the daily digest, too — I  turn to it often myself to get the information I need as we all brace for the winter season and look ahead to 2021. Subscribe here.Julie

Together with the New York State Department of Health and a group of leading tech companies and researchers, Tech:NYC launched COVID Alert NY, the state’s official exposure notification app. The app has surpassed

, and it will only prove more impactful the more people use it. Read more

about how it tracks risk exposure while maintaining your privacy, and if you haven’t already,

.

We launched a new podcast!

brings you biweekly conversations on all things NYC and the future of urban life, hosted by our own Julie Samuels. You can already find episodes featuring Fred Wilson, newly-elected Congressman Ritchie Torres, Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, media executive and former Hearst CCO Joanna Coles, and more.

or on all major streaming platforms.

Our annual

, which is normally a day-long, in-person event in March, became a two-day virtual event in November this year! NYC public school students from all five boroughs connected with dozens of NYC tech companies in more than 18,000 virtual booth visits!

New Stand is seeking insights from tech companies about their office reopening plans (or lack thereof) in light of the pandemic and how it might impact any perks or benefits employees are offered. Please help by taking their three minute survey here.Betaworks Studios is accepting applications to Circles, its CEO peer support program. Cohorts are led by seasoned entrepreneurs and curated to match founders based on experience, stage, company size, and more. Learn more and apply here. 

December 3: Virtual: The Future of Broadband Connectivity: COVID-19 and Beyond, with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Per Scholas CEO Plinio Ayala, and DreamBox CEO Jessie Woolley-Wilson. Hosted by Axios. (Details)December 3: Virtual: The Future of Work, with Lyft cofounder and president John Zimmer and Sen. Mark Warner. Hosted by Washington Post. (Details)December 8: Virtual: Ask Me Anything Live, with Revolution CEO and AOL cofounder Steve Case. Hosted by Betaworks Studios. (Details)December 8: Virtual: Functions:NYC: What’s Next for Climate and Sustainability, with NYC Chief Climate Policy Officer Daniel Zarrilli and BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird. Hosted by Tech:NYC. (Details)December 9: Virtual: Existential Threats, with Loop CEO Tom Szaky, Solar Foods CEO Pasi Vainikka, Malta CEO Ramya Swaminathan, Solidia CEO Tom Schuker. Hosted by Company. (Details)December 10: Virtual: brunchwork at home, with RSE Ventures CEO and Shark Tank investor Matt Higgins. Hosted by brunchwork. (Details)December 16: Virtual: Building the Future of Mobility, with MCity, Middle Third, Canvue, and Michigan Central. Hosted by Newlab. (Details) 

A warm welcome to our newest members: 

  • Adafruit: An open-source hardware manufacturer and certified minority and woman-owned business enterprise

  • Capsule: A healthcare technology business rebuilding the pharmacy from the inside out.

  • Carbon Five: A digital product development consultancy 

  • Hawkfish LLC: A firm engaging with Democratic candidates, allies & causes to reach the right voters with the right message in the right place

  • Kustomer: An omnichannel customer management platform for enterprises focused on delivering standout experiences

  • Misfits Market: A subscription box of sometimes funny-looking, always delicious produce, designed to break the cycle of food waste

  • Nivelo: A company delivering real time security for digital payments.

  • Noom: A company that creates fun and easy-to-use mobile apps that provide intelligent nutrition & exercise coaching.

  • Revel: Shared electric mopeds changing the way humans and communities connect

  • Rho: A digital banking platform for startups and high-growth companies

  • Spin: An electric scooter-share, giving people the freedom to move

  • Stripe: A global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet

  • Suffolk: A national enterprise that invests, innovates, and builds the construction industry

If you’ve been thinking about joining Tech:NYC as a member, now’s the time. Check out our membership page, and let us know if you have any questions.