NYC Startups — The Big Picture
Silicon Valley’s reigning status as the king of startup culture may have a challenger. A number of factors have come together in the last five years to forge a highly supportive startup community right here in New York City. In the wake of pioneers like Foursquare and Kickstarter, ambitious entrepreneurs are shifting their attention eastward to see what the Big Apple has to offer. Meanwhile, a growing pool of talented engineers and developers are flocking to the city, eager to try their hands in burgeoning tech positions. Together with dedicated, VC-backed accelerator programs and incentives sponsored by NYC’s government, these elements constitute a hotbed of creativity that could be the East Coast’s answer to incumbent tech leadership in California.
NYC Startup Statistics
Let’s take a look at some figures from the Center for an Urban Future’s survey of the NYC startup scene:
- By region, NYC posted astonishing growth in VC deals between 2007 and 2011. Compare:
◦ LA/Orange County: -8%
◦ Silicon Valley: -10%
◦ New England: -14%
◦ Texas: -17%
◦ San Diego: -38%
◦ New York: +32%
- While private sector jobs in NYC grew 3.6% between 2007 and 2012, IT jobs grew a whopping 28.7%.
- Since 2007, 486 NYC startups have received angel, VC, or other outside funding. Of these, 82 have received at least $10M in financing.
- Between 2007 and 2010, employee headcount at NYC digital media companies grew 74%.
- The media/information and computer/tech industries nearly doubled their Manhattan footprint from 3.8M sq. ft. to 6M sq. ft. between 2010 and 2011.
With statistics like those, it’s no wonder people are scrambling to get their startup ideas off the ground. Resources are plentiful, and you can’t swing a stick without hitting a success story. Where it will all lead is hard to say—but for now, there has never been a better time for developers and businesspeople to collaborate and prosper.
[Based on Rachel Metz’s article and the Center for an Urban Future’s infographic]
