Tech:NYC Digest: November 5

Tech:NYC Digest: November 5

November 05, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Friday, November 5, 2021

In today’s digest, city releases guidance and FAQ for child vax, city service disruptions were largely a false alarm, and unraveling the myth of unlimited time off.

  • ⏰ Reminder: Daylight saving time ends on Sunday. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back (and take advantage of that extra hour to sleep in)!

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Today’s latest: 

  • New York today released its own set of guidance as vaccinations begin for children aged five to 11. You can find the full list of resources and FAQs here.

  • Pfizer announced its pill to treat COVID-19 had been found to be highly effective at preventing severe illness among at-risk people, cutting the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent when given within three days after the start of COVID-19 symptoms. (CNN)

    • The pill is the second to demonstrate efficacy against COVID after a similar treatment from Merck, which is currently awaiting federal authorization. 

  • A week into the city vax mandate, and amid concerns of emergency service disruption, Mayor de Blasio today announced that all fire department units are currently active, with vaccination rates up to 80 percent among firefighters and 90 percent among EMS. (NY1) But while response times remain unchanged, the number of responding personnel has dipped due to stretched staffing resources. (Gothamist)

  • After being canceled last year, the New York City Marathon will return this Sunday. About 30,000 runners have signed up to run the 26.2 mile course that winds through all five boroughs. (New York Times)

  • Also returning this weekend: The Rink at Rockefeller Center! You can purchase timed tickets to skate beginning Saturday here. (TimeOut New York)

In other reading:

Unlimited paid time off sounds like a dream come true, and it’s since spread from its inception in Silicon Valley’s startup scene to other industries.

  • Job postings listing “unlimited vacation” as a benefit increased 178 percent between 2015 and 2019.

But there’s one problem: People aren't using it — or much vacation time at all. (Protocol)

  • Without more specific parameters, employees are unsure how many days is “too many,” and norms can differ across managers and teams.

  • And this is on top of sick days, which have also all but disappeared in the world of remote work.

The solution: Make PTO mandatory. Here are some creative ways startups are going beyond “encouraging” time off and, in the process, helping their employees avoid burnout:

  • Lessonly set up a minimum number of vacation days, recommending employees take at least 20 days per year. It’s also trying quarterly campaigns, like “Take 5 by 12/5,” which started in October and asked employees to find five days off by Dec. 5.

  • HOVER set a minimum of three weeks, where one of those weeks has to be a full consecutive week off.

  • Evernote gives all employees a $1,000 bonus each year if they take five consecutive days off.

  • HubSpot implemented “Global Week of Rest,” a company-wide week off during the week of July 4 to help alleviate the pressure to check emails or Slack during PTO.

  • Dropbox has a “unplugged PTO” policy that allows employees to pause access to their work accounts via mobile during time off.

If none of that works, your company can always do what Fivetran and Facet did — ditch unlimited PTO altogether. Stick with a traditional vacation policy, just make it more generous.

In other reading:

  • Frequently Asked Questions About the Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandate (New York Times)

  • Forget skyscrapers: nature inspires next generation of New York offices (Financial Times)

  • How to make meetings and information equitable in a hybrid workplace (Quartz)

  • AKUA, a New York-based kelp burger startup, raised $3.2 million in seed funding. Vibrant Ventures led the round and was joined by Pegasus Sustainable Finance, Halogen Ventures, Fifth Down Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Karmagawa, and other individual investors. (TechCrunch)

  • Contra, a New York-based platform for independent workers, raised $30 million in Series B funding. NEA led the round and was joined by Unusual Ventures and Cowboy Ventures. (TechCrunch) 

  • Permutive, a New York and London-based collaboration and viewing platform for publishers and advertisers, raised $75 million in Series C funding. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by EQT Ventures, Octopus Ventures, and ACE & Company. (FinSMEs)

  • November 8: In-person and virtual: TechDay Founders Summit, with The Fund general partner Jenny Fielding, Eniac Ventures co-founder Nihal Mehta, The Muse founder and CEO Kathryn Minshew, and others. Use code TECHNYC100 to receive a free in-person or virtual ticket while supplies last. Register here. 

  • November 9: Virtual: SVB Fundraising Workshop, with Human Ventures CEO and general partner Heather Hartnett. Hosted by Silicon Valley Bank. Register here.

  • November 10: In-person: 2021 Open Source Strategy Forum, with FDIC chief innovation officer Sultan Meghji, Goldman Sachs co-head of technology John Madsen, and others. Hosted by FINOS and the Linux Foundation. Register for early bird pricing using the code OSSF21NYEARLY here.

  • November 16: Virtual: The Electrified Future, with Verizon senior vice president Elise Neel, Fermata Energy co-founder John Wheeler, and others. Hosted by Newlab. Register here.

  • November 18: Virtual: The Hunt for Talent Post-COVID, with Schmidt Futures head of talent Tony Woods, Eden Health chief people officer Chloe Drew, and The RealReal chief people officer Zaina Orbai. Hosted by Savills. Register here.

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