Tech:NYC Digest: November 29

Tech:NYC Digest: November 29

November 29, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

In today’s digest, closing out Giving Tuesday, the winter season utility spikes you’ll pay for, and a founder’s guide to early startup fundraising in 2023.

Was this digest forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

  • Mayor Eric Adams announced a major effort to remove people with severe, untreated mental illness from streets and subways and transport them to hospitals. An 11-point series of other reforms in state law were proposed on how to govern the care of mentially ill New Yorkers. (New York Times)

  • New Yorkers are expected to see electric bills increase by more than 30% this winter compared to last year in wake of inflation, ongoing supply issues, and other geopolitical factors keeping the cost of natural gas and electricity elevated. (State of Politics)

  • NYC opened the country’s first three long COVID care centers, with centers located in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. However, some health officials fear not enough people are taking advantage of the care resources available to them. (Gothamist)

  • And lastly, today is Giving Tuesday! If you haven’t already identified your favorite organizations to give to, here’s 10 NYC-based suggestions we agree are doing important work.

In other reading:

We’ve all seen the headlines: VCs are slowing their check-writing pace as the year comes to an end. (Although, for seed-stage companies in NYC so far, that hasn’t proven exactly true).

But investors and founders alike are preparing for 2023 to be even trickier, especially for the pre-seed and seed-stage startups that have been less affected by overall funding slowdowns to date. (Fortune)

  • Maëlle Gavet, the NYC-based CEO of Techstars, warned the “ups and downs of the economy” won’t exclude tech, and James Currier, founding partner of the early-stage VC firm NFX said “it’s back to basics” for VCs and founders alike navigating uncertainty.

Here are some dos recommended by experts as the sector heads into 2023:

  • Have a “stronger, crispier” pitch for prospective investors. Gavet says founders should wield their boards and broader networks because “you’re going to have more reference checks being done by VCs; you’re going to have more follow-on rounds from existing investors rather than new investors.”

  • Make sure your startups can stretch for longer periods of time without a new raise. Revenue benchmarks are going to be heightened in this environment.

  • Prove you have and can recruit “the best of the best.” It all comes back to talent.

And a couple of don’ts:

  • Don’t take on debt as a young startup.

  • Don’t jump at funding with hyper-preferential rights that risks the company landing close to zero.

In other reading:

  • What are all those "chief metaverse officers" actually doing? (Axios)

  • The great jobs mismatch? Remote jobs are in demand, but positions are drying up (Washington Post)

  • These 7 New York VCs take their personal style very seriously (Insider)

  • Pinata, a NYC-based maker of software for frontline workers, raised $10 million in Series A funding. M13 and Bullpen Capital co-led the round and were joined by a group of insiders. (Businesswire)

  • Saltbox, a NYC-based coworking and warehouse space startup, raised $35 million in Series B funding. Cox Enterprises and Pendulum Holdings co-led the round. (TechCrunch)

  • The Lanby, a NYC-based concierge primary care startup, raised $2.7 million in seed funding. Female Founders Fund led the round and was joined by Launch, Goodwater Capital, and Magic Fund. (Wall Street Journal)

  • November 30: Virtual: Info session for NYCEDC’s Founder Fellowship, a program to support 100 diverse tech startups, with Chloe Capital, Company Ventures, Newlab, Tech Incubator at Queens College, and Visible Hands. Register here.

  • November 30: In-person: Building a DTC Startup: Opportunities and Challenges in 2023, with Blueland COO John Mascari, Little Spoon president Lisa Barnett, and Public Goods CEO Morgan Hirsch. Hosted by Stacklist and Union Square Ventures. Register here. 

  • December 1: Virtual: The Future of Food, with Gro Intelligence founder and CEO Sara Menker, Apeel Sciences founder and CEO James Rogers, and others. Hosted by Axios. Register here.

  • December 5: In-person: NY Product Meetup, featuring a fireside chat with the first product manager at Figma, Badrul Farooqi. Hosted by Bond Collective and Productboard. Register here.

  • December 8: In-person: Government Modernization Summit 2022, with NYC chief efficiency officer Melanie La Rocca, Port Authority of NY & NJ executive director Rick Cotton, CityBridge CEO Nick Colvin, and more. Hosted by City & State. Register 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.