Great crowd last night at the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Thanks to Cynthia Franklin (in the picture with us), Senior Associate Director/Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at NYU Stern School of Business, we had a very interesting discussion about the findings of “Tech and the City” with many students and alumni of NYU, and other members of the NY business community.
“We want to keep students away from the street. Which is Wall Street!”, said Cynthia, mentioning what NYU professor Evan Korth told us about his mission and hackNY. That means to explain students they have great opportunities in the New York tech startup community today. “If you’re thinking now’s the time to finally get that idea you’ve been kicking around in your head off the ground, we can help – reads the Berkley Center website -. Through an array of co-curricular activities, the Berkley Center equips students, alumni, and researchers from across NYU’s campus with the skills, know-how and ability to launch and grow sustainable ventures.”
Among other programs, the Berkley Center manages the “$200K Entrepreneurs Challenge”: Friday the 3rd there will be the Final Pitch-off & Award Ceremony. It’s open to the public: register here.
Last night,one hot topic was the future of the NY tech community after Mayor Bloomberg, because of the special role he plaid in fostering its growth; and whether the “NYC model” can be replicated in other cities and countries. It’s a matter of institutional structures and political leadership, Alessandro and others pointed out, but at the end of the day it’s up to the entrepreneurs to keep the community alive together with the academic and research institutions and investors.
