Startups Show Off Latest Gadgets to Lure Talent, Investors at Long Island Tech Day

Long island’s tech industry showed off their latest products in search of talent and investors at the Long Island Tech Day in Uniondale.

Inside the free tech event at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex, head recruiter Phil Ruglie of the Huntington-based gift card tech company eGifter says he hires two to five people each time he comes to the event, which is why Ruglie keeps coming back; this is his third time at the Long Island Tech Day.

“It’s been successful for us in terms of finding interesting, talented people who are local or maybe they are working in the city and living on Long Island, and they want to stop the commute so they come to us,” Ruglie said.

About 200 companies come to this free event to show off their latest gadgets and look for talent among the more than 2700 attendees. It’s also a good place for new companies to find funding for their startups, Long Island Tech Day founder Andrew Hazen says.

“There’s obviously a need for incubation of startup companies. Also, the Long Island Angel Network has funding of over $20 million in deals in the last four years. Last year, we did over two million dollars, so there’s continual growth of startups and also companies seeking capital,” Hazen explained.

With exciting new opportunities fueling the day, the event has created unexpected networking opportunities for people like Issac Park, who landed a mobile app design job for Creative360 when he bumped into an old friend.

“I attended this event last year. I ran into an old college buddy of mine who is the CEO, and we reconnected after a few years. And then after a few months, he offered me a job at his company, and everything has been going pretty well now,” Park said.

The exposure also works well for existing companies like eGifter. Ruglie says Long Island Tech Day helps address his company’s growing pains by connecting him to more local employees who he might otherwise miss out on