#FounderFuel – #NYCTech

A List of Service Providers For Early Stage Tech Startups in NYC

I’m always thinking about ways in which I can help startup founders save time, and accomplish more in what little time they have. This is a list of people, and organizations who provide services for early stage startups. I had two criteria for adding people and organizations to this list; First, I have met one member of the team and have become familiar with some of the work produced by everyone on this list. Or, second, someone I know well recommends them highly.

I do not think it makes sense for me to make personal introductions – I’ll just end up becoming an unnecessary bottle-neck. You are better off reaching out directly to them yourself if you’d like to start a working relationship. If you have a great experience, share the news with other startup founders. If you have an awful experience, please let me know . . . I am confident that is highly unlikely, but  . . . we are fallible human beings, after all.

Without further delay . . . Have fun!

1. Accounting Services
   • What do they do?
     • Provide basic bookkeeping, advanced accounting, and part-time CFO services to startups and SMBs.
   • Recommended Vendors
     • Early Growth Financial Services
       • Additional Notes: “EGFS is the #1 provider of accounting, tax and valuation services to startup companies in the U.S.”
     • Propeller Industries
     • Nomad Financial
     • Accounting Department
     • WISS
2. Valuation Services
   • What do they do?
     • Specialized and independent advice on regulatory valuations – 409A, valuations for mergers and acquisitions transactions, expert opinions etc.
   • Recommended Vendors
     • Oxford Valuation Partners
       • Additional Notes: Sanjay Gandhi inspires confidence. After you meet him you will understand why Oxford is so dominant in terms of what it does for young, growing companies in NYC.
3. Executive Recruiting
   • What do they do?
     • They help you recruit senior executives when the time comes to augment the management team.
   • Recommended Vendors
     • WinterWyman
       • Additional Notes
         • “WinterWyman Executive Search prides itself on a long history of working with up and coming companies. With offices in New York and Boston, as well as national search capability, we are your trusted partner for finding those key leaders to assist in scaling your organization. We offer a competitive model that blends the quality and guaranteed delivery of retained search with a payment structure that recognizes the fiscal responsibilities of growth-stage companies. With an average tenure of 20 years of experience, we know the market and can advise you every step of the way in your hiring process.”
         • You can reach Tracy Cashman by email: tcashman@winterwyman.com or call WinterWyman’s main number at 888.529.9300. Tracy is a Connecticut College alum too . . . You’ll enjoy working with her. I guarantee that. She and her colleagues have been doing more work with startups over the past few years. WinterWyman counts some of NYC’s leading startups as clients – that includes one whose Founder and CEO I greatly admire.
     • AC Lion
       • Additional Notes: Based in NYC. They always seem to be doing something fun at their office. My first encounter with them was in 2012 when I walked up to someone at a DemoDay in NYC to ask where he bought his fleece vest. We laughed about it, and then started talking about ACLion . . . You’ll like them.
     • inkwell
       • Additional Notes: Based in NYC. I met Manon DeFelice during one of my visits to Grand Central Tech to spend a day there. If you are considering growing your team, you should speak with her and the inkwell team about what they have done for some of their other startup clients. I know I would.
4. Marketing, Public Relations, etc
   • What do they do?
     • Public relations, developing a communication strategy to help tell the story about your startup.
   • Recommended Vendors – PR
     • Thatcher+Co
     • ASTRSK*
     • Clarity PR
     • WalkerSands Communications
   • Recommended Vendors – Digital Marketing
     • Hunter & Bard
       • Shira Abel, who is Founder and CEO of Hunter & Bard really knows her stuff. Follow her on Twitter.
     • Garritano Group
   • Recommended Vendors – Emerging Markets, deep domain expertise on Africa
     • Robinson(+) Consulting
   • Recommended Vendors – Explainer Videos
     • DemoDuck
5. Outsourced Software Developers
   • What do they do?
     • Augment your engineering team to help you get a product to market as quickly as possible.
   • Recommended Vendors
     • 10x Management
       • 10x will also help its clients identify experienced engineers as candidates for open positions. This was a new initiative in early 2015. They were planning to expand that effort.
     • Nearsoft
     • Baires Dev
     • Andela
     • Tinker Ventures
     • Firehawk Creative
     • Carbon Five
       • Additional Notes: “Carbon Five is a strategic digital product development firm. We partner with clients to create exceptional products and grow effective teams.”
       • Technical Assessments
       • Their point person in NYC as of April 2016 was Brandy Davis-Balsamo: brandy@carbonfive.com.
6. UX/UI Design Consultants
   • What do they do?
     • Help you design your product until you have the budget to bring someone onto the team to fulfill that responsibility.
   • Recommended Vendors – UI/UX
     • Sarah Doody
       • Additional Notes: Some of the folks in NYC who know her describe Sarah as one of the best UX/UI designers in NYC. I have no reason to disagree. Also, she’s great to talk to.
   • Recommendend Vendors – Project Work
     • Crew
       • Crew is an invitation-only community of freelance designers, developers, or studios to help startups build projects.
7. HR and Payroll
   • What do they do?
     • Basic HR and Payroll for growing companies.
   • Recommended Vendors
     • Trinet
8. Real Estate Agents
   • What do they do?
     • Help you find office space once you feel you have outgrown your co-working space.
   • Recommended Vendors
     • Truman James
     • Jones Lang LaSalle
       • Additional Notes: They publish a newsletter on trends in NYC related to real estate, early stage tech startups and venture capital.
       • Contacts
         • Christian Allen: christian.allen@am.jll.com
         • Bill Peters: bill.peters@am.jll.com