Goodwin Procter partner Steve Davis recently interviewed Venture Capitalist Alessandro Piol in a fireside chat at the 2013 New York Venture Summit, the 13th annual conference which attracted over 600 attendees. The conference is organized by YoungStartup Ventures and chaired by Steve. Alessandro is the co-founder of tech VC fund Vedanta Capital and author of “Tech and the City: The Making of New York's Startup Community,” a book that tells the story of how and why the level of start-up activity in New York has increased at an exponential rate.
Introducing Alessandro, Steve called “Tech and the City,” “The most enjoyable book I’ve read in the past several years. I felt I was reading about friends, myself and others who have been in the New York tech community for the last 15 to 20 years. We were there.”
In the interview below, Alessandro shares his thoughts on the New York start-up community, including how it has been able to grow, what sets it apart from Silicon Valley and Boston, and what obstacles it presents to founders. He also comments on recent trends in the tech community.