Exclusive: 20% Off and Free NFC Cards for NYTech Community!

In the bustling tech hub of New York City, networking is more than just a buzzword — it’s a way of life. As NYTech professionals, we understand the importance of making meaningful connections in our fast-paced industry. Traditional paper business cards, however, have become outdated. It’s time to embrace the future with ION CARD — the best digital business card designed by tech professionals, for tech professionals.

Special Offer for the NYTech Community: Get a 20% discount on ION CARD digital business cards, and when you choose our annual plan, you’ll also receive Free NFC Cards! Simply use promo code NYTA20 at checkout for your 20% discount. The free NFC cards are automatically included when you opt for an annual plan.
Hurry, this special offer expires on November 30, 2023.
Learn more at: https://www.ioncard.net/nytech/

A Modern Solution for Modern Professionals

ION CARD is more than just a digital business card — it’s a game-changer. With ION CARD, your contact information is always up-to-date, effortlessly shareable, and eco-friendly. Say goodbye to the stacks of paper cards cluttering your desk; it’s time to streamline your networking and present your role and your brand in a modern way.

Seamless Networking with NFC Technology

Networking should be as effortless as a tap, and with NFC technology, it truly is. Whether you’re at a tech meetup, a conference, or a coffee shop brainstorming the next big idea, ION CARD simplifies the way you connect. Just tap your NFC-enabled device and watch the magic happen.

Join the NYTech Revolution

As fellow tech professionals, we’re excited to introduce ION CARD to the NYTech community. Our platform is already up and running, complete with a web app interface and mobile apps for your convenience. But we’re not stopping there. We’re committed to ongoing development of the current enterprise version: a Digital Business Card Platform for Business Teams. This version allows you to set up your entire business team or organization with digital cards via a single dashboard, including the ability to share company information, team members, and more.”

Tapping into the Future

The digital business card industry is on the brink of explosive growth. ION CARD is poised to be at the forefront of this transformation, providing innovative solutions that cater to the evolving needs of tech professionals and organizations.

Join us on this exciting journey and experience the future of networking. Say hello to ION CARD — where NYTech meets innovation. Get started today at https://www.ioncard.net and be part of the revolution!

This Black History Month, NYTA recognizes and celebrates the many incredible black men, women and non-binary individuals who have graced our stage at NY Tech Meetups to present and demo transformative tech; shared subject matter expertise during Forum events to provide perspective and participated in Founder Spotlights to tell their story and inspire other founders as they pursue their own journey of building a business. Next, we recognize and celebrate Dionne (Wilson) Gumbs, Founder & CEO, GenEQTY, an innovative data platform empowering financial providers and innovators with data tools and insights to build better products and services for the world’s small-medium-sized businesses.

About Dionne Gumbs

Dionne is a growth-centric visionary with deep domain expertise in financial services along with direct functional expertise and outstanding results in sales, product management, and strategy, and a passion for social impact.

Dionne Gumbs is Founder and CEO, GenEQTY in Minneapolis, a company incorporated in 2018. GenEQTY is Dionne’s second venture. In 2013, she co-founded Wealthrive, a digital fintech startup focused on advancing women as investors. As CEO of GenEQTY, her entrepreneurial instincts and clarity of vision have positioned her to stand at the forefront of fast-moving financial innovations.

About GenEQTY

GenEQTY is a financial data platform that helps innovators and companies convert raw business data, typically siloed and hard to mine, into meaningful insights through a suite of APls. Its actionable intelligence tools help analyze key aspects of a business customer’s profile, empowering providers with crucial information they need for better decision-making, developing new products and enhancing the business customer experience. Their mission is to empower financial providers to deliver tools, capital, and advice that help SMB create immesuarable impact, leading to the unbinding of finannce with secure, insightful data.

Several ways you can recognize and help and her team:

1. Visit their website and learn about GenEQTY
2. Refer GenEQTY to other companies looking for data tools and insights
3. Watch and listen to ‘s story on NYTA’s YouTube Channel

This Black History Month, NYTA recognizes and celebrates the many incredible black men, women and non-binary individuals who have graced our stage at NY Tech Meetups to present and demo transformative tech; shared subject matter expertise during Forum events to provide perspective and participated in Founder Spotlights to tell their story and inspire other founders as they pursue their own journey of building a business. Next, we recognize and celebrate Boris Moyston, Co-Founder, Fundr, a seed investing platform Automating, Diversifying, and Democratizing seed funding between startups and angel investors.

About Boris Moyston

Boris Moyston is the Founder and serves as Senior Managing Partner at Relentless Venture Partners; a Co-Founder of Fundr; the Founder of the tech entrepreneurship conference Black Men Talk Tech. Previously he was an investment banker, sales trader, and investment advisor at ABN AMRO, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs respectively.

About Fundr

Fundr is a seed investing platform that through our marketplace allows angel investors to find and invest in early stage companies and through our enterprise offering provides a SaaS option for investment groups looking to create their own investment community. No more warm introductions, uncertainty and chasing investors. Fundr allows startups to find investors, close your round and keep them updated all in one place. With Fundr, you can quickly raise funds and get back to business providing you with Fair Evaluation to evaluate you fairly and provide feedback to strengthen your business; Fast Funding allows you to get funds instantly sent to your bank account so you can start building and growing your business; and Easy Reporting using the power of the crowd to answer any question you have, send monthly reports so they’re always up to date, and building your data room for future rounds.

Several ways you can recognize and help Boris and his team:

1. Visit their website and learn about Fundr
2. Refer Fundr to family and friends who have startups or are looking to invest in startups
3. Watch and listen to Boris‘s story on NYTA’s YouTube Channel

This Black History Month, NYTA recognizes and celebrates the many incredible black men, women and non-binary individuals who have graced our stage at NY Tech Meetups to present and demo transformative tech; shared subject matter expertise during Forum events to provide perspective and participated in Founder Spotlights to tell their story and inspire other founders as they pursue their own journey of building a business. Next, we recognize and celebrate Wen-Kuni Ceant, Co-Founder & CEO, Politicking, a sociopolitical mobile application that demystifies the voting and political process.

About Wen-Kuni Ceant

Wen-kuni is a notable thought leader and innovator as she serves as a founder, cultural curator and coach.

Wen-kuni Ceant is the CEO and Co-Founder of Politicking — a sociopolitical mobile application that demystifies the voting and political process. Wen-kuni also currently serves as a Project Manager Consultant for Innovation Horizons. She is a Fulbright Scholar and through the fellowship she studied health infrastructure in Senegal. Wen-kuni currently serves as a Fulbright alumni ambassador. She received her Masters in Public Health in Health Management and Policy in 2016 from Drexel University. Before Drexel, she attended Howard University, in Washington, D.C. where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with honors with a Bachelors of Science in Biology.

Wen-kuni posses over seven years of project management experience and is able to delegate within cross functional teams. She is an expert in enacting organizational strategy to deliver strategic outcomes. Her leadership style is both strategic and innovative. Wen-kuni holds several core competencies as a policy professional which include stakeholder engagement and strategic operational planning.

Please feel free to reach out to Wen-kuni at wen-kuni@politickingapp.com as she welcomes opportunities to discuss speaking and programming opportunities.

About Politicking

Politicking is a mobile application dedicated to improving & galvanizing the millennial vote by providing information about micro and macro politics. With Millennials representing the second largest generation of the county’s electorate, but only turning out at a rate of 31%, Politicking comes in by providing them with information that is relevant to them through their mobile devices on candidate positions and local issues that are up for referendum. Thus, creating transparency between candidate and constituent by demystifying the way users have been traditionally informed about politics.

Several ways you can recognize and help Wen-Kuni and her team:

1. Visit their website and learn about Politicking
2. Download their App on the App Store or Google Play
3. Refer Politicking to family and friends
4. Watch and listen to Wen-Kuni’s story on NYTA’s YouTube Channel

This Black History Month, NYTA recognizes and celebrates the many incredible black men, women and non-binary individuals who have graced our stage at NY Tech Meetups to present and demo transformative tech; shared subject matter expertise during Forum events to provide perspective and participated in Founder Spotlights to tell their story and inspire other founders as they pursue their own journey of building a business. Next, we recognize and celebrate Colette Ellis, Founder, Start Within Coaching, which offers individual and group services focused on self-care, mindfulness, and resilience, in an effort to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and social injustice for Black, Latinx, Indigenous (BIPOC) leaders, and other communities impacted by inequity.

About Colette Ellis

Colette Ellis is an advocate for your mindfulness and wellbeing. She is a certified Stress Management coach and practitioner of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT-Tapping) who has traveled the globe facilitating personal growth and workplace wellbeing. Clients have transformed their organizations via her interactive seminars on employee wellness, leadership development, and team building.

She believes that true mental health is a state of wellbeing in which a woman can realize her own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and make a contribution to the community. Her vision for tomorrow is that all women will feel a sense of worthiness; they will know that their dreams, their health, and their lives matter.

Colette is contributing author to Transform Your Life With One Call: America’s Top Life Coaches Reveal What You Need to Know. Her book Focus on Your Vision helps readers clarify priorities and optimize their work-life balance. As a co-host for Brooklyn Savvy TV, she facilitates substantive conversations about women’s issues. A featured eHow.com contributor on workplace morale, her tips and advice also have appeared in Thrive Global, Real Simple, Small Business Chronicle, and Daily Burn.

About Start Within Coaching

Start Within Coaching facilitates healing from collective, historical, and personal trauma. To help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and social injustice for Black, Latinx, Indigenous (BIPOC) leaders, and other communities impacted by inequity, we offer individual and group services focused on self-care, mindfulness, and resilience. Diverse leaders learn proven methods to increase their resilience and heal from trauma due to white supremacy or microaggressions.

Several ways you can recognize and help Colette and her team:

1. Visit their website and learn about Start Within Coaching
2. Book an appointment online for any of their services
3. Refer Start Within Coaching to family and friends
4. Watch and listen to Colette’s story on NYTA’s YouTube Channel

This Black History Month, NYTA recognizes and celebrates the many incredible black men, women and non-binary individuals who have graced our stage at NY Tech Meetups to present and demo transformative tech; shared subject matter expertise during Forum events to provide perspective and participated in Founder Spotlights to tell their story and inspire other founders as they pursue their own journey of building a business. Given recent tragic events, we want to we recognize and celebrate Jazz Hampton, Founder and CEO of TurnSignl- On demand guidance from an attorney to get you home safe. Jazz demoed on the NY Tech Meetup stage in April of this past year and we’re proud to have him and his team as part of the NYTA community. Their focus and work is evermore important especially to anyone in vulnerable and unjust circumstances.

About Jazz Hampton

Jazz Hampton is CEO and General Counsel at TurnSignl. TurnSignl is a Minnesota-based tech company that provides real-time legal guidance from an attorney to drivers, all while their camera records the interaction.

Hampton has been featured on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, MSNBC, CBS, NBC Top Story, and was recently named one of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s 40 Under 40 for his work at TurnSignl and in the community, where he sits on the Board of Directors at the Academy of Holy Angels, Spare Key, and Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He is also a member of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain’s Philanthropic Advisory Council.

Before joining TurnSignl, Hampton was the Director of Diversity and Inclusion and a practicing attorney at Foley & Mansfield, a national law firm with 150+ attorneys, as well as an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, an Emerging Leader within Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, and the Co-Chair of DRI’s Young Lawyer Diversity Committee.

About TurnSignl

TurnSignl is a Black-owned tech company that connects drivers to lawyers over video chat in real-time during traffic stops and car accidents. Founded in 2020 by three Black professionals, TurnSignl was created to bridge the gap between residents and police and to provide a simple way to help drivers feel safer and empowered on the road.

TurnSignl’s mission is to protect drivers’ civil rights, de-escalate roadside interactions, and ensure both drivers and law enforcement officers return home safely.

The TurnSignl mobile app is currently available for iOS and Android in 20+ states, with national availability coming in 2023.

Several ways you can recognize and help Jazz and his team:

1. Visit their website and learn about the TurnSignl App
2. Download and use the app in states where available now
3. Download and use the app when available in all other states in 2023
4. Become a legal partner — provide real-time legal guidance for drivers
5. Become a business partner — bring TurnSignal to your workplace and make peace of mind your newest employee benefit
6. Watch and listen to the TurnSignl demo on our YouTube Channel

This Black History Month, NYTA recognizes and celebrates the many incredible black men, women and non-binary individuals who have graced our stage at NY Tech Meetups to present and demo transformative tech; shared subject matter expertise during Forum events to provide perspective and participated in Founder Spotlights to tell their story and inspire other founders as they pursue their own journey of building a business. As part of our celebration, this week we recognize and celebrate Fonta Gilliam, CEO and Co-Founder of Wellthi, a fintech company based in Washington, DC and a part of the NYTA community.

About Fonta Gilliam

Ms. Gilliam has over 10 years of development finance experience working in the United States, Africa, and Asia as a U.S. Diplomat and a management consultant in Deloitte’s Emerging Markets Practice.

Over the course of her career, she led numerous White House and U.S. State Department initiatives, including launching two of the U.S. Government’s first women’s business centers in Africa and designing innovative financing facilities to unlock capital for women and small businesses in the United States, Kenya, Morocco, Zambia, Nigeria, South Korea, and China.

In 2016, she was awarded the U.S. State Department’s prestigious Franklin Award for her tireless work to support economic empowerment and financial inclusion initiatives in Africa.

Ms. Gilliam has a Master of Arts in economic development from American University’s School of International Studies (SIS) and a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics from Howard University.

About Welthi

Welthi is redefining the mobile banking experience for the next generation, empowering customers to achieve their financial goals with engaging social features and positive group think. They have been recognized for over a half dozen awards for their innovative technology, and they’re just getting started!

Several ways you can recognize and help Fonta and her team:

1. Visit their website and learn about the Wellthiapp
2. Download and use the app
3. Refer Wellthi to family and friends
4. Watch and listen to Fonta’s story on NYTA’s YouTube Channel

The NY Tech Alliance welcomes our newest corporate member, Littler, a US-based labor and employment law firm with global reach. With more than 1,700 attorneys in more than 100 offices worldwide, Littler is the largest labor and employment law firm in the US, with lawyers admitted to practice in every state. The firm works across a number of practice and industry groups, including its Emerging Technologies industry group. Littler offers NYTA’s members — from startups to large enterprise — the labor and employment legal guidance they need in an ever-evolving and increasingly difficult regulatory landscape. We look forward to partnering and having the NYTA community benefit from the firm’s global expertise.

To learn more about how they’ll be working with NYTA, their offer to our community, as well as shared resources for our community, visit their information page on our website.

The following information regarding a three part Civic Imagination Orientation Conference will provide you with facts about the Climate Challenge conference. The event introduces Thought Leaders at the forefront of new directions and who highlight concepts that drive response and innovation. Be informed by the ideas that are shaping our future to help you contribute to and benefit from them!

Part I: Where We Are Now — Nov 14, 6pm ET

Part II: Step-into-the-Future: Regeneration & The Potential for a New Abundance — Nov 16, 6pm ET

Part III: The Journey Forward Begins with a Mindset for Change — Nov 18, 6pm ET

More from Joyce Freeling below.

The Civic Imagination Challenge

The story of the day on NY1 has been flood insurance. While climate impacts on New York City include extreme heat, water is the greater threat as heavy downpours, sea level rise with coastal storm surges and tidal flooding are particularly challenging for a city with over 500 miles of coastline.

At Trendsetters Network, the impact of Sandy moved us toward a long investment in climate mitigation research, new solutions for communities and a partnership with the CUNY CREST Institute at City College to develop them. During this period of R&D we discovered Innovators from around the world and across all sectors creating solutions, many focused on the largest carbon emitters, Cities. New York has joined the demand for innovation and incentivized it with the most aggressive climate mobilization legislation in the country. The city has birthed accelerators for new low carbon products and services, Higher education has shifted the focus of many of its Research Labs and developed new courses for professionals. Business has worked purposefully on sustainability; nonprofits have organized responsive programs and groups such as the Citizens Climate Lobby, Climate Reality Project statewide chapters, and Harlem-based We Act for Environmental Justice, pressed government for new policy.

We asked ourselves, “What could be accomplished for our city by the end of the decade if we could accelerate and broadly adopt emerging solutions?” So, we interviewed a broad range of people leading responsive efforts and hosted community listening events, Feedback highlighted several consistent barriers to forward movement (1) lack of knowledge on needs, emerging innovations, and the benefits they hold for business, citizens, and the city’s future (2) siloed and status quo thinking (3) turf protection blocking needed collaboration (4) an underlying uncertainty about change. In sharing these findings with our network, we discovered similar issues nationally and worked together to craft a plan of contribution prioritizing two key near-term needs: narrow the gap in knowledge and cultivate a positive forward focused mindset.

We are inviting you to join this effort. Our phase I Step-into-the-Future Civic Imagination Challenge invites professionals to participate in a series of monthly virtual conferences featuring Thought Leaders at the forefront of the innovations shaping pathways to a regenerative and sustainable future. We believe this knowledge can stimulate your creative thinking about New York’s future and have a simple but meaningful ask. When you learn from these leaders of the new promise these innovations present, craft a 2-minute inspiring video narrative on where we can be by the end of the decade with cooperative action. Your voice will be amplified in our companion American Imagination social media channels to engage the public in positive visions for our shared future. We provide an APP, developed by a NY Tech Alliance member, for your phone to record these narratives. Three winning themes are selected monthly, and all contributors celebrated at the close of the Challenge with a digital map of their “new world”, and a Commemorative Civic Imagination Print Publication sent to Congressional & State Representatives, Business & Thought Leaders, cooperating organizations and participants. This media ecosystem created with your voices and those of future focused Thought Leaders lays the foundation for a national Imagine Forward cooperative public engagement and education campaign to launch next year.

The three-part virtual Orientation Conference for the Civic Challenge begins November 14th and is aligned with the COP 27 Global Climate meeting. It brings national and international experts to the story of Where We Are Now, Where We Can Be, and A Mindset for the Journey Forward. Sign-up for these valuable presentations to learn more about the Civic Challenge here: https://ImagineForwardCampaign.org

- Joyce Freeling, President, Trendsetters Network

Jeffrey Derose is a digital strategist helping startups and small businesses build & monetize their customer base digitally. He currently works at the City University of New York — College of Staten Island as the Director of the CSI Tech Incubator where he leads a robust technological ecosystem with strategic mentors, industry professionals, faculty, sponsors, government leaders, and more. Jeffrey is an incredible asset to entrepreneurs in not only NYC but all over the U.S.. His experiences and his wisdom are an asset to any and all entrepreneurs and we hope you enjoy our discussion with him on skills, important questions, his work, and wishes for technology.

NYTA: What is the one skill you feel is essential for all tech entrepreneurs?

JD: One skill that is essential for all tech entrepreneurs is having the ability to self improve. On your journey you will find the only thing you have control over is yourself. The better you get at mastering yourself, the better you can perform in the real world.

NYTA: What’s the most important question for an entrepreneur?

JD: Are you ready to sacrifice comfort and materialism to build your dream? Entrepreneurship is an extremely challenging journey. You might not be able to go to events, go shopping, go on vacations etc., all while putting in a lot of hours and not getting much pay in return. If you can live below your means for a few years and build, you might find yourself living a life that people only dream of.

NYTA: What excites you the most in the tech world?

JD: Tech is one of the few spaces where status, money, and degrees do not matter. If you can commit yourself to learning how to code or building products that solve problems for people, you will have a lot of opportunities. All you need is an internet connection and a few online courses to learn how to code or build a business.

NYTA: What is the best advice you’ve ever received from a mentor or otherwise?

JD: Making money is about providing value, how can you provide value to customers? This is something my old boss used to always say to me.

NYTA: What is the best part of your job?

JD: Getting to help people from underserved communities build businesses and innovate! A lot of people would love to have the autonomy I have to drive impact for communities of color.

NYTA: What Sci-Fi tech do you wish you could have in your life right now?

JD: Free WiFi and Solar panels that can convert 100% of the sun’s energy. It sounds simple but it would be transformative for our society. So many people would be lifted out of poverty and imagine what humans could develop with a free and infinite source of energy.

About NY Tech Alliance
The mission of the NY Tech Alliance is to represent, inspire, support, and help lead the New York technology community and ecosystem to create a better future for all. Founded in 2016 with the merger of NY Tech Meetup and the New York Technology Council, the organization has over 60,000 individual and institutional members, reflecting the full spectrum of the greater New York area tech community and making it the largest tech organization in the region. Now partnered with Civic Hall, a company of The Fedcap Group, the NY Tech Alliance hosts numerous events each month, including Developing Pride, Latina Luminaries, Founder Spotlights, and various themed NY Tech Meetups celebrating black women founders, immigrant founders, accessibility tech, educational tech programs, and women founders.