This document provides an introduction to the NYC startup community, including notable startups, common roles, ways to get involved, blogs to read, newsletters, organizations, and coworking spaces. It aims to help those interested learn more about the ecosystem and how to participate. Key aspects include the variety of startups and technologies, opportunities to attend events, learn skills, make connections, and get firsthand experience through activities like hackathons.

1. IN T R O D U C T IO N
TO TH E N YC
S TA R TU P
C O M of ContentN I T Y
M U Strategy
Anna C. Lindow
Director
General Assembly

2. N YC
S TA R TU P S :
TE C H + [ ]

3. N O TA B L E N YC
S •Bit.lyA
•Art.sy R T U P S •MakerBot
T •Meetup
•Blip.tv •OKCupid
•Chartbeat •SeatGeek
•Codecademy •SecondMarket
•Etsy •Shelby.tv
•Foursquare •Tumblr
•Gilt Groupe •Turntable.fm
•GroupMe •Warby Parker
•Kickstarter •Yipit
•Lot18 •ZocDoc

4. W H A T D E F IN E S A N
E C O S YS T E M ?
•Startups
•Investors
•Talent
•Mentors
•Partners
•Service Providers

5. C OMMON
M IS C O N C E P T IO N S
•NDAs / “people will steal my idea”
•“Just need a coder to build my product”
•Write a business plan —> get funding
•The loudest people are the smartest
•Too hard to get “in” or catch up
•Silicon Valley is all that matters
•Entrepreneurship is too risky of a career path
•Founding a company is the best way to get involved
•Only developers can get good jobs at startups

6. C OMMON
•Front-End Developer (CSS, HTML)
ROLES
•Back-End Developer (Ruby, Python, Java)
•UX/UI Designer (inDesign, Photoshop)
•Product Manager (Light frontend dev, design)
•Business Development (Sales, Partnerships)
•Marketing/User Acquisition (Email marketing, social
media, SEO, data analytics)
•Data Scientist (Hadoop, Matlab, SQL)
•Sales (willingness to find and follow leads)
•Community Management (Social Media)
•Operations (Customer service, Office management)
•Other roles depending on vertical (education?
fashion?)

7. DO:
•Learn the lexicon and how to best position your skillset
•Think long and hard about what kinds of environments
best suit you and seek out those
•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 ; - )

8. D O N ’ 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
•Get discouraged

9. HOW DO I GET
S TA R TE D ?
AS K
YO U R S E L F :
•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. WA YS T O G E T
IN V O L V E D
•Sign up for events newsletters
•Attend meetups, happy hours, panels, and classes
•Learn how to code / design
•Go to hackthons and Startup Weekends
•Take interesting people you meet out for coffee
•Be useful – make introductions, give feedback,
help people you meet, keep an open mind
•Blog about your experiences and adventures
•Engage on social media

11. TH A N K
YO U
Questions?
Anna C Lindow
@annalindow
@GA
anna@generalassemb.ly

12. A P P E N D IX : B L O G S
TO R E A D
•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

13. A P P E N D IX :
N E WS L E TTE R S

14. A P P E N D IX : N O TA B L E
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. A P P E N D IX :
C O W O R K IN G
S PAC ES
•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. A P P E N D IX :
A C C E L E R ATO R S