Yesterday, Fred Wilson, the co-founder of
, and Tim Armstrong, the CEO of , announced the launch of Tech:NYC, a member-based organization that wants New York to become the best place in the world to start and grow a tech company. The lobbyist group will advocate for a friendlier regulatory environment for tech companies, and as such, has already attracted high-profile companies and leaders into its ranks.
Here’s what you need to know about Tech:NYC:
What Tech:NYC will do
The nonprofit aims to support the growth of the technology sector in New York City, to increase civic engagement by leaders of the local tech community and advocate for policies that will attract tech talent, jobs, and opportunities to New York.
It will advocate for policies underscoring a regulatory environment supportive of the tech industry's growth in NYC, promote inclusivity and ensure access to connectivity for all New Yorkers.
The leaders behind Tech:NYC
Tech:NYC was founded by Wilson and Armstrong.
“We feel that the NYC tech community deserves a more formal and representative organization to represent itself before local and state governments and the business community and civic sector,” wrote Wilson and Armstrong in a blog post. “The way other industries have addressed this issue is to create an industry advocacy organization. We feel that it is time for the tech sector in NYC to do the same.”
The organization’s board members include Tim Armstrong, Shana Fisher, William Floyd, Desiree Gruber, Rachel Haot, Dan Huttenlocher, Brian O’Kelley, Michelle Peluso, Serkan Piantino, Kevin Ryan, Julie Samuels, Reshma Saujani, Kevin Sheekey, Ragy Thomas, Fred Wilson and Carly Zakin.
Julie Samuels will serve as the organization’s Executive Director.
“I’m most excited to dig into these really important policy issues that we’re facing in New York right now,” Samuels told Built In NYC. “The reason I’m so excited about that is that I truly believe in the power of technology to change the world. I believe in the free flow of information and I believe that we are creating tools that are going to make people’s lives betters here in New York City and all across the world. It’s incredibly important that we build a landscape where people can build those tools right here in New York and create jobs right here in New York.”
Companies that have already jumped on board
Tech:NYC’s current member companies include: Airbnb, Ebay, AppNexus, Bitly, Civic Hall, Common, Coursehorse, Emissary, Etsy, Foursquare, General Assembly, 1776, Justworks,1776, Gunderson Dettmer, Hangar, IA Ventures, Infor, Livestream, Medium, Shapeways, Meetup, Metaprop NYC, NY Tech Meetup, Simon, Smigin, Tradeit, Snapchat, Starry, TheSkimm, Thrive Capital, Uber, Via, Warby Parker and ZocDoc.
What’s in store for the upcoming months?
The organization plans to concentrate on issues surrounding privacy and data security, weighing in on the future of work and what it looks like, and working to ensure that New York is building the right talent by creating access to computer science for all New Yorkers. Tech:NYC also plans to increase access to high speed Internet in the city and make sure that small companies have access to government contacts.
How you can become a member
Tech:NYC is open to all NYC tech companies that want to join. It is also open to organizations that are not tech companies per se, but are sympathetic to the issues that tech companies face and want to support tech companies on a local level. If a startup has under 20 employees, it can join for free.
From there, pricing varies depending on company size. It costs $20,000 for venture firms to obtain an annual membership, which includes membership for portfolio companies with up to 100 employees. For individual investors or angel investors, it costs $2,500 annually.
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