But another key differentiator is the breadth of New York’s economy, which few cities can match. “NYC is incredibly economically diversified. I think that the days of just getting your head down and building a tech company in a vacuum…those days are over,” she says. A company being located close to different industries can inspire ideas and provide vital guidance and support during the development phase. Imagine you are creating an app for sustainable apparel—there are over 900 fashion companies5 headquartered in New York, a huge ecosystem to tap into to test ideas or find customers.
No wonder fintech is represented so prominently. With almost 4,000 startups,6 New York is a world leader in the space, and that is directly related to the city’s position as a major global financial center. “You can build a technology anywhere in the country that’s related to fintech or payments. But, when it comes time to figure out who’s paying for that technology, who’s using that technology, how does that technology function in a broader financial ecosystem, who knows how to market it, who knows how to sell it? That’s all happening in New York,” says Samuels.
Paytech is especially prominent, accounting for around 25% of all fintechs in NYC.7 “I feel like the payments industry is just completely booming and that is so interesting,” says Samuels. “The adoption in payments technology has been really rapid over the past few years.” One example was the rollout of contactless payments on the New York transport system, which was completed in under a year during the pandemic, a project on which Tech:NYC consulted. Meanwhile, New York-based startups have been making waves across many areas of payments, from corporate spend management to fraud detection to government entitlement programs.
New York state of mind
One of the attributes that’s really helped tech thrive in New York is the ethos of the city itself. “Tech is a really creative industry in many ways,” says Samuels. “It’s full of young people who like the energy of the city. I think New York really speaks to that culture.” With around one in seven migrating tech workers in the U.S. choosing New York—the highest of any city in the country—this is creating a flywheel effect. Tech companies go where the people they want to hire are, which then creates more opportunities and attracts more people.
And to celebrate the impact of the tech sector on the city, Tech:NYC has launched a new initiative, “Obviously New York.” Tech companies can request a digital Obviously New York badge, which they can add to their webpage, email or social media profile, to help promote the city as the natural home for the best startups and talent.
All this momentum bodes well for the future of New York. “I think that the growth of the tech industry and the growth and success of the broader New York City economy are completely intertwined,” says Samuels. “For New York to continue to be the best city in the world, which I believe it will be, a lot will be powered by the tech sector and the people who work in it.”
