TechCrunch TV interviewed some of the New York startups at Distrupt NY, In addition, they also talked to a nonprofit organisation called Brooklyn On Tech which can be considered as training the next generation of startup founders.
As co-founders Jessica Santana and Evin Robinson explained “We always had a huge interest in technology, but at the time, we didn’t know that we could be technologists,”.
Brooklyn has become one of the startup hubs, they wanted all the local kids to be able to connect with the tech industry constantly. So they decided to come up with a program that lasts a year enabling high school students from brooklyn to learn programming skills and a broader variety of skill sets.
Santana admitted that there has been a great level of skepticism among the residents of Brooklyn whether this "tech thing" will be a great profit and gainful for them or a total loss that can even drive them out, she said she sees it as “make that an opportunity to create meaningful conversations with people who have been traditionally left out of those conversations.”
The key, as she said is “pipelines for people who have been underrepresented in the technology industry to actually go ahead and call their place of employment home in places like the Brooklyn Tech Triangle” - which is a level they are trying to attain.
The organization worked with 20 students in its first year, and Robinson said they’re planning to double that number to 40 or 50 this fall. Santana and Robinson are looking for their next group of students and mentors — you can learn more at the Brooklyn on Tech website.
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