New York is bursting with start-ups, and in no small part thanks to some public and private organizations doing their part to make sure the Big Apple retains its global stature in the increasingly important and industry disrupting trends shifting the sands of economic clout in our changing global economy.
New York has long been seen as the place of America’s established businesses and big players. California and San Francisco have held the appeal of being the perpetually young, creative, and futuristic mecca so perfectly suited to start-ups. But that changed some years ago and neither image is as apt as it once was. Start-ups are no longer confined to Silicon Valley, in fact, start-ups in New York employ just as many people today as the valley. The city’s reputation as the center for the world’s most powerful banks and corporations is being chipped away by the same frenetic burst of new companies usually associated with San Francisco.
Many factors have helped to make New York America’s, and the world’s second largest start-up capital. The copious amounts of investor cash had something to do with it, as did the efforts by the city’s universities to turn graduate concepts into launched companies. The city’s famous diversity and mix of minds played its part as well. Now that the tipping point has been reached, home-grown, national, and international entrepreneurs are flocking to set up their companies in the city, but that doesn’t make creating a start-up any less hazardous than it has always been.
Start-ups can fall prey to any number of issues. Lack of adequate planning for scaling the business or total neglect for unconsidered aspects like marketing strategy can kill off what succeeds with what fails in competition with others. Legal missteps and failure to incorporate in the correct way can destroy all you’ve built without a judge’s mercy. Among many other problems that can kill a start-up is lack of financial planning or resource allocation that eats up painfully small budgets, loans, and seed money vital to growing your idea into something profitable.
Many organizations and programs in New York are designed and offered to help your start-up avoid these pitfalls. The city and its business community recognize that, in order to compete nationally and internationally, a supportive environment of quality organizations are a necessary part of the city’s growth. Here are six of some of the most prominent assistance sources, many others are available upon research.
TiE is a non-profit organization helping start-ups in New York with mentoring, networking, education, incubation, and funding. The organization has different programs to develop entrepreneurs into seasoned business managers. The incubation programs linked to TiE offer mentorship on procuring office space, legal counsel, and occasionally seed money.
New York Startup Lab helps early stage companies launch tech startups. The company helps test and develop technology concepts before developing branding and marketing strategies, and also offers possible connections to investors.
Startup NY is a program by the State of New York to help start-ups begin or move their business into a 10-year tax free zone in the state. The program requires you to partner with a major college or university and create jobs in the state to develop the local community in the tax free area.
SBDC New York is dedicated to helping open small businesses in the city. The organization offers information and assistance on business plan development, marketing, accounting, finance, legal registration, market opportunities and more. This is offered through direct consultation for free.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation sources information, competitions, and training events for companies in all stages of early business development. The site also gives information about city financial incentives and strategic investments as well as on incubator and New York workspaces open to start-ups.
Digital NYC serves as a portal for tech startups in the city to upload jobs, find workplaces, discover events and features news and courses relevant to tech startups. The site also serves as a database for tech companies and currently holds more than 6,400 in its roster along with more than 150 investors, and 650 events.
