NYC Startups Actively Hiring Engineering Talent
Several early-stage startups in New York City are actively hiring technical roles. Openings are available at companies including commerce platform Swap, storage OS Cubby, and digital assets firm Superstate. Separately, consumer app Sideshift is seeking to hire young engineers, and AICouncilConf is hiring an Ecosystem Builder for the AI infrastructure community.
- Superstate, a firm tokenizing real-world assets, was co-founded by Robert Leshner, who previously co-founded Compound Labs. The company recently raised an $82.5 million Series B round led by Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global to expand its onchain equity issuance infrastructure. - Cubby, a vertical SaaS platform for the self-storage industry, was co-founded by CEO Matt Engfer, who gained firsthand industry knowledge by working at facilities to understand operator pain points before building the product. The company secured $63 million in a Series A funding round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. - Sideshift, a platform connecting Gen Z with part-time work, was founded by Drew Levin and Nick Lawton. They are also building HooksGPT, an AI tool to help brands analyze and create viral short-form video content for platforms like TikTok. - For engineers building AI applications, open-source frameworks like LangChain and LlamaIndex are popular for connecting large language models to external data sources. For those working on a side project, productivity methods like the Pomodoro technique (25-minute focused work sessions followed by a 5-minute break) can help maintain focus and avoid burnout. - In New York City's early-stage funding landscape, AI has become the most invested sector, accounting for 32% of all startup deals in 2024. Micro VCs like AI.NYC are specifically funding pre-seed AI startups with checks ranging from $250K to $1 million. - Indie hackers have found success by focusing on a single, well-executed feature for a niche audience. For example, Jon Yongfook's Bannerbear, an image automation API, grew to five-figure monthly revenue by solving a specific problem without the complexity of a full software suite. - The role of an "Ecosystem Builder," like the one sought by AICouncilConf, involves connecting entrepreneurs, support organizations, and resources to foster a thriving startup community. This can include creating networking opportunities, providing mentorship, and developing programs that support innovation. - Vertical SaaS, which creates solutions for specific industries, is a growing sector because it addresses unique workflows and compliance needs that generic software can't. For instance, in the insurance industry, vertical SaaS can automate claims processing and risk assessment.
