Whatever else 2016 has been, it was a fantastic year for NYC tech. The city's tech industry is thriving and New York City is quickly becoming a legitimate rival to West Coast hegemony. It's an exciting time to be a part of this industry — and who knows where we'll be by this time next year.
Without further ado, here are the stories you got excited for this year.
10. 10 tech transplants explain why people are opting to work in NYC over SF
New York City's population is booming, and today the city boasts its largest population ever — and they're still coming. In fact, there are some odd 147 new New Yorkers every single day, and a lucky few of those are coming to work in tech. We set out to see why these people, who at first would seem a perfect match for sunny, down-to-earth and inexpensive San Francisco, chose to move to the greatest city on Earth.
9. 20 Columbia alumni who founded major New York tech companies
It's no secret that Columbia University produces some world class talent. Barack Obama, Alicia Keys, Kate McKinnon, Warren Buffett, Leonard Cohen, Alexander Hamilton and a ton of other movers and shakers attended the university. As it turns out, many of NYC tech's best and brightest up-and-comers also attended the university.
8. An exclusive first look inside BuzzFeed’s new NYC headquarters
Lots of companies moved into fancy new digs this year, but no single company's new office pulled at New Yorker's heart strings like BuzzFeed's. The viral content publishing powerhouse moved into a massive, brand-spanking-new, 200,000-square-foot-space in Midtown, and they were nice enough to give Built In NYC an exclusive tour of the space. We were nice enough to share.
7. NYC tech's 35 people to watch in 2016
Who was going to be hot in 2016? It's an impossible question to answer, but we took a stab at predicting the future. Looking back at our list, it looks like our crystal ball was functioning properly. Most of the people on this list had remarkable years — at least professionally. As for who you should watch in 2017, stay tuned.
6. The Top 100 Digital Companies in NYC
Who are the biggest tech employers in New York City? We dug. And dug. And dug. And then found out the answer. It turns out that the city's largest 100 digital employers collectively employ a whopping 52,177 people. As for who the individual companies are, you might be surprised who made the list.
5. Snapchat is growing up, heading East and hiring 400 in New York
Snapchat is coming to New York City, and in a big way. The company announced earlier this year that it would be expanding its East Coast office and hiring around 400 people over the next couple of years. For those of you who are still dismissing the service as nothing but a fluke, it's looking increasingly likely that Snapchat is here to stay.
4. The top 50 female founders in NYC
Tech is often seen as an industry dominated by white guys in hoodies, but New York's tech scene has plenty of female CEOs leading the charge. Actually, in a lot of ways, New York is leading the way for women in tech and the number of tech companies founded by females rose an incredible 65 percent from 2002 to 2012. We set out to see who the trailblazers were.
3. Here's what tech employees in NYC really make
There's something voyeuristic about knowing how much your coworkers are pulling in. Of course, it's also just nice to know if you're getting the compensation you deserve. This year's annual salary guide uncovered some interesting data points on who's making what. Regardless of where you fall, it's worth noting that the average household income for residents of New York is around $50,000 a year and the vast majority of people working in tech are beating that by a big margin.
2. Move over Manhattan: 4 of NYC's hottest startups have offices in Brooklyn
We publish a lot of articles about cool tech offices, and our readers seem to love it. But, it turns out that what people are really, really into is tech offices in Brooklyn. The borough is still trailing far behind Manhattan when it comes to the sheer number of tech companies that call it home, but the ones that do live in Brooklyn have some pretty remarkable offices.
1. Top 50 NYC startups to watch in 2016
It'll come as no surprise that our Top 50 Startups to Watch report was wildly popular this year. If you're the one person working in tech in New York who hasn't already read it, it is an annual list of young startups poised to make it big in the next year. As luck should have it, we're finishing up our 2017 list as we speak — and you can expect a fresh list of tech's biggest up-and-comers in January.
It's been a great year, NYC! Thanks for all the excitement and innovation, we can't wait to see what you have in store for us in 2017!
