My first two months in NYC #IndexInTheCity

I moved to New York on the 14th August, exactly 2 months ago, which marks a small but mighty start to the 10 years it takes to become “an official New Yorker”. This week, we’ve just gathered our Index teams from London and San Francisco to officially mark the opening of our New York Index office during #NYCTechWeek.

In the spirit of #IndexInTheCity and the number of conversations I’ve had this week about my time here thus far, I’ve shared some of my initial observations on what I’ve experienced since moving, and hope it might help other expats looking to start a new life and scale a business in NYC 💭

• New York City is the ultimate extrovert. It’s a dense place buzzing with a high concentration of people and activities on a relatively small island. I’m constantly meeting new and interesting people, whether that's a founder, fellow investor, or a stranger in the bodega. People in New York will talk to you anywhere. They are also always up for dinner or a night out - it's not uncommon for folks to attend two or three dinners during the same night, and, after only 2 months on the ground, we had more than 400 people attend our launch party...
• The exorbitant energy use doesn’t just apply to humans, but the city itself. Filled with huge gas-guzzling cars, constantly blasted A/C, and even heated sidewalks to avoid having to shovel snow in winter (I had to double check whether this was a real thing, but it turns out it is), the energy consumption required to be the city-that-never-sleeps carries a significant price tag for both the environment and its residents. It is somewhat of a culture shock coming from Europe, where energy conservation is top of mind. Fortunately, I’m not the first to observe this, and organizations like Transalt and the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance have been on the case for years. I’m looking forward to connecting with more #mobility and #urbandevelopment enthusiasts - from the government to startups who are leading the clean energy transition here.
• Situated in the middle of the ten-hour time zone that goes from Tel-Aviv to San Francisco, NYC is a virtual meeting ground for global business. I'm able to catch up on European deal flow in the early morning while dedicating my afternoons and evenings to engaging with the local community, offering a complete view of both the European and American venture markets in a single day – something we’ve never had at Index before.
• Everything is about food, and for good reason. Every New Yorker will take pride in sharing their list of restaurant recommendations with you as soon as you arrive. It’s controversial to say, but the pasta here is better than it is in Italy. Although I’m still not ready to say that the French food is better than in France. My top three spots thus far have been Malaparte, La Mercerie, and Takumi Omakase, but my own list has already grown to an impressive length.
• New York is an athletic city. While I have found the cycling infrastructure to be pretty good, it could still be a lot better (more of my thoughts on my first month cycling in NYC here). That said, sports infrastructure like Chelsea Piers and the ubiquity of New Yorkers’ Lululemon are symbols of a high level of fitness. There are also several incredible playgrounds for children - so much so that it only took my daughter a month to break her arm on their infamous monkey bars...

• The NYC tech scene is buzzing and has something for everyone. It’s a giant city, but with most of its venture activity concentrated in Meatpacking, Soho, and Union Square – reminiscent of the village feel of Paris’ Silicon Sentier. It is home to both some of the biggest Fortune 500 conglomerates and some of the most tight-knit and welcoming local communities. There are financing opportunities at every stage, from small seed and solo GPs to crossover funds and everything in between. There are also founders at every level, from those straight out of college to those on their fourth startup (especially those from the Alleycorp, Etsy and Tumblr days).

Local authorities are pushing hard to attract tech companies to the city - here with Mayor Eric Adams who made the effort to come welcome us personally.

• The international presence here is growing and thriving. More than half of the meetings I’ve taken in the city so far have been with Europeans who either live here or are visiting. Many of Index’s own portfolio companies represent this international demographic, like Olivier Pomel and Alexis L. at Datadog and Assaf Rappaport at Wiz or Felix Van de Maele at Collibra. And helping them succeed is one of the raison d'etre for setting up shop here.

My former colleague and angel investor extraordinaire Alex Gezelius, visiting from London, enjoying the sun by the Hudson River Greenway.

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts as the months and years go on, but I’d love to hear from others who have started and scaled their businesses abroad. What lessons and observations did you have? 

#business #work #community #europe #international #startups #tech #VC #nyctech