If you weren’t already skeptical about the factual accuracy of the saying “lightning never strikes the same place twice,” look no further than the Empire State Building. This iconic feature of NYC’s skyline is struck by lightning an average of 25 times each year.
For NYC’s booming tech industry, lightning strikes of the metaphorical kind happen all the time. The city is home to some of the nation’s most pioneering tech companies and leaders. A report released by Tech:NYC and the Association for a Better New York in November 2022 demonstrates the industry’s strength: 369,000 people are employed in tech, and jobs in the sector made up 25 percent of all new jobs in the last decade.
Companies like TPT, formerly known as Teachers Pay Teachers, and Transfix may be providing solutions for entirely different problems. Still, their dissimilarities are only a reflection of the far-ranging possibilities and topics that fall under the tech industry’s umbrella.
Built In NYC highlighted TPT, Transfix and nine other companies. Wherever you stand in NYC, a tech company is likely just a stone’s throw — or lightning strike — away. But these electric companies stand out from the crowd.
What Gemini does: Fintech company Gemini is a licensed digital asset exchange and custodian. Customers use the Gemini platform to buy, sell and store crypto assets in a regulated, secure location.
Remote-first work: Gemini’s team members are onboarded remotely but have the option to work in person at one of the company’s offices. People Operations Associate Desmond Tetrault chatted with Built In NYC recently about how Gemini helps new hires feel connected in a remote environment. Read what Tetrault had to say here.
New frontiers: The world of Web3, decentralized finance and the Metaverse is still fresh and quickly evolving. Built In NYC spoke to Chief Technology Officer Pravjit Tiwana about Gemini’s place in these spaces. “To ensure Gemini continues to be an innovative leader in this space, I’m focused on continuing to build products that are simple, secure, scalable and delight the customer,” said Tiwana.
What monday.com does: Monday.com is a work operating system that businesses use to manage workflows, align team members and boost productivity.
Valuing transparency: At monday.com, leadership’s commitment to transparency creates a significant impact from the top down. Resources like product roadmaps, developer insights on projects and performance-tracking dashboards are readily available to employees, removing hurdles that stand in the way of effective collaboration.
New U.S. headquarters: The Tel Aviv-based company announced in September that it would be opening a U.S. headquarters in 2023. The office at 225 Park Avenue South will span 110,000 square feet across four floors — enough space to accommodate 600 employees comfortably.
What Transfix does: Logistics software company Transfix is a freight marketplace that connects shippers to reliable carriers. Several Fortune 500 companies rely on Transfix for their freight needs.
Employee ERGs: Sr. Marketing Manager of Content and Community Jenni Ruiz understands the challenges that arise when creating an effective ERG, but the result can pay dividends. “A common mistake I’ve witnessed is the misconception that ERGs are more of a luxury or time out for employees who may be looking for a break. That couldn’t be further from the truth. ERGs often serve as the driving force for real change in an organization,” said Ruiz in a 2022 interview with Built In NYC.
Women in tech: In an industry sorely lacking in representation for women, Transfix is determined to upend the status quo. Led by CEO Lily Chen, the company has women in leadership positions across the organization and fosters a culture where women feel secure, valued and championed.
What Hiro Systems does: Hiro provides developers with tools for Stacks, allowing them to build on Bitcoin. The company is a core entity in the Stacks ecosystem.
Championing autonomy: Software engineers at Hiro are encouraged to embrace autonomy and take the lead as they develop new tools. “One important dimension of autonomy for me is the ability to take on an ambiguous project and come back with an analysis of what is wrong — along with potential solutions or even prototypes for potential solutions,” Senior Software Engineer Greg Coppola told Built In NYC in 2022.
An aligned team: Open communication of strategic objectives and roadmaps helps keep Hiro’s cross-functional teams aligned. “Communication is vital throughout this journey and requires translating details at different fidelities for different audiences,” explained Director of Product Sabby Anandan in a 2022 interview with Built In NYC.
What Perry Health does: Healthtech company Perry Health’s remote-first care model is tailored to patients living with diabetes. The Perry Health team comprises nurses, physicians and dieticians, who use the company’s proprietary technology and care program to monitor patients and provide preventative care.
Flexible hybrid work: Perry Health’s team members are given greater autonomy over finding an ideal schedule and workspace thanks to its flexible approach to hybrid work. Employees can visit the co-working space near Union Station if they wish to collaborate in person.
Own work, share ideas: Two of Perry Health’s core values are “Good ideas come from anywhere” and “Own your ideas and your results.” These statements reflect a company culture where individual contributions don’t go unnoticed and every employee’s voice is heard, regardless of their seniority.
What Prove does: As a mobile and digital identity authentication leader, Prove helps companies create effortless customer experiences by instantly authenticating new user accounts.
Scaling successfully: Senior Director of Marketing Yuka Yoneda chatted with Built In NYC in November 2022 about tackling the challenges that come with growing from a few members to over 15. Yoneda was the sole marketing professional when she joined Prove and is excited to mentor her fellow team members. “One of the most exciting aspects of growing our team has been helping other marketers to further their careers and development.”
Extensive benefits: Prove’s benefits and perks are some of the best in the industry, receiving recognition at Comparably’s “best company” awards in 2022. Adoption assistance, 401(K) matching, company equity, charitable contribution matching and a host of health and wellness benefits are a brief sample of everything the company provides employees.
What Swimm does: IT company Swimm helps engineering teams refine their coding knowledge via continuous and auto-synced documentation.
Supporting rapid growth: Swimm, which clients depend on to stabilize their codebase while scaling, has experienced its own rapid growth in the past year. What’s the trick to tackling high-growth periods? “It all comes back to hiring the right people — people you trust, who can overcome obstacles and uncertainty rather than be intimidated by them,” said VP of People Keren Halperin in a 2022 interview with Built In NYC.
Continuous education: Learning is a must to keep up with evolving code languages and practices. Swimm holds bi-weekly “Swimminars,” where a team member dives into a topic and shares their knowledge and research across the company. “Learning and innovation is an integral part of our DNA,” said social channels manager Lauren.
What TPT does: TPT – formerly known as Teachers Pay Teachers – is a digital learning platform that offers educators a custom suite of digital tools and a library of over five million resources.
Rebranded: In December 2022, Teachers Pay Teachers rebranded, launching a new name and logo. Since 2006, the company has evolved and expanded the breadth of its offerings, and its old name no longer captures the wider scope of the tools and resources the edtech company currently offers.
Impactful products: TPT tapped into the online lesson marketplace and made over 300 teachers millionaires, but focusing on major success stories like these overshadow the broader impact TPT has had on educators. TPT allows teachers to share knowledge and create additional income streams while simultaneously connecting them with accessible resources.
What FireHydrant does: Thousands of engineers use FireHydrant’s comprehensive reliability platform to integrate tools and resolve incidents in Slack.
Collaborative teams: FireHydrant’s teams use different async and synchronous ways to work together and improve. Daily async stand-ups in the team of project Slack channels ensure that team members are aligned on their commitments before starting broader conversations or joining huddles. Bi-weekly retrospectives provide an opportunity to reflect, gain feedback and refine collaborative efforts.
Candidate experience: Recruiting Ops Specialist Chika Kasahara shared insights with Built In NYC into FireHydrant’s interview process, which relies on candidate feedback to deliver the best possible experiences. “We value our candidates’ time and energy by responding promptly and checking in even if we don’t have a decision yet. Our candidates can expect to hear back from us at every stage, no matter the outcome.”
What AB Tasty does: Marketing tech company AB Tasty helps companies optimize customer experiences. Users can harness features like experimentation, personalization and product optimization to transform the buyer journey.
Employee feedback: Director of North American Channel and Alliances Brendan Lorentz has found that employee feedback has guided important decisions at AB Tasty. “I don’t know how, but every time a decision has to be made and people don’t feel the same way about it, AB Tasty ends up finding a solution that makes everyone happy,” said Lorentz while chatting with Built In NYC in 2022.
An exciting acquisition: AB Tasty acquired EPOQ, an AI-driven recommendation and smart search solution, in October 2022. The acquisition accelerates both companies’ shared vision of empowering digital teams to deliver relevant and engaging shopping experiences along the consumer journey with a best-in-class experience optimization platform.
What Pulse Analytics does: Pulse Analytics is a data and analytics-driven healthtech company that builds business intelligence for oncologists and medical professionals in other specialties. The company helps healthcare leaders reduce access barriers and restrictions.
Work-life balance: As a small company tackling big challenges, one might expect long hours and little recognition. But Data Engineer Sean Lawrence said his time at Pulse had bucked expectations. “What most surprised me was the emphasis on work-life balance. We even have a culture of lower-key workdays on Friday, provided your work is done,” said Lawrence in a 2022 interview with Built In NYC.
Experiment and innovate: Pulse’s supportive culture and specialized programs like hack days have allowed Front-End Engineer Anh Vuong and her team to try new things and uncover solutions. “Hack days provide a great opportunity for the engineering team to creatively explore new ideas and then share them with the rest of the company,” said Vuong.
