Me, Myself, and the NY Tech Meetup
It Begins
Two years and four months ago, I got off the subway and walked through the doors of FIT for my first NY Tech Meetup. Inside, I expected to find startups and demos. Instead, I found a movement.
Later that night I sent Nate Westheimer the first of what would be many emails:
I love what you’re doing at the NYTM. Is there anything I can do to help?
Over the months, I’ve watched as the community has flourished and grown; I’ve worked hard to refine our meetup into an event worthy of the NYU Skirball stage and, more importantly, your time and attention.
I’ve trained and rehearsed hundreds of presenters and personally auditioned dozens upon dozens more. I’ve fought for openness, community, transparency, and action. I’ve rolled up my sleeves and gotten my hands just about as dirty as hands can get.
Two years and four months later, I’m still helping. Why? Because I love NY tech. That’s not campaign rhetoric: it’s my call to action, my modus operandi. It’s why I’ve volunteered for these two years, four months and counting.
My Platform (… in a nutshell)
I don’t run a business school, I haven’t grown a startup to 100 employees, and I certainly haven’t raised a billion dollars— but I have spent 2 years writing code, co-organizing the NYTM, and getting to know the community.
The NYC startup experience isn’t abstract to me: it’s what I’m doing right now.
The only skin I’ve got in the game is my own— I’m running for the NY Tech Meetup Board not as a representative of a huge startup or incubator program, but as your representative. I’ve given the community two years of sweat equity and dedication; now I’m asking for your vote so I can take things even further.
I stand for three things: community involvement, getting things done, and recruiting more hackers. It’s my intention to identify and empower community leaders as a means of fulfilling our potential as an organization. Meanwhile, we’ll collaborate more closely with our engineers, creatives, and builders to ensure that there’s a steady stream of talent to fuel our industry well into the future.
In Closing
I’ve been putting blood, bytes and tears into this group for a long time. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been rewarding. The NY Tech Meetup has incredible potential — potential that remains to be fully realized.
If you’ve attended a meetup or two, please take a look at my full platform at BrandonForNYTM.org — a small resource I’ve put together for the election. I’d like to do what I can to help the NYTM grow into the community-powered grassroots organization it was born to be; but before I can do that, I need your help.
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