Being Big, Inspired by Small: Silicon Alley

New York is a vibrant community with perhaps the most diverse mix of people from around the world. With over 25,000 people per square mile, it is a fantastic place for startup culture, and the opportunities for spinning up and plugging into SoLoMo (social, local, mobile) applications and for establishing innovative delivery and fulfillment services are countless. And that's just the beginning. We’ve seen great success stories established here in the last decade — companies from the likes of Tumblr, ZocDoc, MongoDB and even Etsy all started here in Silicon Alley.

Having access to such a dense and diverse population gives startups the reach needed to test, learn and optimize quickly, simulating how a product or service may scale, but with far fewer resources. It’s even more helpful that NYC offers opportunities across industries. Leaders in finance, technology, entertainment, healthcare and more are no further than subway ride away, and crossing paths with brilliant minds is almost always assured. And these allies (or more likely, competitors) are around often enough to pressure-test ideas in one way or another. The startups that succeed here tend to do so because of their relevance to their customers, the rich experience they provide, and the way that they become regularly embedded in peoples’ lives.

In any creative agency, it is a priority to have a holistic view on culture around us so that we can build on our (or our clients’) products and services in a way that drives relevance to our audiences. That is why Y&R has its incubator, SparkPlug. With SparkPlug, we gain access into startup culture and receive insights into how people are developing solutions against the lifestyle and behavioral constructs of tomorrow, all while being able to help support new, innovative companies withstand their initial business challenges. Bringing in this outside perspective helps energize our culture, and this culture then becomes embedded in anyone who walks through our doors.

Juan Charvet is Director of Experience Strategy at Y&R New York