Business

The Grave Dancer of LIC & Rincon Melania

November 4, 2019 by editor 1 Comment

THE vaunted Financial Times profiled Long Island City resident and unicorn founder Amol Sarva last week, checking in to see how he was doing post WeWork debacle. “Quite well tyvm, we’re nothing like WeWork” to sum it up. Followed by some bullet points as to why his company Knotel is not, a short paragraph as to how the idea for the company came about, some personal history and a few not-so-outlandish founder quirks. Oh, and a lot of schadenfreude including his wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Grave Dancer” on it.

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Long Island City Claims Its First Unicorn

August 23, 2019 by editor 4 Comments

No unicorn, but in sync with these silly times

You may have missed the news earlier in the week, as the anointment of tech unicorns is becoming as ubiquitous as …becoming an actual billionaire. Or more likely, you may not have made the LIC connection. Don’t worry, no one else did, and that’s what we’re here for! Over a decade of experience plumbing the depths of Long Island City, archiving it all and then cross-referencing when appropriate. Quite simply no one else can do what we do for LIC.

Oh yes, that unicorn. It’s called Knotel and it was co-founded in 2016 by Amol Sarva, who’s also the CEO and frontman. Knotel is a workspace provider similar in nature to WeWork, and this week it was announced the company received an additional $400 million in financing at a valuation well over a billion dollars1, the hurdle for unicorn status.

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more specifically, the company received $400 mil in cash in return for a stake of between 15% and 30%. So for example if it were a 30% stake the other 70% would be worth $933 million putting the total 100% (70% + 30% or $933 mil + 400 mil) at $1.33 billion; if it were $400 mil for a 15% stake then $2.66 bil!?!?! [↩]

Summer’s End LIC Musings on Chinese Restaurants & Starbucks

August 14, 2019 by editor 4 Comments

Intensify the work of propagation - Iglesia De Cristo Long Island City — Some friendly advice from your neighbor

Serpentine Shelly, Serpentine!

THERE you are, you and your family have diligently saved and slaved for many years to start your own restaurant instead of working 12/6 in someone else’s. You choose a location based on the apparent need and lack of existing establishments, sign an expensive lease and begin a costly and torturous build-out, only to find halfway through the process that someone else had the exact same idea three blocks away. Whether it’s Hunan or Szechuan, by the time it gets distilled for American tastes it’s practically the same.

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AMAZON IN LIC: THE OPPOSITION TO THE OPPOSITION COMETH

February 11, 2019 by editor 3 Comments

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

While Amazon HQ2 may or may not be a good deal for NYC, there is no question it’s a great deal for LIC.

Now that Amazon has called their bluff, it’s time for the two anti-HQ2 politicians representing Long Island City to stop grandstanding and come to the table with specific asks. Preferably ones that the neighborhood is rallying for and have so far been fully ignored by Amazon de Cuomo, such as [Read more…] about AMAZON IN LIC: THE OPPOSITION TO THE OPPOSITION COMETH

OK MIKE GIANARIS, YOU OWN IT NOW

February 6, 2019 by editor 9 Comments

“BE careful what you wish for” was the advice I doled out back in November upon the initial opposition to HQ2 coming to LIC. With the appointment this week of our State Senator Mike Gianaris as one of only three voting members of a board – any of whom can veto the Amazon deal – Gianaris now owns whether this deal can be negotiated to his liking, or if Amazon walks. In doing so I hope that he is taking into consideration all of his constituents and not just pandering to that au courant segment of his political party that seems to be grabbing headlines the past few months.

It’s quite a turn in the spotlight for the Senator, who like most local officials [Read more…] about OK MIKE GIANARIS, YOU OWN IT NOW