Aivars M. Lipenitis
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New York New York. Global innovation ecosystem and powerhouse.

  • new-york
  • innovation
  • ecosystem
  • startup
  • business-travel
Manhattan / New York City

This comes as a missing piece in my series of articles about various U.S. cities - innovation powerhouses and ecosystem epicenters. The previous ones covered San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. Read the intro to the series and learn why the whole set of stories.


New York was the first U.S. city I ever visited. New York and LA were also the first ones I had any realationship with the U.S., professionally. Apart from business articles I started reading early, published by Boston's knowledge powerhouses.


Early on in my professional path, I was carving for big cities and metropolises like London or New York. Those places where you think and feel that everything is possible. The neverending flow of tourists at Times Square and on Broadway, the tall, now old skyscrapers in Manhattan, with tourists taking photos and locals rushing by, the helicopters flying over and the shiny street lights of the city that never sleeps.


I did not realize at the time that if everything is possible, it might be harder to make something specific happen. There are just too many things going on and everyone's attention and time are being soaked up by all those many happenings and opportunities. It wasn't until much later when I realized that it might be a better idea to start at more focused, compact places. Especially if you know what you want, who you need, and why you have dropped yourself in a new location. It is no coinsidence that Alicia Keys and Jay-Z performed now unofficial anthem of NY, Empire State of Mind, in Times Square with lyrics that suited the occasion perfectly: "If you make it here, you can make it anywhere".


New York is a city of opportunities:



And it is EXCITING to live in New York! Nearly every corner has been featured in some movie, magazine, and immortalized in a song, mural or music video. Theaters, museums, stadiums, parks, great food scene and relatively O.K. public transport system make it a fun time, even if it is popular for New Yorkers to mob about all that. Especially the public transport and extensive crowds on streets. It was in New York that a food delivery service advertised with big billboards that said: "There are 8 million people in New York and we help you avoid them all!"


One city, countless feels.

BROMANCE. You can look at New York through the lens of Fran Lebowitz and Martin Skorseze, as it is presented in the Netflix series, Pretend It's A City. It's satirical yet sentimental set of stories about the city that you might love or hate, but it is a city that 6% of the U.S. population has chosen as their home. To summarize: No idea why I live in this nonsense place but I love it. Article content Pretend it's a city. Fran Lebowitz. Photo: Netflix through Untappedcities.com Wolves of Wall Street. 20 years ago, as a young freshman from the countryside, hungry for success, I dreamed of rushing the streets of the Lower Manhattan, all suit and tie, along with other traders, investors, and financial consultants. I would work my ass off in a crowded room full of fellow aspirants, make a bunch of money, move up the ladder, and soon be overlooking the capital of the world from my upper floor office, to then drive home in my Range Rover through the packed streets of New York. During lunch time, still fighting my way up the ladder, I would sit in a yard to eat my salad and talk to my peers and competitors, comparing our results. And watches. All That Jazz. Much later, upon a visit to New York, I strolled the Broadway and entered the theater showing the Chicago musical, with Ryoko Yonekura playing Roxie Hart. Perfect choreography, impressive sound and decorations, and all the glitter left me speechless. Then, during a late night walk though Harlem, I'd end up in a basement jazz club with artists experimenting and enjoying themselves, made me think: This is what the life is all about. Article content Chicago show on Broadway. Picture from Wagnernoel.com Decision makers. Whenever you have to meet a decision maker for one or another sectoral leader, you head to New York. Its offices host headquarters of many of the world's most impactful companies. You need a movie production company in LA? Head to NY to meet its directors. A retail company operating across the states? Go up to the 40th floor of a tall building in Soho, to meet the executives of a private equity firm that owns the retailer. Even as a startup, you'd find VCs from most of the investment firms in the Big Apple. If you manage to get to them. The Show. From shows and NBA games in Madison Square Garden, to aforementioned surprise shows by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys in Times Square, the Governors Ball Music Festival in Queens, New York hosts it all. As in London, you can always end up accidentally at some of the world's most impressive shows and events. Networking. Although I have never visited an expo in New York City, the city hosts a wide variety of them at the Javits Center and across other locations. There is always a book, album, product, show or movie presentation or premiere taking place in there. You can find a networking event for anything and anyone on Meetup or Eventbrite or Luma .


Getting around and daily costs.

I always find it quite easy to commute in New York. I prefer the subway or train, but I have also traveled by car, cab, and bus. I wouldn't recommend the rail-less options during peak times especially if you need to cross a bridge or go through a tunnel. On my first trips to NY, coming from then not that wealthy North East European country, I was surprised how cheap the public transport was. And it still is. The same goes for food options. Of course, you can find some of the world's most posh and expensive restaurants in the city, or chase world-famous places seen in movies, and end up disappointed by the lines outside, cost and quality of the desired dream come true. But you can also try out New York's famous pizza places, where a slice can be still priced at $1 at some locations. And I've never had a bad slice. Article content New York Pizza places for its common slices. Scarr's Pizza. Photo by Victor Llorente, taken from The New Yorker Doing groceries in the central New York is not that common and straightforward as in other cities. You do not find big grocery stores or reasonable prices. Seems like New Yorkers are not that much into preparing food, and prefer restaurants and drive-thrus over home food. Buying bottled alcohol is quite expensive, too, when compared to other cities and states. If you are looking for a more affordable way of living in or near the Big Apple or visit it for an extended period, New Jersey is always an option. The state across the Hudson River boasts some of the best quality of life indexes in the U.S., more affordable housing and groceries, more accessible some of the public services, greener spaces, and is an easy commute to Manhattan by private of public transportation if you are staying nearby. The closest parts of New Jersey to New York City are full of hotels and short-term rentals for good reason.


Will I make my dream come true in NYC?

Most likely not. As with Los Angeles for talent, New York for whatever dreams to come true is a challenging place that requires a lot of persistence, self-belief, and at least some prior connections and knowledge. As with all large cities, it is packed with everything, caters to anything, and can become a real black hole of time, attention and money. On top of that, New York is one of the busy cities. I mean, there are large cities that can still feel relaxed, like Los Angeles, or San Francisco, if you allow me to call it big. And then there is New York - always running, always rushy, a bit more rainy, and much more packed with people. Forget about getting someone to a first meeting without a clear value proposition, as it can work in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Still, is it worth trying? Sure! But make sure to know that you truly want to be there, know what you want, have a plan to achieve it, and be ready to adapt and change your plan.

Thanks for reading my New York City story, 4th in the series of takeaways from my 5y. exploratory journey across the United States. I hope these articles will serve the purpose and help you navigate your innovation and growth path in or with the United Sates. If something is missing, please comment.