This document provides an introduction to the New York startup community. It discusses notable NYC startups, what defines a startup ecosystem, common misconceptions about entrepreneurship, common roles at startups, and first steps for getting involved including attending events, building skills, and finding a job or starting a company. Recommendations are made for blogs, newsletters, organizations, coworking spaces, and accelerators.

1. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY 1
INTRODUCTION TO
THE NEW YORK
STARTUP
COMMUNITY
Kevin Shiiba
Digital Product Manager
General Assembly

2. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY 2
NYC STARTUPS
TECH + [ ]

3. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I WHO THEY ARE 3
NOTABLE NYC STARTUPS
Art.sy Gilt Group SecondMarket
Bit.ly GroupMe Shelby.tv
Blip.tv Kickstarter Tumblr
Chartbeat Lot18 Warby Parker
Codeacademy MakerBot Yipit
Etsy OKCupid ZocDoc
Foursquare SeatGeek

4. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I HOW IT IS DEFINED 4
WHAT DEFINES AN ECOSYSTEM?
• Startups
• Investors
• Talent
• Mentors
• Partners
• Service Providers

5. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I WHAT YOU THINK 5
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
FOUNDiNG A
COMPANY iS THE ENTREPRENEURSHiP
BEST WAY TO GET iS TOO RiSKY OF
ONlY
iNVOlVED. TOO HARD TO A CAREER PATH.
GET “iN” OR DEVElOPERS
CAN GET A
GOOD JOB AT
STARTUPS.
SiliCON VAllY iS All NDAs
THAT MATTERS! “PEOPlE JUST NEED
A CODER TO
BUilD MY
Will STEAl
THE lOUDEST
PEOPlE
ARE THE
MY iDEA” WRiTE A BUSiNESS
SMARTEST! PlAN = GET FUNDiNG

6. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I WHAT YOU COULD DO 6
COMMON ROLES
• Front-End Developer • Business Development • Sales (Willingness to
(CSS,HTML) (Sales, Partnerships) find and follow leads)
• Back-End Developer • Marketing/User • Community
(Ruby, Python, Java) Acquisition (Email Management (Social
• UX/UI Designer Marketing, Social Media)
(inDesign, Photoshop) Media, SEO, Data • Operations (Customer
• Product Manager (Light Analytics) Services, Office
Front-End Developer, • Data Scientist (Hadoop, Management)
Design) Matlab, SQL) • Other roles depending
on vertical education

7. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I WHAT YOU SHOULD DO 7
DO.
• Learn the lexicon and how to best position your skills
• Think long and hard about what kinds of environments
best suit you
• Roll up your sleeves and learn new skills
• Remain humble and figure out ways to give back to the
community even when you’re a giant success
• Don’t be afraid to meet new folks and be open-minded

8. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO 8
DON’T.
• Think everyone knows something you don’t
• Be afraid to ask for help, guidance, and
introductions
• Hesitate to offer whatever it is that YOU do best
• Miss out on hackathons, panels, and demo days
• Get discouraged

9. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I FIRST STEPS 9
HOW DO I GET STARTED? ASK YOURSELF:
• What am I passionate about?
• What types of environments suit me?
• What am I good at?
• What part of the tech community best matches up to
my passions and skills?
• How do I best hone these skills and communicate
them to others?

10. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I FURTHER STEPS 10
THE BEST WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Do I want to start my own business now?
• Find co-founders at meetups, classes, panel events
• Build thought leadership through social media, blogging
Do I need an idea?
• Startup Weekends, Hackathons, Meetups
Do I want to find a job?
• Courses in web development, design, marketing
• Attend startup-focused career fairs (at least 4-5 per year in NYC)
Do I just want to find out more?
• Newsletters, blogs, social media
• Meet people and ask them to coffee!

11. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I APPENDIX 11
BLOGS TO READ
Chris Dixon — http://cdixon.org
Fred Wilson (A VC) — http://avc.com
BetaBeat — http://betabeat.com
SAI — http://businessinsider.com/sai
Paul Graham’s Essays — http://paulgraham.com
Hacker News — http://news.ycombinator.com
TechCrunch — http://techcrunch.com
General Assembly — http://generalassemb.ly/blog

12. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I APPENDIX 12
NEWSLETTERS
Startup Digest — http://startupdigest.com
Charlie O’Donnell — http://
thingsgoingtobebig.com
Gary’s Guide — http://garysguide.com
General Assembly — http://generalassemb.ly

13. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY 13
THANK YOU.
Questions?
Kevin Shiiba
@kevinshiiba
@GA

14. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I APPENDIX 14
NOTABLE ORGS
New York Tech Meetup — http://nytm.org
Hack NY — http://hackny.org
Techies Give Back — http://techiesgiveback.org
NY Hacker / Hacker Union — http://nyhacker.org
We Are NY Tech — http://wearenytech.com
Internet Week — http://internetweekny.com
Social Media Week — http://socialmediaweek.org
NYC EDC — http://nycedc.com
NYC Digital — http://nyc.gov/digital

15. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I APPENDIX 15
COWORKING SPACES
WeWork Labs— http://wework.com
New Work City — http://nwc.co
3rd Ward— http://3rdward.com
Grind — http://grindspaces.com
The Yard — http://workattheyard.com
Hive @ 55 — http://hiveat55.com
Projective Space — http://projective.co
Green Desk — http://green-desk.com
Dogpatch Labs— http://dogpatchlabs.com

16. GENERAL ASSEMBLY I INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW YORK STARTUP COMMUNITY I APPENDIX 16
ACCELERATORS
TechStars — http://techstars.com
DreamIt Ventures — http://dreamitventures.com
ER Accelerator — http://eraccelerator.com
NYC Seed — http://www.nycseed.com