Tech:NYC Digest: December 15

Tech:NYC Digest: December 15

December 15, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

In today’s digest, Fauci says boosters necessary to fight Omicron, Adams appoints next police commissioner, and what employers and employees should consider for end of year compensation season.

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By the numbers:

  • New positive cases statewide: 12,944

    • New positive cases, NYC: 3,103

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 2.9 percent

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • Percentage of adults (18+) with at least one dose: 93.6 percent

    • Percentage of total population with at least one dose: 81.2 percent

Today’s latest: 

  • Federal officials are warning another tidal wave of cases is imminent due to the Omicron variant. (Axios) According to the CDC, the variant already accounts for 13 percent of new cases in New York and New Jersey. (New York Times)

    • Dr. Fauci echoed the importance of booster shots, citing CDC research showing two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine produce a smaller antibody response against Omicron, but protection shoots up drastically with a third dose. (New York Times)

  • Colleges and universities are perhaps the earliest warning for the threat Omicron presents through the winter: Cornell has shut down its Ithaca campus after a surge of nearly 500 cases, and NYU, Princeton, and Fordham are canceling year-end events and enacting other measures like remote finals to prevent the spread.

    • Many of these campuses will also require booster shots prior to the start of classes in spring 2022.

  • Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced today his appointment of Keechant Sewell as the next NYPD commissioner. She is currently the chief of detectives in Nassau County PD and will be the first woman appointed to the job in the department’s 176-year history. (New York Times)

  • The MTA unveiled plans for a new 20-trip ticket to cater to Metro-North and LIRR commuters who plan to permanently work from home part of the week. (Bloomberg) The agency will also introduce a new “city ticket” allowing those riders to travel within city limits for just $5. Learn more about the new options here.

  • The Metropolitan Opera today became the first major performing arts institution to announce it will require booster shots for both staff and audience members. The rule takes effect Jan. 17. (New York Times)

In other reading:

  • Visions of a Volatile World: New York Times’ Year in Pictures 2021 (New York Times)

  • The Strategist's Supply-Chain-Proof Gift Guide (New York Magazine)

  • What we’ll be eating in 2022 (Axios)

‘Tis the season for holiday parties and New Year’s resolutions. Top of the wish list for many: a raise.

The end of the year is a common time for employees to have compensation check-ins with their managers, and Justworks SVP of People Allison Rutledge-Parsi shared her insights on how to talk about raises and promotions for both managers and employees.

If you’re a manager: Internal equity measures will be key moving forward. 

  • “It is critical to not have the last in be more highly paid than the first in. … And that means setting a cadence of benchmarking roles that is much more frequent than you have ever done before. I mean, we're benchmarking every six months. We have to because the market is moving so quickly — not for all segments of the population, but definitely for the tech segments.”

If you’re an employee: Think about your full compensation package, and negotiate your base from there.

  • Employees “should pay attention to benefits — they matter. Benefits can be highly technical and nerdy. You have to bring the discipline of paying attention to what it means … Generally speaking, in the tech industry benefits tend to be quite favorable, but you want to pay attention to that.”

  • “You always negotiate. But you have to do it with professionalism. It’s not really ‘can you?’ It’s ‘how do you?’”

In other reading:

  • How tech workers are feeling about going back to the office (Fortune)

  • The New Job Offer You Want Could Come From Your Old Boss (Wall Street Journal)

  • Take this quiz to assess your burnout risk — and avoid the employee “turnover tsunami” (360Learning)

  • Andie, the New York City-based women's apparel startup, raised $18.5 million in Series B funding. Marcy Venture Partners led the round and was joined by City Rock, Gaingles, and others. (WWD)

  • Mesh Payments, a New York City-based automated spending platform for finance teams, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Tiger Global led the round and was joined by Entrée Capital and Falcon Edge Capital, as well as insiders TLV Partners and Meron Capital. (TechCrunch)

  • NYDIG, a New York City-based bitcoin services company, raised $1 billion in private equity funding. The round was led by WestCap Group and joined by Affirm, Bessemer Venture Partners, FinTech Collective, New York Life Insurance, Morgan Stanley, MassMutual, FIS, and Fiserv. (Wall Street Journal)

  • Papaya, a New York City-based mobile bill payment application, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Sequoia Capital, Acrew Capital, 01 Advisors, Mucker Capital, Fika Ventures, F-Prime, and Sound Ventures. (TechCrunch)

  • Runway, a New York City-based video editing and creative tool developer, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Coatue led the round and was joined by Amplify Partners, Lux Ventures, and Compound. (Runway)

  • Spatial, a New York City-based augmented and virtual reality meeting platform, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Investors included Pine Venture Partners, Maven Growth Partners, Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment, Mirae, Balaji Srinvasan, as well as insiders iNovia, Whitestar, and Lerer Hippeau. (VentureBeat)

Company Ventures, in partnership with the NYC Economic Development Corporation, is seeking applications for the inaugural City Fellowship. The fellowship offers a nine-month program to support community-oriented entrepreneurs with access to the government and venture communities and business development opportunities. Learn more and apply by Dec. 19 here.The David Prize is accepting open call submissions for its 2021-2022 cycle. The prize awards a no-strings-attached $200,000 grant to five New Yorkers with ideas, projects, products, and passions that are making (or will make) New York City a better place for more of us. Nominations or self-nominations are being accepted through Dec. 21 here.The New York Fashion Tech Lab is accepting applications for its 2022 program. The Lab is seeking women-led, B2B, fashion and retail-focused technology companies with ideas for advancing the industry. Learn more and apply by Dec. 30 here.The Black New Venture Competition is accepting applications for its 2022 program. Early-stage Black founders will have access to capital, mentors, and advisors, as well as a chance to pitch to a group of angel investors awarding up to $275,000 in prize money. Learn more and apply by Jan. 9 here.CityCoins is accepting applications for its 2022 Accelerator Track. The three-month program provides product development, industry mentors, and funding opportunities to teams interested in using crypto to solve public problems in cities. Learn more and apply by Jan. 31 here.

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