From Attendees to Hosts: Our Week at NY Tech Week 2026

Every June, NY Tech Week turns the city into one long, overlapping conversation. Thousands of founders, engineering leaders, and investors move between rooftops, lofts, and back rooms across Manhattan, and for a few days the whole tech ecosystem is within walking distance.

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New York has always been a regular stop for us when visiting clients, but this year felt different. For the first time, we went beyond simply attending NY Tech Week and became active participants in it. As a team, we had the opportunity to experience both sides of the week: attending dozens of events across the city while also hosting one of our own.

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Here is a recap of the conversations, connections, and insights that made this year's NY Tech Week so memorable.

Hosting our own event: Humanizing Tech

The centerpiece of our week was Humanizing Tech: Scaling Teams in the AI Era, a CTO mixer we hosted together with John McKinney from Merge Conflict on Wednesday, June 3rd.

During a week filled with keynotes, product launches, and packed schedules, our goal was simple: create space for people to talk. Instead of panels or presentations, we brought together more than 120 CTOs, founders, VPs of Engineering, and technology leaders for an evening centered on genuine conversations, shared challenges, and new relationships.

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Despite AI being present in almost every conversation throughout the week, what people really wanted to talk about were the challenges surrounding it: leadership, hiring, decision-making, and how teams adapt as technology evolves. In that context, naming the event Humanizing Tech turned out to be exactly right.

One thing that surprised me was how quickly the room moved past technology itself. People were not debating which model was best or which tool had launched that week. Instead, they were talking about hiring, leadership, decision-making, team dynamics, and the skills that become more important as AI becomes more capable.

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That focus on the human side of technology remained evident until the very end of the evening. The venue was closing and people were supposed to be heading home, but conversations simply kept going outside on the sidewalk. After spending weeks planning the event, seeing discussions continue long after the lights were off felt like the best possible outcome.

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For us, that moment captured exactly what Humanizing Tech was meant to be. Nobody was checking the time. Nobody was rushing to the next event. The conversations simply did not want to end.

What made the event especially rewarding happened in the days that followed. Walking between other events, we kept running into people who had been to our mixer, and more than a few stopped to say the night had been worth it: a prospect found, a deal moving forward, someone they were glad to have met. For us, that is the whole point of hosting.

What we learned at NY Tech Week 2026

It was impossible to get through a day without AI in the room. What stood out was how much the discussion has matured. Far fewer people were asking what AI can do, and far more were working through what it changes in practice, from how products get built to how teams are organized and what agentic tooling means for day-to-day work, now that the early hype has settled into something more grounded.

After AI, nothing filled the calendar like founders and fundraising. Between the pitch nights, investor breakfasts, and founder dinners, the same questions kept surfacing, mostly about how to stretch a runway, keep a team lean and senior, and read what investors are backing this year.

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Some sectors seemed to have their own gravity throughout the week. Healthtech, fintech, and legaltech events were consistently packed, bringing together founders, operators, and investors navigating industries where innovation moves fast, but trust and regulation remain critical.

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There were also plenty of great talks and panels throughout the week. While it was impossible to attend everything, I left several sessions with pages of notes, new ideas, and a handful of takeaways I want to bring back to our own work. One theme kept surfacing across sessions was that the companies getting the most value from AI are not necessarily the ones using the most tools, but the ones integrating them into real workflows and day-to-day operations.

How to make the most of Tech Week

After a few editions, one thing is clear. Preparation is what separates a good week from an exhausting one. With dozens of overlapping events, the days move fast, and a little planning lets you focus on the conversations that matter.

A few things that work for us.

1. Map your contacts before you land. Check who from your network will be in town and set up short coffees or catch-ups around event hours. It makes everything else on site easier.
2. RSVP to several events early. NY Tech Week fills up quickly, and your plans will likely evolve once you're on the ground. Keep your options open, but be mindful to cancel any registrations you won't use.
3. Plan by geography. Pick events that sit close to each other so you are not crossing the city between sessions. Proximity saves more time than almost any other choice.
4. Wear comfortable shoes. This sounds obvious until you realize you have walked 20,000 steps before dinner. You will be walking between venues all day, often outdoors, so dress for a lot of ground and for weather that can change on you.
5. Make it easy to connect. Keep a QR code linking to your LinkedIn, or a business card, ready to share. On-the-spot connections are easy to lose if you have to fumble for details.
6. Have a clear, short story. You do not need a sales pitch. A simple, honest thirty-second version of what you are working on starts better conversations than any deck.
7. Follow up while it is warm. A short message in the first couple of days, even just to say you enjoyed the chat, is what turns a hallway introduction into a real relationship.

Relationships First

Around the events, we spent the week meeting with clients, partners, and new connections in person, talking through ongoing projects, new challenges, and what comes next. Those conversations are always one of the most valuable parts of the trip, whether they're with long-time clients, partners, or people we're meeting for the first time.

As much as NY Tech Week is about technology, it is also about bringing people together. A quick coffee, an unexpected introduction, or a conversation between events can often be just as valuable as the events themselves.

For us, proximity has never been just about geography. It's about staying close to our clients, our partners, and the conversations shaping the industry. Weeks like this are an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships, build new ones, and spend time with people we don't always get to see in person.

If you'd like a quick look at the week before diving into the full recap, you can watch our NY Tech Week video recap here.

NY Tech Week 2026 is a wrap. Between Humanizing Tech, industry events, meetings, and countless conversations throughout the week, it was a memorable few days for our team.

Thank you to everyone who joined our event, spent time with us, shared ideas, and helped make the week what it was. But more than anything, we were reminded that the best part of NY Tech Week isn't the events themselves, but the people you meet along the way.

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