Steven Strauss

Take the Anti-Norquist Pledge!

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:04:06 -0500

The Norquist anti-tax pledge has been signed by about ~50% of our Congress. By discouraging compromise this pledge almost caused the US to default and has contributed to the acrimonious atmosphere in Washington. For my proposal for an anti-Norquist pledge please read

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-strauss/norquist-tax-pledge_b_1221193.html

At the Huffington Post

It's Time to Take the Anti-Norquist Pledge

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:43:58 -0500

Thank you!

From the Archive (October, 2011)-Steven Strauss Joining Harvard as Advanced Leadership Fellow #in

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:06:06 -0500

McKinsey Alumni News Steven Strauss Joining Harvard as Advanced Leadership Fellow

October 5, 2011

Steven Strauss (LOK, LON, LOX 02-07) will be joining Harvard as an Advanced Leadership Fellow, effective December 2011. Strauss joins Harvard from the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), where he has served as managing director of the Center for Economic Transformation since 2008.

Strauss currently serves on the board for the NYC Investment Fund, the NYCSeed Investment Committee, the NCY Bioaccelerate, and the NYC NextIdea Business Plan Competition. Prior to working at the NYCEDC, Strauss was a Director at the World Economic Forum and a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

The Advanced Leadership Fellowship is designed to enhance and leverage the skills of highly accomplished, experienced leaders who want to apply their talents to solve significant social problems, including those affecting health and welfare, children and the environment, and focus on community and public service in the next phase of their careers.

Is @Uber a leading indicator of a tech bubble? #in

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:37:16 -0500

Uber, for those of you not in the know, is a car service, which is (arguably) the first real advance in the taxi cab model in the 50 years. Basically using a web interface or App you can order a car to pick you up at any location. Billing is completely automated. It is really very slick and if you have not used the service (and you make use of car services) I recommend checking it out.

Uber operates in the following cities: SF, NYC, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, DC, and Paris. Uber’s prices appear (to me) to be about 2x of a street taxi. In a completely unscientific and random review of Uber users based on Uber’s retweets and my friends it appears Uber’s usage base is skewed to media/tech entrepreneurs/startups and angel/VCs.

Most of the cites that Uber serves are cities which: a) have good mass transit systems, b) existing taxi systems and c) an established black car system.

So basically we have a situation where entrepreneurs/angels/VCs are using a car service which costs 2x of a street taxi, and maybe 10x of mass transit, somehow this does not feel like ‘Lean Startup’ strategy to me? -:)

(ok, the above is ‘tongue in cheek’, but the question of the existence of a tech bubble is meant to be serious, comments welcome)

Thoughts?

Disclosure: I actually use Uber, and think it is a great service! I am also a fan of their ‘surge pricing’ (aka pricing to demand), which I think is a good innovation.

From the archive - My remarks at the NYC@Boston event (2011)

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:00:05 -0500

From the archive - My remarks at the NYC@Boston event (2011):

Charlie Kim very generously supported our first NYC@Boston talent recruitment event, and these are my remarks

From the archive - New York City Economic Development Corporation Innovation Index

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:05:05 -0500

From the archive - New York City Economic Development Corporation Innovation Index

From the archive (July, 2011)-NYC Next Idea 2011-2012 Kicks Off

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:05:05 -0500

From the archive (July, 2011)-NYC Next Idea 2011-2012 Kicks Off :

NYC Next Idea was a program we created at NYCEDC to attract high performing non-American entrepreneurs to NYC. I am very grateful to Columbia University and Dean Pena-More for their support in creating this program.

From the archive(Observer,2011)-Silicon Alley and NYC: What have you done for me lately?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:16:46 -0500

From the archive(Observer,2011)-Silicon Alley and NYC: What have you done for me lately?:

Good slide show from the Observer that highlights some of the initiatives we created to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in NYC:

NYC Entrepreneurial Fund (with thanks to @LawrenceLenihan),
BiggApps(with thanks to @Bkessler),
MyCityWay team (with thanks to @mycityway)
NYC Venture Fellows (with thanks to Fordham University, @fordhamnotes)
Network of Incubators (with thanks to General Assembly, NYU Poly, Trinity Realty and many others)
NYC Next Idea (with thank to Columbia University School of Engineering, @CUSEAS)
and, Applied Sciences NYC

Go Harvard! - Harvard Launches Innovation Lab - @Harvard

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:26:13 -0500

Harvard Launches Innovation Laboratory (wsj, 2011)

A new laboratory for startups has started up.

Harvard University, in November, formally launched the Harvard Innovation Lab, known as the i-lab, intended to foster collaborative entrepreneurial endeavors within the Harvard and greater Boston communities

Bloomberg News
The $20 million lab, housed in a former public-broadcast building in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, is a 30,000 square-foot facility including 24 conference rooms, a workshop with a 3-D printer and power tools to create product prototypes, a 150-person classroom and more than 250 seats in a group work space. It also has a café and basketball court.

In the spring, the lab will pilot a student mentoring program to connect budding business leaders with experts in areas such as fundraising and market analysis. The lab also is also open to local entrepreneurs, allowing community members to attend school-sponsored workshops and speaker series, and boot camps run by business groups.

The laboratory is somewhat unique among Harvard programs because it is overseen by eight different schools. The coordinated effort allows members of all the schools – engineering and applied sciences, business, law, public policy, medical, dental and undergraduate – to participate and to get exposure to more experts and resources than any single school could offer, says Gordon Jones, director of the lab.

The hope, Mr. Jones says, is to expose more students to entrepreneurship and “germinate” their creative seeds earlier in their academic careers. That will allow business-minded participants more opportunities to collaborate with students who have technical skills or legal know-how, ultimately creating new products or companies and even adding jobs to the local market.

From the archive(Oct, 2011)-Mayor Bloomberg Announces Next Steps for Applied Sciences NYC

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:19:00 -0500

From the archive(Oct, 2011)-Mayor Bloomberg Announces Next Steps for Applied Sciences NYC:

[Update January 2012- As you may know Mayor Bloomberg has announced the winners]

Very proud to have been one of NYC’s leads for Applied Sciences NYC, and very grateful to all the members of the advisory committee for their support, with particular thanks to:

Charlie Kim, Founder and CEO of Next Jump (@charliekim)
Joseph M. McShane, S.J., President, Fordham University
Alan Patricof, Managing Director and Founder, Greycroft (@alanjaptricof)
Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO, Gilt Groupe (@kevinryan)
Parag Saxena, CEO of Vedanta Capital and New Silk Route Partners
Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City (@Parnership4NYC)

For their support on Applied Sciences NYC, as well as their support on so many of our other NYC projects!

From the archive-Fashion Campus w/Derek Lam (August, 2011)

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:05:06 -0500

From the archive-Fashion Campus w/Derek Lam (August, 2011)

“JumpStart” Your Career

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:45:05 -0500

“JumpStart” Your Career:

nycedc:

By Sintha Rajasingham, Project Manager, Center for Economic Transformation

Attention jobseekers! NYCEDC and partner SUNY Levin Institute are currently accepting applications for the tenth series of JumpStart NYC, a program that helps out-of-work professionals transition to new careers and industries in NYC.

The next JumpStart session will commence January 23-27, 2012. Selected candidates will participate in a five-day intensive “Boot Camp” at the SUNY Levin Institute, followed by a 10-week pro-bono consulting project with a New York City-based start-up company in fields such as digital media, online marketing, financial services, arts, not-for-profit, green finance, IT, and professional services.

Apply now to join the next class of JumpStart to retool your skills in a startup environment and find out if the entrepreneurial world is for you. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, December 28. We’re also hosting an info session on Thursday, December 8th from 6 to 8pm—more details here.

Launched in 2009 during the recession, the JumpStart NYC pilot program was designed to help displaced financial services professionals transition to new careers in New York City’s start-up sector. Since then, JumpStart NYC has broadened its curricula to attract professionals outside of financial services, including the arts and nonprofit, media and technology, and green finance sectors.

To date, more than 900 people have applied to JumpStart and more than 450 participants have been accepted.

JumpStart NYC not only improves employment outcomes, but also assists with transitions to entirely new industries. According to a recent survey of nearly 200 past participants:

54 percent reported that they were self-employed, had started their own business, or had secured full or part-time employment within six months of completing JumpStart NYC

Of these, about a quarter were offered a full- or part-time job with the company for which they consulted

On average, those respondents who did find employment within six months of completing JumpStart did so roughly 1.5 to 2 months after the program

42 percent of respondents credit JumpStart NYC with helping them consider opportunities in a new industry

Nearly half of respondents who secured a full-time position did so with a start-up, small business, or non-profit

* Includes only those participants who secured employment within six months of completing JumpStart

From the archive - CITY OF NEW YORK ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF FIRST HACKATHON, REINVENT NYC.GOV (July, 2011)

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:00:06 -0500

From the archive - CITY OF NEW YORK ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF FIRST HACKATHON, REINVENT NYC.GOV (July, 2011)

From the archive (July, 2011) - Announcing the NYCEDC Entrepreneur at Large Initiative

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:00:06 -0500

From the archive (July, 2011) - Announcing the NYCEDC Entrepreneur at Large Initiative

From the archive (august, 2011) NYC BigApps NextIdea And the Winners Are...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:01:06 -0500

From the archive (august, 2011) NYC BigApps NextIdea And the Winners Are...:

nycedc:

By Andrew Chen, Kristy Sundjaja, and Steven Strauss
Center for Economic Transformation

We’re happy to announce the winners of our first NYC BigApps Ideas Challenge, part of the NYC BigApps Competition, which gathers ideas from the public for apps that that can help improve the lives…

Actually, Despite GOP Claims -- the U.S. Isn't Over-regulated

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:00:06 -0500

Originally posted at HuffPo Posted: 11/29/11 02:20 PM ET

The GOP presidential candidates believe, as an article of faith, that the United States is an overly-regulated society. They want to eliminate “unnecessary” regulations and even entire regulatory agencies to, in their view, unleash the growth potential of American business. Governor Perry wants to eliminate 3 federal regulatory agencies (2 he named; one whose name he couldn’t remember), Ron Paul wants to eliminate 5 agencies, and so on (Republican Presidential Debate, November 9th 2011).

The GOP candidates claim that the U.S. regulatory environment is not competitive with that of our peer group, and risks losing jobs to other countries. Still another article of faith among GOP candidates is that the regulatory scheme has worsened under President Obama.

I describe these as “articles of faith”, because to my knowledge — they have not shown any non-partisan research, or international benchmarks, to demonstrate that our overall regulatory environment is particularly burdensome.

Leaving aside the GOP candidates’ anecdotal views, it is helpful to examine real data that compares the U.S. regulatory burden with that of our peer group. The World Bank conveniently prepares an Ease of Doing Business Index (Index) whereby:

‘Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 - 183. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. This index averages the country’s percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2011.’

As with any index of this nature, this Index is not a perfect proxy for each country’s actual level of regulatory burden. Nonetheless, it is a good indicator of how the U.S. compares to its peer group and to a list of 183 other countries. The Index examines: starting a business, protecting investors, enforcing contracts, among other relevant topics. The Index data can be sorted three ways:

1. Large Countries (List 1 below): I view this as our peer group. In this category, the U.S. is the easiest country where one can do business.
2. High Income Countries (List 2 below): In this category, the U.S. is the fourth easiest for doing business, behind several much smaller high-income countries.
3. All Countries (List 3 below, including many under-developed countries): Again, the U.S. ranks fourth.

The World Bank Index samples 10 regulatory categories, so is not exhaustive across all regulations. But it clearly shows that overall — we are among the easiest of countries in which to conduct business, particularly when compared with our peers.

As for the Obama administration’s performance, a recent General Accounting Office study found no particular increase in the regulatory burden by comparison with the preceding Bush administration (Bloomberg News, ‘Obama Wrote 5% Fewer Rules Than Bush’, October 25, 2011).

Finally, an additional interesting piece of data comes from a recent survey of high net worth entrepreneurs in China — 60% of which are considering emigrating, most to the U.S. The reasons cited include: the strength of the American regulatory system — and the resulting safety of our food, environment, workplace, etc. (Bloomberg Business Week,’China’s Super-Rich Buy a Better Life Abroad’, November 22, 2011).

Not every regulation or law in the U.S. is perfect; not every regulator is a paragon of virtue. We can all name individual failures. Certainly, we should strive, as a country, to be the best we can be, and compare ourselves against international standards. But we cannot make our economy stronger or more competitive by making judgments and major structural changes based on faith — rather than reality.

The data collected for the U.S. and its peer group — over several years — does not show that the U.S. has a systematically bad regulatory environment. But if we eliminate several major regulators (e.g., EPA) we:

a) Will likely make our country significantly less safe, less healthy, and more unpleasant,
b) Won’t improve our international competitiveness, and
c) May actually dissuade foreign investors from coming to the U.S.

What do you think?

List 1: Large Countries Ranked for Ease of Doing Business (Top 5)
1. U.S.
2. UK
3. Republic of Korea
4. Saudi Arabia
5. Canada

List 2: High Income Countries Ranked for Ease of Doing Business (Top 5)
1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. New Zealand
4. U.S.
5. Denmark

List 3: All Countries Ranked for Ease of Doing Business (Top 5)
1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. New Zealand
4. U.S.
5. Denmark

Steven Strauss was founding Managing Director of the Center for Economic Transformation at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. He will be an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University for 2011-2012. He has a Ph.D. in Management from Yale University. Follow him on Twitter @steven_strauss.

From the archive-NYC Fashion Production Survey

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:05:05 -0500

From the archive-NYC Fashion Production Survey :

Survey we did of the Fashion Industry in NYC, wesurveyed almost 400 designers and factory owners in total —and led to some interesting takeaways that we wanted to share:

-Production inside (and outside of) the Garment Center: While the Garment Center still remains the hub of local fashion production (76% of surveyed factories were located there), other parts of the City also boast considerable concentrations of fashion factories, such as Long Island City and Sunset Park.

-NYC factories as a key resource—especially for emerging designers: Over half of all apparel produced by emerging designers is done through local factories. Established designers use Asian factories for most of their stock (81%) and in-season re-orders (72%), but rely heavily on in-house resources (39%) and Garment Center facilities (27%) for their runway samples.

-Sample vs. stock production: There’s a close correlation between factory location and type of production (stock vs. sample), with Garment Center factories handling 85% of locally produced samples, or prototypes, and factories outside of the Garment Center accounting for 79% of NYC stock production, or what’s on the racks.

-The Garment Center as the “engine” of Fashion Week: With its focus on sample making, the Garment Center is at its busiest in the weeks leading up to Fashion Week, when 3 out of 4 factories are at 80% capacity or higher.

From the archive - BigApps Ideas (summer, 2011)

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:25:05 -0500

From the archive - BigApps Ideas (summer, 2011) :

Announcing the winners of BigApps Ideas

From the Archive(April, 2011)-Survey Results: Perceptions of Entrepreneurship in NYC

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:34:00 -0500

From the Archive(April, 2011)-Survey Results: Perceptions of Entrepreneurship in NYC :

In April we surveyed a group of entrepreneurs and VCs about their views of NYC and the overall entrepreneurial environment (e.g., do we have a tech bubble). As you might expect the the VCs were more concerned about the possibility of a tech bubble compared to the entrepreneurs

From the archive-Roundtable with Cristóbal Conde, CEO SunGard CEO (March, 2011)

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:25:05 -0500

nycedc:

By David Gilford, Ann Li, Steven Strauss
Center for Economic Transformation

As part of NYC Venture Fellows, NYCEDC recently hosted a group of entrepreneurs in a roundtable breakfast with Cristóbal Conde. The CEO of SunGard, one of the world’s largest financial services and information technology firms, Mr. Conde engaged the group in an interactive discussion on leadership and entrepreneurship, which was moderated by Harvard Professor Niall Ferguson, historian of finance and economics.

What we heard:

Leadership requires trusting employees and being open to mistakes.

The CEO should trust employees even before they have proven themselves

When trust is offered from the beginning, people give their best ideas

The leader defines the size of box and then gives employees free reign

Failure is painful, but it is also one of the most effective ways to learn lessons

Startups face several leadership challenges as they grow in size.

Most organizations “hit a wall,” usually at 50-100 employees

Success at this critical juncture requires CEOs to “let go,” allowing the best talent to make informed decisions and giving credit to the employees

Delegating power may be difficult for entrepreneurs, but is critical to growth

Key responsibilities of a leader of a large organization include:
- Some basic oversight
- Focus on employee development
- Being the architect of systems that allow ideas to be shared

Read More