Having Our New York City Baby During COVID-19
When Colleen got pregnant nine months ago, we had no idea the rollercoaster we would be in for.
IT’S A GIRL!
Siena Rae Siskar was born on Wednesday, April 8th in New York City! You can find all the cute baby photos here and here!
When Colleen got pregnant nine months ago, we had no idea the rollercoaster we would be in for. The week before Siena was born, hospitals were not even allowing birth partners into the building. Luckily, Governor Cuomo signed an executive order to reverse that decision, so no women would have to labor alone. We were both incredibly relieved to know we could be together for the birth of our first child.
As part of the new policy, New York City hospitals began testing all women entering labor and delivery for COVID-19 upon arrival. We arrived at the hospital around 6:00 am. Colleen was tested via a nasal swab and I had my temperature taken. While we waited for the results, she was admitted and the rest of the morning was fairly smooth for both of us.
Then around 1:00pm, Colleen’s COVID test unfortunately came back positive, even though she was asymptomatic. I asked if I could then be tested but due to a nation wide shortage of tests, the hospital is not testing any spouses. Instead per hospital policy, they just assume that because I'm living with their patient, it means I have been exposed. As a result, I was asked to leave the hospital at that time and Colleen would have to deliver on her own. Saying goodbye and leaving was not easy emotionally, to say the least. I left the hospital in lower manhattan and took a lonely walk back home to process what had just happened, over an eerily empty Brooklyn Bridge.
I called our parents to tell them the news. Then I was FaceTimed in for the rest of the day from home. Fortunately, the hospital did allow a replacement partner as part of the Governors Executive order. A person who had not been in contact with Colleen for 14 days. Luckily Colleen’s childhood friend Talitha stepped up in very last minute and was allowed to take my place. It meant the world to both of us that Colleen wouldn’t have to deliver alone!
A few hours later I watched over a Zoom call from my laptop at home as Siena Rae was born just before midnight! We had kept the gender a surprise for the whole pregnancy and we were so excited to find out our baby was a girl!
Looking back on it, I think Colleen and I had very mild cases of COVID-19 in the middle of March. Around that time we both lost our sense of taste and smell and developed a dry cough out of nowhere. We also had a few other friends in New York City who had very mild symptoms as well. However, due to the lack of accessible testing, there was no way to know for sure at the time.
So while Colleen tested positive in the hospital the doctors are confident she was already over it, and that is why she was asymptomatic. Siena was tested for the next 2 weeks by her pediatrician and has stayed negative, which is a massive relief. Per doctors orders, we had been wearing masks at home for those first few weeks to ensure her protection.
So I missed being in person for the birth and it was an incredibly stressful day. But looking back in hindsight, I am just grateful that everyone is home and healthy now. I am confident we did what was right to protect Colleen, the baby, and the amazing hospital workers.
Looking forward there is a lot of research regarding mothers passing on antibodies to babies through breast milk. We might even join a Mt. Sinai research study to help further the research being done in this space. Our doctors hope is that Colleen will pass the antibodies to Siena and she will be protected. 🙏🏻
Presently, happy to report that everyone is healthy and we are so excited to be spending time together at home as a new family!
My wife Colleen has also published her side of the story here, which I obviously recommend reading.
What Happens When Every Accelerator In New York City Comes Together
Without further ado and after months of work, I am happy to announce to you; the New York City Innovation Collective.
Supporting startup founders to help them grow their companies is my biggest passion.
Through my work as Managing Director of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator in New York, I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to do just that for a few years now. Doing this well requires a lot of work and even more help. It would not be possible to support our amazing founders without the remarkable dedication of our team, our tremendous mentors, monthly events, partnerships, supporting sponsors, and so much more. There is an exorbitant amount of effort that goes into making any great startup accelerator tick.
So I, along with a few other NYC Managing Directors got to thinking about how can we bring the same level of support we give to our founders; to help support the Accelerators, Incubators and Innovation programs themselves. If we can help improve them, then perhaps we can make a pretty big dent in helping to grow the entire overall New York City startup ecosystem.
Without further ado and after months of work, I am happy to announce to you; the New York City Innovation Collective! We have officially incorporated a nonprofit to form an alliance of NYC's top technology organizations working together to support and grow our amazing community. The Collective is now comprised of over 80 incredible New York City accelerators, incubators, and platforms of innovation. It is our mission to shape and strengthen the entire startup ecosystem through increased collaboration, transparency and access for everyone involved.
So what happens when all these organizations come together?
For founders and everyone involved it looks like better access to local accelerators, incubators, and innovation programs. It means superior mentors, more connections to investors, stronger curriculums, deeper partnerships, improved events, and more. All of this additional support resulting in stronger companies throughout the local startup ecosystem!
If you want to see for yourself what this looks like then please join us for the NY Annual Startup Ecosystem Summit to be held on Friday April 28th in New York.
I personally could not be more excited for the future of the startup ecosystem in New York City and everything that is happening here! It has been an incredible journey thus far, and on the macro level, we are just getting started. If you would like to get involved with the Innovation Collective in New York City or in another city let me know! I can't wait to hear from you!
A Full Day With A Brand New Boosted Board Version 2
I grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo and started driving as soon as I could. I paid off my first car while bartending in college and grew up being used to having the freedom of, if you just want to go somewhere, you simply get in your car and go there. As of today, I think I might finally have that freedom back!
Central Park, East Side Drive
I grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo and started driving as soon as I could. I paid off my first car while bartending in college and grew up being used to having the freedom of, if you just want to go somewhere, you simply get in your car and go there.
Then I moved to New York City, sold my car, and learned the ropes of public transportation. While I love public transportation and have mastered the ropes; the subway, buses, trains, and taxi's do at times force you to submit to their binds a lot of times. As a result of those limitations I still craved a way to get around New York City just as I used to be able to get around with my car, on my own terms. As of today, I think I might finally have that freedom back!
I just got my brand new Boosted Board Dual + Version 2 and yesterday was my first full day riding it. You may have seen these magical all electric "vehicles" around YouTube as a lot of the content creators have them already. Here are some of my initial thoughts so far.
High Praise 🙌 ! WOW! I am blown away! As a life long skater I can honestly say this is the dream. I started skating in my childhood driveway from before I can remember and more recently I have been longboarding around New York City on a good old fashioned non-motorized longboard for the past 3 years. This new board though, it is no joke.
Boosted Board Power Modes
To give you some quick background the Boosted Board Dual + v2 is an all electric longboard with 2 motors. It can go up to 22 MPH and comes with a 6-7 mile range on average. An optional extended battery can increase the range to 12 miles on a single charge.
The amount of acceleration the board has, is nothing short of impressive. I was immediately blown away by how fast it actually accelerated me. After that I also wasn't sure how the board would handle going uphill. I quickly learned. When I approached my first big steep hill in midtown manhattan, I jumped the boosted board up one mode from Beginner to Eco and it climbed it like a champ. Again, even accelerating while carrying me up the hill. And, if you put the board in PRO mode, you essentially fly.
Now while getting speed and acceleration on traditional longboards is almost always somewhat easy, stopping can be challenging. Stopping a longboard with your foot is a skill that takes some getting used to when you first start riding. But not with Boosted. The brakes are built into the throttle. And even better they are regenerative so when you are braking your are actually putting power back into the battery.
Perhaps most importantly though, one of my favorite things about the Boosted Board is the fact that you are getting around the city above ground. It really is a small electric vehicle. It can become easy in a big city full of public transportation to only orient your understanding of the city around the subway stops you magically pop out of the underground from. With a Boosted Board however, something that can only be described as "experiencing the great outdoors" of New York City's concrete jungle might be my favorite feature. Not only is it at times faster to get somewhere via bike lanes then taking either the subway, bus, or a taxi through traffic, but it is mind freeing. You can't stare at your phone like you would on the train or in the back of a cab, so you are forced to just experience the city around you. Which I love!
The Boosted Board's basic functions have exceeded my expectations and I can't wait for my next ride. I am sure I will learn more about the Boosted Board as I continue to ride it, but my initial impressions are amazing. I truly love that it has the potential to expose me more to this great city I live in and I can't wait to explore more of it with my Boosted Board taking me there.
Live Video + NYC = Geoff Golberg
Yesterday I caught up with Geoff Golberg, NYC's live video expert. If you have been following me for more than a year now you know I love how live video is changing the world. Geoff loves it too.
Yesterday I caught up with Geoff Golberg, NYC's live video expert. If you have been following me for more than a year now you know I love how live video is changing the world. Geoff loves it too. So much so that his work with live video over the last year got him nominated as Periscoper of the Year at the Shorty Awards right alongside other popular Scopers such as Gary Vaynerchuk, Tom Green and more.
So yesterday after some coffee and lunch we hit the streets of New York City armed with our smartphones and some live streaming apps in search of some great content to stream live. After all;
"Content Is King" - Bill Gates
And content is also now fleeting. Both Periscope and Snapchat disappear after 24 hours. So before it is gone, go right now and quickly watch what we were up too around New York City. Here are the links to our profiles on the following social networks:
Geoff's:
Kevin's:
I wanted to share some of the insightful takeaways from hanging our afternoon of live video streaming. First off as mentioned, content is actually king. Unlike other forms of media, with live video streaming the content has to be happening right now for you to film it and broadcast it simultaneously. You can't record it and edit later. Luckily living in NYC means that finding live content is not much of an issue. Second, a strong cell signal and wifi are a must! Before going live, it was important to take a moment and ensure that you had a strong data connection. If you don't then your audience quickly loses interest and leaves your pixilated low quality stream. Without strong data you mine as well go home. Lastly, you need to post a lot! Posting once and awhile is not enough to build an actual audience.
I was impressed to see the community that Geoff had build and how engaged his followers were once he went live on Periscope or he Snapchatted to his story. I can't wait to see how the evolution of live video continues in 2016 or how Geoff further explores it with his audiences.
Moving To New York City
New York City. The Big Apple. The Nexus of the Universe. Whatever you call it, it is one of the most unique places on earth and 8.4 Million people call it home. Many of those people moved here from other places in order to pursue their dream. New York City is the promise land of opportunity in the United States. However, moving to New York City is hard.
New York City. The Big Apple. The Nexus of the Universe. Whatever you call it, it is one of the most unique places on earth and 8.4 Million people call it home. Many of those people moved here from other places in order to pursue their dream. New York City is the promise land of opportunity in the United States. Moving here however is no easy task. Getting a job in New York City without living here makes it next to impossible to get called in for an interview and securing an apartment in the cities crazy real estate market is a whole new world within itself. The city is expensive, the city is unforgiving, and the city is challenging.
While living in Buffalo I knew that I wanted to move to New York City and that I wanted to get involved with startups there. I applied to jobs for months before actually moving to New York City. The call's I got back for an interview were to come into the office in a day or two, but I was still 600 miles away in Buffalo. I needed to be closer if I was going to make any progress. I flew to New York City on a day in July with Colleen to try and get us an apartment, but we quickly learned we couldn't get approved in a nice building without a job. After viewing a dozen apartments with a broker we finally got approved by a building. We were quickly educated that being as this was July, where apartments can come on the market in the morning and be immediately off the market after lunch we had to decide fast if we wanted an apartment or not. We took it; real estate broker fee, deposit and all.
A month later we moved to New York City. After struggling just to get into the city I still had to find a job though. I ran out of money shortly after moving to New York City and ended up having to sell my car, which I had payed off while working bartending jobs during college. That only bought me a few more months of runway though. So I took a bartending job that I was able to get through a friend of a friend in Buffalo who happened to do some business in New York City (See Buffalo really is the "The City of Good Neighbors"). The bartending job was part time and still wasn't enough. Again, I was slightly better off than before but not by much. So I took a second job freelancing and working remotely online in the early mornings, writing for a tech website. I was still applying to potential full time jobs and taking interviews in my spare time. The cycle became that I would work bright an early in the morning, then apply to jobs and interview during the day, and finally bartend at night. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
I remember distinctly getting down to $20 in my bank account at this time while I would be waiting for my next paycheck to come in from either of the jobs. I was very close to having to move back to Buffalo. After months of this I finally got a full time job offer out of one of the interviews. I still remember being out to lunch. Colleen and I had company in town visiting us. We were talking about how life in New York has been treating us so far while eating cheeseburgers and I got a phone call. It was my future boss saying that the company would love to hire me and asked when I could start. It was an entry level job but it was enough that I could break even, pay my full rent, student loans, and live in New York City. Since that day, there have been hardships and challenges of course, but I am here. I live in New York City. Casey Neistat last year told a very similar story of his struggle in moving to New York City. How moving here can eat you alive and strip you of all your resources in the process. That even just getting set up to live in New York City is one of the greatest challenges people face.
He explains at the end of the video how it has all been worth it though. How for him the opportunity has out weighed the tremendous cost of moving to New York City in the first place. I have to agree. The opportunities the city has afforded me since then have been tremendous. I get to experience new products, stores, movies, foods, services, and crazes in New York City long before people in other parts of the country. So many experiences. I am always surrounded by ambitious and motivated people here. I feel privileged and love what I get to do now with startups. It was not easy though. So as you can see there is a reason Sinatra once said if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
Ambition Today: Alex Konrad of Forbes on Harvard, Media, and Startup Venture Capital
Episode 13 comes to you from New York Offices of Forbes as we are joined by Alex Konrad. Alex is a staff writer at Forbes covering venture capital, startups and enterprise tech.
Episode 13 comes to you from New York Offices of Forbes as we are joined by Alex Konrad. Alex is a staff writer at Forbes covering venture capital, startups and enterprise tech.
Aside from our discussion around Kanye West's recent discovery of Twitter we explore Alex's journey to now. Alex grew up in New York City, then went on to write at the Harvard Crimson before working at Fortune. Alex now is a staff writer at Forbes and also works on the Forbes Midas List, ranking the top Venture Capitalists of the past year, and the Forbes 30 Under 30, highlighting up and coming creative and business people. Today we talk about Harvard, the future of media, startups and venture capital. We cover a lot in this episode. including:
Getting into Harvard.
Working for the Harvard Crimson news and editorial board.
Why empathy matters so much in today's world.
How Alex got his start at Fortune working on the Fortune 500.
The relationship between print and digital articles in 2016.
When to go outside your "swim lane".
How to become a real New Yorker?
The advantages of the New York Tech Scene.
Writing the Forbes Midas List and Forbes 30 Under 30.
How large tech companies grow global startup ecosystems.
What global cities are up and coming for startups.
Why are the Venture Capital markets slowing down.
The best way to get media attention for your brand.
Ambition Today Question of the Day:
How important is self marketing?
Links from this episode:
Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS and on Stitcher for Android.
Who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
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Founder Institute New York Graduates FINY10
Wednesday February 24th celebrated the graduation of FI NY 10. The tenth batch of the Founder Institute in New York. The Fall 2015 semester in New York's Silicon Alley ends with nine great companies.
Wednesday February 24th celebrated the graduation of FI NY 10. The tenth batch of the Founder Institute in New York. The Fall 2015 semester in New York's Silicon Alley ends with nine great companies. Of course none of this would be possible with out the incredible lessons, experience, and wisdom brought to the program by our mentors.
Here are the new companies building a better tomorrow:
DealGeeks - Drive foot traffic into your business.
Donate Me - Help vetted students go to the college they deserve.
Home-Cooked Dinner Club - Fastest way to a home-cooked meal.
My Citizen Source - The first U.S. citizenship game.
Paction - Friend to friend marketing platform.
Pocmi - Connecting companies with international talent.
Ready To Go Survival - Personalized emergency survival packages.
Sofos Labs - On-demand one-on-one legal experts.
Stareable - Searchable. Shareable. Stareable.
Spireworks & The Value Of Exclusivity: How An Invite Only App Controls New York’s Skyline
From almost anywhere in New York City you can see the colored antenna's on top of One Bryant Park and Four Times Square. They are a definite part of the New York City skyline and every few moments they change color.
From almost anywhere in New York City you can see the colored antenna's on top of One Bryant Park and Four Times Square. They are a definite part of the New York City skyline and every few moments they change color.
I recently heard a story from a friend of mine who was at a party in New York City. The host of the event he was at pulled his phone out of his pocket and instructed my friend to pick a color on the screen. He pressed purple. The host then instructed him to look up toward the top of an actual skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. The antenna at the top of One Bryant Park had changed to the color purple. There was a moment of disbelief.
The idea that the hosts phone was actually controlling the colors at the top of real world skyscrapers seemed unreal. Could you imagine the ability to carry with you a button in your pocket that could at any moment you see fit, alter the colors of the New York skyline for all to see from New Jersey to the Bronx, to Long Island.
Believe it or not, that app exists and it is called Spireworks. It was made by The Durst Organization who developed and owns several office towers in New York City. The Spireworks app has been in beta and invite only since it's live launch in 2010. All in all only a few hundred people are rumored to have access to the Spireworks app. Now I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that after hearing that story you want a Spireworks invite. I know I did.
While I patiently waited for the day I could bet strangers that the top of a sky scraper is going to change to a specific color and then be right, the real lesson here lies in the value of exclusivity. The Spireworks app is a real world example of that. So is the English Royal family abroad, the Navy Seals here in the United States, and all the Country Clubs I bartended at in order to put myself through college. A lesson that startups should use to their advantage.
The best part is that when you release a new product you can actually create and then apply this value in order to use it to your advantage. You will turn what should be an inherent weakness in your offering, the fact that no one has access to your product yet because they simply do not know about it, into an advantage whereas the new reason no one has access to your product is because they simply haven't been invited yet. This changes the dynamic of the normal relationship people have with products. In the exclusive scenario the responsibility to "get" the product falls on the end customers ability to chase after it via tracking down an invite code.
A few companies have done a great job at this recently. Regardless of the end story, the Google Glass Explorers Program did a tremendously successful job at fostering early adoption even though the price was over $1,500. Beme launched it's new app with user referral unlock codes that created a frenzy to the point where people were selling the unlock codes for cash online. Most recently the new game @getstolen, where can own your friends Twitter profiles, tweets out one unlock code for only 500-1,000 people each day.
🔑🔑🔑they don't WANT u 2 have a #StolenCode, so we gonna GIVE you a code -> "MADLUV" FAN LUV BLESS UP 🔑🔑🔑
— Stolen! (@getstolen) January 10, 2016Creating and leveraging the power of exclusivity can be a powerful tool. Spireworks invite only system is one of the best examples of that. Creating exclusivity gives you the ability to throttle the number of early users while still ironing out your core product. It turns a weakness around awareness into a strength. Also, it can result in increased promotion via word of mouth virality of your product. Lastly it attracts higher quality and more engaged users of your product which will be exponentially more useful to your initial product iterations and refinement.