Cast Your Vote for New York City’s Next Top Maker!
If you can make it in NYC…
Voting has opened for New York’s Next Top Makers, a competition to promote innovation in New York City. Vote for your favorite innovator for a spot among five other finalists. The finalists will receive assistance on the path to commercialization for their design, including studio space, business support and mentorship from industry experts.
Cast your vote before March 27!
“Rapid prototyping and 3-D printing have the potential to transform manufacturing in New York City. The winners of this competition will receive helpful resources to launch new and innovative products, and will receive access to critical mentorship opportunities, aiding them in their expansion plans.”
- NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky
What makes the Big Apple the best city in the world to do business? Watch 11 “I Made It Here” NYC stories: nycedc.com/makeithere
Introducing Ask the EAL, a new startup advice column by Steve Rosenbaum, NYCEDC’s Entrepreneur at Large (center):
Dear Steve,
How can we do a better job of getting noticed in the tech industry?
- The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower
Read Steve’s response to this question and more.
Need advice on starting or growing your tech company? Ask him here or join his Google Hangout this Friday at noon for virtual office hours.
Congratulations to Limor Fried, founder of Adafruit Industries, for being named Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur of 2012!
Limor, aka “Lady Ada,” is an MIT-trained engineer who in 2005 founded Adafruit Industries, an electronics kit company that focuses on bringing electronics building to the masses through their open-source tutorials and kits. Adafruit is based in Manhattan where their 35 employees develop, assemble and ship their products. She’s a thought leader for the “maker movement” and has been featured on the cover of Wired.
Adafruit has agreed to be a mentor for a team in NYCEDC competition New York’s Next Top Makers and Limor is on the Industrial Business Advisory Council, another one of the City’s 22 initiatives to bolster the industrial sector. Find out more at NYCEDC.com/industrial.
NYCEDC Entrepreneur at Large Steve Rosenbaum recaps his first Virtual Office Hours via Google Hangout in his weekly Huffington Post column, New York Tech Rising:
This week, NYCEDC had an ‘eat our own dog food’ moment. We decided to have a ‘virtual’ office hours event for the Entrepreneur at Large community. We learned a lot, both about the tech and the city — and most importantly we learned that we’ll do it again.
What questions do you have for our Entrepreneur at Large?
Google Hangout with Steve Rosenbaum, NYCEDC Entrepreneur at Large
This Friday, December 7th from 12 - 1 PM, I’ll break some new ground and hold the first of what promises to be regular Office Hours. But since we’re all about tech, I’m going to do it online—Virtual Office Hours—using Google Hangouts. Register here.
We can talk about Fundraising, Business Plans, Pitching and Equity. We can dig into what New York City is doing for Startups, and what you think needs to be done to make the city an even better place to build a tech company. Marketing, Release, Broadband access. You name it—we’ll talk about it. And along the way I can share my experiences and challenges in building winning companies in NYC.
It will be an open forum, with lots of back and forth. So come armed with your own questions, ideas, and a New York love of speaking your mind.
And for all you traditionalists, stay tuned for future in-person office hours, too!
Last year’s NYC Next Idea winner Brian Shimmerlik explains how the global business plan competition helped launch TaxiTreats, his startup business to bring vending machines to taxi cabs.
Do you have a great startup idea? NYC Next Idea brings the best business ideas from all around the globe to NYC for a chance to pitch to seasoned investors and win $35,000 to get their business off the ground in the City. The deadline to enter the competition is this coming Monday, November 12. Learn more and apply now.
What Martha Stewart has to say about it:
The @nycnextidea competition - great opp for aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their businesses in NYC. Apply by 11/12: bit.ly/yL4dK7
— Martha Stewart (@MarthaStewart) November 6, 2012
Done! These babies are ready for the pantry for the year ahead! #NYC #Local #Healthy #Food (Taken with Instagram)
Source: spicy-n-sweet
Top cities for technology start-ups
Some household names in technology start-ups, such as Tumblr and Foursquare, call New York City home. The City made USA Today’s Top 10 list of cities for technology startups for the availability of capital and City support of local entrepreneurs.
“We see a lot of companies start in New York with a real instinct for design.”
- Matt Murphy, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture firm in San Francisco.
Mayor Bloomberg announced a $22 million fund for local tech start-ups amid other initiatives in the City that support entrepreneurs such as affordable work spaces, educational opportunities, and a number of programs aimed at connecting start-ups with industry mentors and business services.
Sources: National Venture Capital Association, Angel List
Watch how Mondial Automotive made it here in New York City.
Here’s a real City immigrant entrepreneur success story: Showky Kaldawy Sr. came here from Lebanon with $21 in his pocket. He started an auto-repair business in Queens, which his son, Showky Kaldawy Jr., took over as president. When they needed to expand, they got help from NYCEDC and NYCIDA, stayed in Queens and grew their business.
