Google for Startups, Tech:NYC and Cornell Tech teamed up earlier this year to launch the NYC Recovery Challenge, a program designed to showcase how technology can help support job creation for New York’s small business and job seeker community.
Laser-focused on job creation and retention in New York City, only startups from across the five boroughs were eligible, with a preference for companies building solutions for industries and New Yorkers hit hard by the pandemic. We formed a community advisory committee from across the city to help evaluate the finalists.
[Photo above: Guava founder Kelly Ifill]
More than 170 New York-based startups applied for the NYC Recovery Challenge. Here are the ten companies selected to be NYC Recovery Challenge Fellows:
- Kobina Ansah, Coverr (Queens)
- Byran Dai & Rahul Mahida, Daivergent (Manhattan)
- Su Sanni & Chris Coles, Dollaride (Brooklyn)
- Kelly Ifill, Guava (Manhattan)
- Karen Schoellkopf, Leap Fund (Brooklyn)
- Jason Greenwald & Daniel Langus, Live XYZ (Brooklyn)
- Amina Yamusah, Sector (The Bronx)
- Tracey Hobbs, Shifterr (Brooklyn)
- Tomas Uribe & Kristian Diaz, Stereotheque (Manhattan)
- Tanvir Islam, David Jiang and Bassit Malam, TYCA tech. (Brooklyn)
In addition to mentorship and one-on-one support, the top three finalists also receive up to $100,000 in no-strings-attached funding to accelerate their business. Manhattan-based first-prize winner, Guava, is a banking hub for Black small business owners that connects founders to equitable financial products and a digital community. Runners-up include Long Island City-based startup Coverr, a financial services tool for independent contractors, and Brooklyn-based Shifterr, a digital marketplace connecting hospitality industry employers to independent shift workers seeking gigs.
In addition to the three cash prize winners, the other seven companies selected reflect the distinct opportunities digital technology provides to better connect workers, employers and communities across the city. These startups range from companies that focus on supporting workers with autism and a mobility company dedicated to eliminating transit deserts, to an AI-powered online community marketplace connecting people to bodegas and novel solutions to identify, bridge and ease access to social services and government resources.
