Without Net Neutrality, Pittsburgh Startups Might Not Ever Start Up

In the spacious corridor of a trendy co-working space on Pittsburgh’s North Side, Michael Shenck runs through a list of all the ways his real estate startup, Ikos, uses the internet each day. “We are collecting a lot of market data to help better inform investors and all of that communication is over the internet, and also how we coordinate with insiders, our gig economy workforce,” Shenck explained. “It’s pretty critical to the flow of our workforce.” Ikos is a year-old business that connects landlords and renters, first virtually and then in-person. Without a fast website to facilitate that communication, Shenck, who is the vice president of engineering, said his company couldn’t operate. He said tech startups like his rely on the concept of net neutrality in order to succeed.