Hello, (blog)World.  I’ve been lurking a little too long — so thanks for reading my debut post.

@samianrosen

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New Years Day will be the 6-month mark of my departure from the comforts of a decent salary, scheduled vacation, predictable health benefits, an undeserved and overpaid Wall Street bonus, and the general downward spiral into the life of being a douche.

I was a tech n00b with an entrepreneurial spirit: unemployed and living off savings, uncertain about the future, but excited to wake up in the morning full of ideas and creativity.  Most of all, excited to learn, and it seems I couldn’t have picked a better place or better time.

There’s been plenty of discussion among people with much more experience than me about the NYC vs. SFO startup scene (my favorite is Fred Wilson’s presentation at Clickable). So for your sake, I will not reiterate all of the reasons why NYC is primed for a startup blowout (via@mikekarnj).

Phin Barnes recently wrote a great post about the start-up culture in NYC — this is a no bullshit, big money playing field and if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Phin mentions one component, which I think is the key to the NY tech scene’s success: “collaboration, not competition, is the dominant approach. Entrepreneurs in The City know each other, help each other and root for each other.”

In a very short period of time and with no tech experience at all, I’ve been able to network, ideate, and collectively dream with the NY Tech community. And all along the way, from founders to VCs, friends to new twitter friends, I’ve been surprised by how many conversations began or ended with the question, “What can I do for you?”  More than that, there is a palpable current that runs through events like the Future of Local Media, Hackers and Founders, and NextNY because people show an interest in what others are working, and will take the time to explain things to strangers and the unacquainted.  (As an aside, thanks to everyone that’s given me a brain-dump in the past 6 months.)

I believe collaboration is and will be the key ingredient to success coming out of the NY Tech scene.  It’s in our blood -– New Yorkers are forced to share cramped apartments, explore our common spaces together (parks, museums, restaurants and cafes), and are more willing to use public transportation than anyone else in this country. From the aftermath of 9/11 to the blackout of 2003, New Yorkers come together and overcome incredible challenges. Such close proximity to one another naturally facilitates the mixing of our cultures, beliefs, and ideas. New York City is animated by the collective energy and bustling that we all need as individuals to survive here, and the start-up ecosystem drinks at this well. 

We are all individuals, but step back and view us as a whole, like a mosaic, and you see the bigger picture. We come together from all corners of the globe and imagine the possibilities. We teach and learn from one another, and given the size of our network, we can accomplish a whole lot together.  (And hey, if someone like me can go from 0-to-making-references-to-metcalfe’s-law in 6 months…)

And so my hope is that we continue to collaborate, share, ideate.  I’d like to think there is a place for all of us to give, and when the time comes, to receive.  If nothing else, the most important lesson the last 6 months have taught me is that earnest participation can be an incredible contribution.  The simple act of (to paraphrase) “asking not what the community can do for you, but what you can do for the community” pays it forward — in spades.

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I’d especially like to thank the following people, many of whom took the time to guide me in the right direction, in no particular order:

Phin Barnes, First Round Capital, @phineasb

Charlie O’Donnell, First Round Capital, @ceonyc 

Jacob Brody, VentureBeat, @anwaraizer

Ed Kim and Kent Krekorian, Simple.Pr, @simplepr

Mark Davis, DFJ Gotham, @markpeterdavis

Jonathan Wegener, Exit Strategy NYC, @jwegener

Dennis Crowley, Foursquare, @dens

Justin Tsang and Dave Ambrose, Scoop St & Hackers and Founders,@scoopst @hackersfounders