Tech:NYC Digest: March 8

Tech:NYC Digest: March 8

March 08, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Happy International Women’s Day! In today’s digest, the state of the city according to NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, office-to-housing conversions pick up steam, and what remains left to do in supporting women in New York tech.

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  • NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams delivered her State of the City address this afternoon, where she pledged to expand the Fair Fares program, support targeted entrepreneurship programs for NYCHA residents, and reignite the city’s industrial manufacturing sector in outer-borough neighborhoods, among other priorities. 

    • Find a more comprehensive summary here.

  • All five NYC borough presidents are calling on state lawmakers to make it easier to convert commercial buildings to residential use as a way to address the city’s housing crisis. (New York Daily News)

  • And you might have noticed the tap water at your apartment tastes a little different this week, but don’t worry: repairs at one major aqueduct means we’re just getting more of our water supply from reservoirs upstate until March 19. (NBC New York)

In other reading:

  • Why NYC’s Difficulty in Filling Job Vacancies Has Hurt City Services (New York Times)

  • The Top Mistakes Freelancers Make When Filing Their Taxes (Bloomberg)

  • What if We Made It Easier for Renters to Buy Their Buildings? (Curbed)

To mark International Women’s Day, here’s a couple of the most recent stats we have:

  • Women-founded startups raised 1.9% of all VC funds in 2022, a drop from 2.4% raised by all-women teams in 2021. (TechCrunch)

  • About 29% of tech workers in NYC are women, compared to 47% of the city’s overall workforce, according to data from the New York State Comptroller.

While some notable progress has been made, Nisha Dua, co-founder and managing partner of NYC-based VC firm BBG Ventures, said those numbers aren’t significantly different from when they launched the VC firm in 2014.

As she told Fortune today, since then:

  • “We’re still waiting on the ecosystem-level changes we hope to see. While more dollars are going to startups with at least one female founder (from $10 billion in 2014 to $42.6 billion in 2022), the percentage going to women-led companies has plateaued at less than 2%, and the percentage to underrepresented women is infinitesimal.”

However, the point of optimism, Dua notes, is in the “undeniable value that female founders can create in markets.” BBG Ventures’ own portfolio is home to numerous examples:

  • Companies in NYC like double unicorn Spring Health, Chief, and Zola have all reached unicorn status in the last three years, and some of the most exciting sectors in tech right now — health, financial inclusion, and climate — are being led by women founders.

In other reading:

  • Can Venture Capital Become More Equitable for Women? (Inc. Magazine)

  • Women Are Being Shut Out of Web3; These Women Are Building Anyway (CoinDesk)

  • Where Women’s Leadership Development Programs Fall Short (Harvard Business Review)

A SPECIAL OFFER FROM GIRLS WHO CODE

CodeFair is an immersive, 3-day, tech forward experience for the Girls Who Code community, the broader tech community, and the general public. At CodeFair, Girls Who Code presents eight activations at the intersection of art and tech, including a women-led NFT art studio, gaming lounge, and dance party in the metaverse with Doja Cat.

Tech:NYC community members are specially invited to join us for our After Dark celebrations!

  • After Dark on Friday, March 24th: Come to our Girls Who Code Tech Talk on the future of cybersecurity featuring special guest Meridangela Gutierrez Jhong from Accenture. Jhong will discuss the evolving landscape, what’s trending, and how you can stay ahead of the curve in the cyber security space. Stay after the talk for a drink while you network and explore the activations.

  • After Dark on Saturday, March 25th: Come to our Fireside Chat (6:00 pm) with Girls Who Code CEO Dr. Tarika Barrett, and Nishita Henry, Chief Innovation Officer of Deloitte, about the challenges and opportunities in the tech industry right now. Stay after the chat for a drink while you network and explore the activations.

to claim your free ticket using code “TechNYC” while supplies last, and check out the

for more information!

  • Fynn, a NYC-based provider of private student loans for skilled workers, raised $11 million in seed funding, as well as a $25 million debt facility. Participating investors include YC, Susa Ventures, Village Global, Tenacity VC, and Watchfire Ventures.

  • Muus Climate Partners, a NYC-based climate VC firm, raised $50 million for its Fund II.

H/L Ventures, an NYC-based venture capital firm, is accepting applications for its Venture Studio. H/L looks to provide value-add services and partner with exceptional founders at the nexus of growth, diversity, and impact. Learn more and apply here.Remedy, a NYC-based product studio, is accepting applications for its Scout Program. Remedy Scout is a small community of founders, investors, and operators who get access to curated events and the opportunity to earn investment carry and revenue commission on referrals. Learn more and apply here.FounderBoost is accepting applications for its next NYC cohort. The six-week program is a tech startup “pre-accelerator” to help founders prepare for accelerator programs, seed investment, and revenue strategy. Learn more and apply by March 15 here.Urban Future Lab is accepting applications for the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub accelerator program and its Carbon to Value Initiative. Lean more and apply by March 27 and by March 31, respectively.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.The Grand Central Tech Residency Program is accepting applications for its Fall 2023 cohort. Selected startups receive free office rent for a year, as well as other community and programming benefits. Learn more and apply by July 15 here.

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