When you think “tech talent,” Silicon Valley typically comes to mind. From Apple to Zoom, Northern California is where tech giants started and became household names. But New York is quickly becoming a tech startup hotbed, and the need for business-critical talent in the city that never sleeps is on the rise.
But isn’t the tech industry in a rough spot? Yes, kind of. 2022 was the worst year for Nasdaq since the 2008 financial crisis. However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer and IT fields is projected to grow faster than average for all occupations from now through 2032, specifically AI. It’s projected that the number of openings will be about 377,500 each year for all occupations due to employment growth, demonstrating an abundance of opportunities for employers to find and place the right talent that will positively impact business over the next decade.
As both companies and investors look to NYC as the hub for building a business around the evolving tech, NYC is positioned as the epicenter of global customer headquarters again. Investing in the right tech talent now will have effects as the industry continues to grow.
What’s Happening Isn’t Working
While this past year was tumultuous for tech, laying off thousands of people to become profitable is a strategy that only works once. Large tech companies cannot create a second year of “growth” by reducing the workforce and cutting operating costs. The same applies to the profitability of your products – when sales stall, that indicates the need for product development, and that means an increase in product development talent openings.
Bringing a product to market and producing sales hasn’t been easy in the last 12 months – and it will be tough during the next 12 months, too. The key in the next few years is new tech, talent, and product development, but you can’t just snap your fingers and have the perfect, productive team. The pendulum is shifting to first focus on bringing on the right team – and the right leadership to lead that team – to develop new products and secure innovative technology that will catapult these firms to success with a sustainable foundation.
Why New York?
New York is the financial capital of the world, and creating a business around generating revenue before profits vs. use acquisition is a much more sustainable approach to building a business – an approach built around finance, which is what New York itself was built on. Big ideas are the basis of tech companies, and with the right financial (and business) leadership to turn an idea into a profitable business, the tech industry in New York will continue to flourish.
What’s Next?
In the next 6-12 months, focus on executive leadership should be a priority for both tech startups and Fortune 500 companies alike, to expedite the industry’s recovery from the top down. There will continue to be shifts in the market, and to be successful long-term, businesses must start at the top. Companies need to find the best talent for the best position and, from a growth perspective, attract talent that can build (or rebuild) a team capable of delivering new products to the market to capitalize on the downturn and ultimately grow revenue.
New York is the perfect spot for this executive-level talent, as businesses look for strong financial backgrounds that will help lay the foundation for long-term success. As the tech industry realigns itself and starts building back up, placing executive leadership and starting at the top is the first step toward that success. However, as the business capital of the world, finding these knowledgeable and specialized professionals in New York can sometimes feel like finding a needle in the haystack.
Every firm needs to lean heavily toward effective talent strategies to find the best talent. This includes leveraging their networks more than ever before – which so many firms surprisingly overlook – and talent partners with a global reach to be the catalyst of positive conversations and placements of high-quality, incredibly niche, and business-critical hires within their organizations.
Finding the right executive team with a focus on building the business and creating new products should be the priority for companies looking ahead to 2024. Focusing on finding the right people now and building an executive team that prioritizes the next three to five years will be the key to a successful future. Gone are the days of big ideas leading the way – it’s all about the solid foundation of talent and tech.
