Tech:NYC Digest: May 25

Tech:NYC Digest: May 25

May 25, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Wednesday, May 25, 2022 

In today’s digest, Hochul proposes further gun restrictions, the looming long COVID crisis, and why executive coaching isn’t just for executives anymore.

  • And a big 👏 to our friends at Google, which just became the first company to receive the “Peace Prize” from the Ukrainian government for its work supporting relief efforts.

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

By the numbers:  

  • New positive cases statewide: 8,861

    • New positive cases, NYC: 4,055

  • NYC Positivity Rate: 6.4 percent (+0.1 percent)

  • Statewide Vaccine Progress: 

    • New Yorkers with at least one dose: 90.5 percent

    • New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated: 77.3 percent

In today’s latest: 

  • In the wake of the mass shooting at a public school in Texas last night — and today’s two-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd — Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed raising the age to purchase an AR-15 rifle from 18 to 21, among other gun measures. She hopes to get the change passed into law in the next week. (Gothamist)

  • Yet another form of the Omicron subvariant BA.2 has become the dominant version — 58 percent — among new US coronavirus cases, but like other strains, there’s no indication that it causes more severe disease than earlier forms did. (New York Times)

  • A new CDC study suggests that one in five adults infected with COVID in the US may develop long COVID. (New York Times) That number is even higher for people over 65 years of age, and a study of breakthrough infections found vaccines may not prevent symptoms of long COVID. (Washington Post)

  • Former US Rep. Antonio Delgado was sworn in this afternoon as New York’s lieutenant governor following the resignation of Brian Benjamin. He’ll have to face other challengers in the June 28 primary to be reelected to the post. (NY1)

In other reading:

  • I avoided COVID for two years. Until now. Here’s what I’ve learned. (Washington Post)

  • Meet the new Omicron subvariants, your summer bummers (Vox)

  • Summer in the City Is Back (Again!) (New York Times)

Executive coaching for tech leaders has been around for about as long as the industry itself has. But a new wave of those services has arrived on the market aimed at all other workers, as well. (Protocol)

  • The pandemic confirmed that coaching could continue to prove effective via videoconferencing and remained a lifeline for employees’ mental health, energy and clarity in challenging times.

  • As demand has grown, so too has the size of the executive coaching profession itself. (Forbes)

During the pandemic, the average number of sessions people are having each month went up by 30 percent, said Nick Goldberg, the founder and CEO of coaching platform Ezra. 

As companies continue to search for ways to boost retention, it pays for tech companies to give more tailored and special benefits that keep employees satisfied in their roles.

  • “Part of the reason why coaching and all of these companies are getting into this space is because, as human beings, we are so used to having everything completely personalized,” Goldberg said. “And yet, when we turn up in our office, most of the stuff we do is not personalized.”

The future of coaching won’t just be one-on-one sessions with executives, but could be used for educating managers how to improve their businesses' equity and inclusion. It could also be an effective way to deploy with a big group of employees working on change management issues.

  • Having a coach can help managers with listening, empathizing, learning, and influencing skills, all of which have become even more important skills when the pandemic altered workplace norms and team cultures.

Broader access to executive coaching adds to a growing list of benefits tech companies are investing in their existing workforces, as they make deeper investments in training programs to upskill workers and expand learning and development strategies.

In other reading:

  • Hybrid Work Is Messing Up Your Sleep, but Here’s How to Fix It (Wall Street Journal)

  • Why we need ’emotional diversity’ at work right now (Fast Company)

  • What Is Life Like When We Subtract Work From It? (The Atlantic)

  • Circles, a NYC-based virtual emotional support startup, raised $16.5 million in Series A funding. Zeev Ventures led the round and was joined by Lior Ron, NFX, Flint Capital, and Ronald Cohen. (Insider)

  • FINN, a NYC and Munich-based car subscription platform, raised $110 million in Series B funding. Korelya Capital and was joined by investors including Keen Venture Partners, Climb Ventures, Greentrail Capital, Waterfall Asset Management, White Star Capital, HV Capital, Heartcore Capital, UVC Partners, and Picus Capital. (TechCrunch)

  • MetaKing Studios, a NYC-based developer of web3 MMO games, raised $15 million in seed funding. Makers Fund and BitKraft Ventures co-led the round and were joined by Delphi Digital, Animoca Brands, Shima Capital, WW Ventures, Spartan Group, and Huobi Ventures. (VentureBeat)

  • Natrion, a New York-based EV battery parts maker, raised $2 million in seed funding. TechNexus Venture Collaborative led the round and was joined by Tamarack Global and Mark Cuban. (Axios)

  • Preql, a NYC-based no-code data transformation startup, raised $7 million in seed funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Felicis Ventures. (TechCrunch)

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. Justworks is accepting applications for grants to organizations supporting underrepresented founders. The program awards five grants of $50,000 each to 501(c)(3) organizations supporting entrepreneurs of early-stage businesses through education, technical assistance, capital, or other resources. Learn more and apply by May 27 here.NYSERDA, in partnership with Onboard and others, is accepting proposals for its Real Time Energy Management (RTEM) Hackathon. The program is awarding more than $50,000 for novel use cases accelerating electrification and decarbonization of New York State commercial and multi-family buildings. Sign up by May 23 and submit your proposal by May 31 here.Newlab, in collaboration with NYCEDC and ConEdison, is seeking applicants for the next cohort of its Resilient Energy Studio. Early-stage hardware and software companies with energy storage concepts will get the opportunity to test their technologies in real-world urban environments. Learn more and apply by June 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.

Any feedback or suggestions of things to add? Get in touch here. Was this digest forwarded to you? Sign up to receive it directly here.