Tech:NYC Digest: June 15

Tech:NYC Digest: June 15

June 15, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 

In today’s digest, young children get one step closer to the vaccine, NYC office use hits a new high, and why new grads should be optimistic about getting their first tech job in today’s market. 

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By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 5,729

    • New positive cases, NYC: 2,865

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 5.0 percent (-0.2 percent)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress:

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.8 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 77.6 percent

In today’s latest: 

  • FDA advisers today recommended that the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines be authorized for children as young as six months old, clearing the way for officials to authorize their use later this week. (New York Times)

  • City office occupancy topped 40 percent for the first time last week since the March 2020 shutdown, according to security company Kastle Systems, which measures worker entries into thousands of buildings. (THE CITY)

  • Here’s one useful tip: Dr. B, the vaccine standby list initiative created by ZocDoc founder Cyrus Massoumi, launched a new service to help people get access to Paxlovid via a visitless prescription service with a physician. The service is free during the current beta period, and will eventually charge a small doctors fee — less than a typical copay — but no one is turned away for the inability to pay. Learn more here.

  • And lastly, let’s pour one out for Internet Explorer. After nearly 27 years, it officially shuts down today.

In other reading:

  • A Lingering Effect of the Pandemic: ‘Never-Ending’ Guilt (New York Times)

  • What the Supreme Court gun ruling could mean for mass transit in NYC (Gothamist)

  • The era of 9-5 child care is ending as parents' needs shift (Axios)

Despite the alarming reports about layoffs and turndowns, US unemployment rates for tech jobs range “from dinky to nonexistent.”

  • For every layoff announcement, there’s an equal or greater hiring announcement. The staffing firm Robert Half says on average, each tech worker looking for a job is fielding more than two offers.

Julia Pollak, the chief economist for career website ZipRecruiter, spoke to Protocol about these trends: “While the headlines we’re seeing about household name tech companies are serious and real — there are layoffs and there are rescinded offers — if you actually look at the numbers, they’re fairly small and not making a dent on the aggregate numbers.”

The company just released an inaugural report on what the outlook means particularly for new grads entering the workforce right now:

  • Pollak says tech job postings are rising at a quicker rate than non-tech jobs. They’re at an all-time high on ZipRecruiter right now, whereas general ads overall peaked in September and have since plateaued.

  • She interprets the report’s data to assert there was such a talent shortage before this dip that the market downtown is actually a well-timed opportunity for companies with open roles to snatch up talent. 

That’s going to include more focus on first-time hires, where talent competition is just as fierce. The report identifies a few ways companies can stand out:

  • Good pay was, unsurprisingly, the top benefit cited by new grads as desirable in a new job. The second: The ability to learn and opportunity for growth. And the third: job security (which makes sense right now).

  • Over 33 percent of first-time hires got a signing bonus, which was once incredibly uncommon, an indication new benefits are being put on the table to lure candidates earlier in their careers.

  • Paid sabbaticals were the fastest-growing work perk, as were more creative ways to implement PTO policies, like two weeks to two months of paid vacation before a new employee starts.

In other reading:

  • Can you “open source” diversity? GitHub is trying. (Protocol)

  • Gen Z Employees Are Feeling Disconnected. Here’s How Employers Can Help. (Harvard Business Review)

  • Stressed and burned out? Quitting your job may not help (CNBC)

  • AlphaSense, a NYC-based market intelligence and search platform, raised $225 million in Series D equity and debt funding at a $1.7b post-money valuation. Goldman Sachs and Viking Global co-led the round. (TechCrunch)

  • Arkestro, a NYC-based predictive procurement orchestration platform, raised $26 million in Series A funding. NEA, Construct, Koch Disruptive Technologies, and Four More Capital co-led the round and were joined by Cervin, Correlation, El Cap, Forum, Illuminate, and Tenacity. (TechCrunch)

  • Narmi, a NYC-based digital banking startup, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Participating investors include Greycroft, NEA, and Picus Capital. (TechCrunch)

  • Sesame, a NYC-based health care marketplace, raised $27 million in Series B funding. GV led the round and was joined by Virgin Group, TeleSoft Partners, FMZ Ventures, General Catalyst, Industry Ventures, Coefficient Capital, Giant Ventures, and Alumni Ventures Group. (Newswire)

Tech:NYC, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Youth Employment, is recruiting tech companies to participate in Tech Year NYC, a pilot initiative to broaden access to career pathways in tech to underrepresented youth. If your company would like to participate this summer, learn more here and register your interest here. Cela, the startup accelerator services provider, is hosting curated office hours on June 28 to facilitate one-on-one mentorship sessions between founders and top accelerator programs. Learn more and apply by June 23 here.Black Girl Ventures, in partnerships with Towerbrook and Jane & Johnny Walker, are accepting applications for its NYC pitch competition. Black and Brown woman-identifying founders with revenue-generating businesses under $1 million will get the chance to pitch for prizes up to $20,000. Learn more and apply by July 1 here.Grow-NY, an initiative of New York State Empire State Development (ESD), is accepting applications for its 2022 competition. Startups and/or investors in the food, beverage, and agriculture sectors across 22 Upstate counties are eligible for a cash prize of up to $1 million, as well as marketing support and other resources. Learn more and apply by July 1 here.Antler, a global early-stage VC, is accepting applications for its summer 2022 New York cohort. Following the six-week, in-person residency, founders will have the opportunity to pitch Antler’s investment committee for $150,000 in pre-seed funding. Learn more and apply here.

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