We’re announcing a new TechCrunch TV show called Built in Brooklyn, and its main goal is simple — to showcase a bunch of cool Brooklyn startups.
This has been in the works for months, but I’m glad we’re announcing it today — exactly one year after I moved from San Francisco to New York City. I ended up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, and boy, it really feels like everyone has an opinion about where I’m living. I’ve heard that Williamsburg is over, Bushwick is the new Williamsburg, Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, New Jersey is the new Brooklyn, ad infinitum.
Those arguments aren’t just about rising rents and fancy restaurants. There’s also been a lot of talk about how the startup scene is exploding in New York, and, naturally, some backlash claiming that such talk is mostly hype.
This show isn’t going to settle any of those arguments. It did, however, give me a chance to move beyond generalities. We got startup founders to come on camera and discuss not just their companies, but also their personal stories, why they started their companies where they did, and the dramatic changes that Brooklyn has seen in the past few years.
We’ll start the show off in earnest on Monday, with an episode looking at Maker’s Row, an online marketplace where businesses can find US manufacturers. Keep coming back every Monday and you’ll find episodes looking at FlyCleaners, HowAboutWe, Gotham Greens, Wool & Prince, Atavist, and others.
Oh, and if you’re wondering why we neglected the rest of New York, hey, we like those startups too. We just didn’t want this to get too broad — and Built In New York doesn’t have the same ring to it.