Welcome to New York! This tech scene is unlike any in the world and with a variety of events daily, it’s not difficult to find equal opportunity networkers like yourself. Or even friends!
If you’ve tried and failed on the monolithic platform that is meetup.com, you are not alone. Many have come before you.
This article contains a few lovely communitites and newsletters to keep you in the NYC loop.
Step 1: Finding the events
Newsletter #1 Gary’s Guide
Gary sends out this newsletter every Monday at 8am.
It’s a mashup of VC pitches, engineering gigs, only-in-NYC exhibitions (#tourist), and worldwide tech news. Below is a screenshot of the web version (newsletter is optimized for mobile). Great newsletter to get started with.
Gary features 5+ events per night, so set an “easy” goal and do 1 this week. Just help out 3 people in that event — you’ll be golden and on your way to making friends and setting coffee dates.
Newsletter #2 This is Going to Be Big
Charlie sends this out at ~8am Monday too.
Side note: Immersion in NYC is understanding that meetings start early here. 10am is fine for a content employee. But you are a hustler! My NYC crew average is 1 full time job, 2 side gigs, and 1 monthly sock box club they’re starting up. This is the city of never ending gigs.
Charlie’s newsletter is awesome and geared more towards funding. But he throws a mean monthly dev/design event at StackUp. The #newtovc series he runs is a special treat. Props to Brooklyn’s uniqueness and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures’ team for encouraging their community this way.
Step 2: Awesome communities
Community #1 Women Who Code NYC
Heard of Women Who Code? You should — they’re a global non-profit and dedicated to advancing women in technology careers. That’s right, not just helping the pipeline but pushing upward into female leadership enacting lasting change.
Looking for the most supportive group of women techies to talk tech and hack with!? Look no further. Sign up fast— events sell out early.
Community #2 NY Javascript
2nd most supportive group in NYC is NY Javascript.
Having personally worked for this amazing woman who happens to be one of the organizers, I can certify how helpful this group is for leveling up Javascript knowledge and finding debugging help/general support from midlevel engineers.
Community #3 Founders Friday
Every Friday at 830am, in some downtown restaurant, early stage founders of NYC meet to talk frustrations, responsibility, and learnings.
They will email the featured founder and their bio the day before, so get on the email list. If you’re looking for a cathartic Church for founders, this is it.
Community #4 BrooklynJS
Every month, Javascript enthusiasts meet in the 2nd level of a bar for ambiance, craft beer, and some wicked projects made with Javascript.
The team throws a great event, and I highly recommend this as a brain food for a monthly networking event.
Step 3: Lost?
Looking for advice on transitioning from engineering to product or building a community— hit me up at @MusingMurmurs.
Looking for a midlevel/senior engineering job? Hit up my past employment at @ClutchTalent. They can speak to many topics including engineering hiring in NYC, being thoughtful in your tech career, and how to ask for more $$$ and responsibility! Yiyi will do a FREE resume review and Chris will entertain with HBO’s GoT anecdotes.
