Tech:NYC Digest: February 8

Tech:NYC Digest: February 8

February 08, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

In today’s digest, the IRS asks New Yorkers to hold off on tax filings, the city’s carshare parking pilot expands, and what emerging VCs think about the state of investing in a declining market.

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  • The IRS is advising residents of two-dozen states, including New York, not to file their taxes quite yet. New York is on a list of states in which some residents received inflation relief payments or state tax rebates (mostly through rent and property relief programs) in 2022, and the IRS still hasn’t determined which of them are federally taxable. (Washington Post)

  • NYC is expanding its on-street carshare program by installing hundreds more curbside parking spaces reserved for careshare programs in the coming year. The Dept. of Transportation said that the pilot program reduced vehicle miles traveled by 6%, and for every one shared vehicle, four personal vehicles were either not purchased or sold. (Gothamist)

  • If you’re still searching for plans this weekend, there’s something for everyone: here are some guides for what to know about the start of New York Fashion Week and Super Bowl Sunday.

In other reading:

  • New York mirrors national trends of digitizing workforce — with some big exceptions (Crain’s New York Business) 

  • Get it While You Can: The Oldest Cheese Shop in NYC is Closing (Eater NY)

  • Meet Brooklyn’s Newest Power Couple (of Bald Eagles) (New York Magazine)

Like every other global tech hub, NYC saw perhaps the most significant drop of venture capital deals in the last few years during the last quarter of 2022.

New funding for later-stage startups had already begun tightening up, and there are signs a similar pullback is coming for earlier-stage companies too, according to Primary Venture Partners:

  • The firm's most recent funding data found that the number of NYC seed deals fell 30%, from 185 to 129 deals, between the third and fourth quarters of last year. The number of dollars represented by those deals also dropped, from $860 million to $447, in the same period.

  • “These market corrections tend to start in the public markets and then work their way back down,” said Primary’s co-founder and general partner Brad Svrluga. “It took a few quarters for it to ripple all the way back.”

Yes, but: The slowdown isn’t impacting all sectors equally. The funding landscape in New York for enterprise tech has seen minimal impact, Work-Bench co-founder and general partner Jonathan Lehr told the Wall Street Journal:

  • Work-Bench trackers found that NYC enterprise seed deals between Q3 and Q4 actually rose, from nine to 15.

Much of the chatter about the 2023 venture environment is buzzing among emerging VCs, with some worried about the level of activity they can achieve in a declining market. But many are optimistic:

  • Menlo Ventures partner Matt Murphy: “It’s a good time to start. You don’t have a big and maybe struggling portfolio and you’d be poised to back a set of early-stage companies born in a time with more discipline and in a less competitive VC environment. Those factors could propel someone very early in their VC career.”

  • Unusual Ventures vice president Allison Averrill: “There’s a little more time now to have conversations with subject-matter experts and do more diligence on the company and spend time with founders, without the pressure to get a term sheet out the door.”

In other reading:

  • Go Ahead, Fire Me: Some Workers Welcome Losing Their Jobs (Bloomberg)

  • Why talking to AI might be the most important skill of the century (The Atlantic)

  • How the ‘1-year job interview’ is helping this tech company solve its talent crunch (Fast Company)

  • Fierce, a NYC-based fintech platform for earning high-yield returns across financial assets, raised $10 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Pendrell, AP Capital, Wheelhouse Digital Studios, Space Whale Capital, and a group of angels.

  • Wyndly, a NYC and Colorado-based healthcare startup for accessible allergy immunotherapy, raised $2 million in seed funding. Participating investors include Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, Civilization Ventures, Sweater Ventures, among others.

First Round is accepting applications for its 14th Fast Track cohort. The 90-day mentorship program pairs hundreds of tech leaders with founders and startup operators for 1:1 bi-weekly meetings, as well as larger cohort events. Learn more and apply by Feb. 10 here.Next View Ventures is accepting applications for its fourth accelerator program. Pre-seed and seed stage startup teams working building consumer and SaaS B2B companies are eligible for the three-month program. Learn more and apply by Feb. 14 here.The Transit Tech Lab is accepting applications for its 2023 challenges for the chance to pilot technology with some of New York’s leading public transit agencies, including the MTA, Port Authority, NJ TRANSIT, and NYC DOT. Learn more and apply by March 2 here.Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator is accepting applications for its Summer 2023 NYC accelerator program. ERA invests $150,000 for a 6% post-money SAFE and provides a four-month intensive mentorship program. Learn more and apply by April 17 here.

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