Nine Reasons You'll ♥ NY Tech

Among the several locations where technology startups are strongest--New York City has become an ever present point for innovation and entrepreneur inspiration. From Foursquare to Tumblr, the tech startup scene in New York is booming.

Stats: There are currently 24,255 members, have been 648 presenters and 92 meetups.

Like Chicago, the tech community is benefited greatly by networking events and conferences to bring them together to share best practices, experiences and contacts. During the several times I attended NY Tech meetups, I met dozens of hard-working folks who had great ideas. If you're visiting or moving to New York City, I highly recommend attending their events.

According to their site, a brief overview of NY Tech:

"Founded in 2004 by Meetup.com founder Scott Heiferman and co-founded by Dawn Barber, the NY Tech meetup (NYTM) has over 24,000 members, representing professionals from all parts of the New York technology community. NYTM centers around its monthly events, where members gather to watch emerging companies demo new ideas, hear leading-edge thinking on technology topics, and build their networks to develop their businesses."

"NYTM has been integral in the birth of New York’s new Silicon Alley, with nearly every notable new company, including Foursquare and Tumblr, making their debut at a NYTM demo. NYTM is a not-for-profit, community-led organization. Its Managing Director is Jessica Lawrence, Executive Director is Nate Westheimer and Chair of the Board is Andrew Rasiej."


Below are reasons you'll love NY Tech:

1. It's not just for ticket holders. Can't get a ticket to their sold out event? Watch a livecast at co-working space New Work City or GA to connect with a more small, intimate group from the tech community. 
2. New York style pizza. It's what's for dinner.
3. PowerPoints with style. Presenters are hand picked for quality, and they always have sweet PPT presentations (or stories).
4. Meet 500 peers. Their events get sold out in days, so their house is always very full. If you get a ticket, consider yourself lucky!
5. Get your drink on afterwards. Post-event networking events are often entertaining. However, NY Tech post-events are excellent places for those who couldn't get tickets to chat and relax with attendees.
6. While you're drinking... meet the NY Tech board. Attending the post-event networking event at the nearby bar? Meet the board, they're knowledable and very good contacts to have. 
7. Improve your pitch. Besides Toastmasters, seeing the up's and down's of others speech can improve yours.
8. Fill your knowledge gap. NYTM has now partnered with NASDAQ OMX and HD Made for #StartupStories. Videos in these stories, "feature the voices of members of the New York technology community telling their stories and giving insight into building a startup, all organized around key topics like pitching, failure, and building a team." 
9. Women demo night! Among their list of events, many are focused on various members of their community including... women! Coming up on June 14, Change the Ratio and Microsoft, along with NYTM, have a women's demo night. .