Additional Description 1
<p>New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC or the Corporation) has a history of supporting entrepreneurs in launching early-stage companies, including supporting startup programs across New York City (NYC). These programs have helped foster early-stage startups, strengthened the venture-backed startup community, and brought entrepreneurial education to New Yorkers. As the startup economy has grown, challenges continue to exist for entrepreneurs traditionally underrepresented in the tech industry, leading to inequities in the sector. To address this, NYCEDC seeks to provide mentorship, access, and resources to a diverse and inclusive community of startups, including those led by female founders, founders of color, and other communities traditionally underrepresented among venture-backed startups.</p><p>NYCEDC is seeking operators with substantial entrepreneurship networks and proven business-development success to recruit and facilitate the expansion of the Venture Access Founder Fellowship program (Fellowship). The Fellowship is dedicated to supporting a diverse community of founders building tech and tech-enabled businesses across a range of industries and service sectors. The Fellowship will equip diverse entrepreneurs with access to networking, fundraising, mentorship, business development, and other opportunities necessary to successfully build and grow an enterprise in NYC.</p><p>NYCEDC plans to select one or more operators on the basis of factors stated in the RFP which include, but are not limited to: alignment with the project timeline, respondent qualifications and experience; project feasibility, cost efficiency, and sustainability; experience with or interest in building programming focused on diversity, equity and inclusion; strategy to recruit diverse applicants; and capacity to host at least 20 Fellow teams.</p><p>It is the policy of NYCEDC to comply with all federal, state and City laws and regulations which prohibit unlawful discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status and other protected category and to take affirmative action in working with contracting parties to ensure certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) share in the economic opportunities generated by NYCEDCs projects and initiatives. Please refer to the Equal Employment and Affirmative Compliance for Non-Construction Contracts Addendum in the RFP.</p><p>An optional informational session will be held on Monday, August 1, 2022, at 3:00 P.M. Eastern Time virtually. Those who wish to attend should RSVP by email to FounderFellowshipRFP@edc.nyc at 2:00pm ET on August 1, 2022.</p><p>Respondents may submit questions and/or request clarifications from NYCEDC no later than 5:00pm ET on Friday, August 5, 2022. Questions regarding the subject matter of this RFP should be directed to FounderFellowshipRFP@edc.nyc Answers to all questions will be posted by Friday, August 19, 2022, to https://edc.nyc/rfps. Questions regarding the subject matter of this RFP will not be accepted after 5:00pm ET on Friday, August 5, 2022, however, technical questions pertaining to downloading and submitting proposals to this RFP may be directed to RFPRequest@edc.nyc up until the deadline on or before Friday, August 26, 2022.</p><p>Detailed submission guidelines and requirements are outlined in the RFP, available as of Friday, July 22, 2022. To download a copy of the solicitation documents please visit https://edc.nyc/rfps. RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN Friday, August 26, 2022. Please click the link in the Deadlines section of this projects web page (which can be found on https://edc.nyc/rfps) to electronically upload a proposal for this solicitation.</p>