Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO were instrumental in the Draft.

By Betsy Scherzer, Project Manager, Media & Emerging Technology and Lushi Li, Senior Project Manager

On February 1, NYCEDC and seven of NYC’s hottest startups boarded the NYC Startup Bus to journey to galaxies far, far away…err, Ithaca, for the first-ever Cornell University Startup Career Fair.

Following a busy afternoon of career fair booth visits, startup swag grabs, and Princess Leia photo opps, 75 Cornell students packed Phillips Hall to attend the NYC Tech Talent Draft, NYCEDC’s series of on-campus information sessions which provide computer science and engineering students with a firsthand look at exciting startup careers in New York City’s booming tech hub.

Our panel of distinguished founders and CTOs of NYC's leading startups spoke candidly about their entrepreneurial experiences, discussed the technologies they use to solve tough technical problems, and described why they love New York City.

Our all-star panelists were:

• Liz Crawford, CTO of Birchbox
• Premal Parikh, CTO of Everyday Health
• Danny Wen, Co-Founder of Harvest
• Tom Fuller, Chief of Engineering for Next Jump
• Josh Knowles, Managing Director of the New York Office for Pivotal Labs

Check out the full video of the panel (45 min) and more pictures here.

Afterwards, Cornell students munched on desserts and mingled with panelists and other NYC startup representatives during our networking reception, discussing compelling start-up job opportunities, getting career advice, and learning more about living and working in New York City.

Stay tuned for our next NYC Tech Talent Draft stop: Princeton.

Photo credits: Betsy Scherzer/NYCEDC