10 women entrepreneurs fueling Brooklyn’s booming startup scene

As New York City’s nascent startup scene is brimming with opportunity, backed by exponential increases in invested capital and jobs, the city’s female entrepreneur population has also surpassed other tech hubs.

While only about 16 percent of San Francisco’s startups are led by women, 21 percent of New York’s startups have at least one female founder. New York also beats out other technology centers like Boulder (18 percent) and Palo Alto (12 percent) on this front, according to CrunchBase. When considered as its own city, Brooklyn emerges as a national leader in the startup world, with 28 percent of the city’s young companies run by women.

While Brooklyn is quickly becoming a hotbed for New York tech with its open-minded inhabitants, plethora of coworking options and unicorn veterans, female entrepreneurs will continue to flock to Brooklyn as a practical borough to launch their companies. Here are some of the influential women already shaping Brooklyn tech.

 

Daniela Perdomo
Cofounder and CEO, goTenna

Daniela Perdomo founded

 in 2012 with her brother, Jorge Perdomo. goTenna is a cognitive digital radio that pairs with your  smartphone to let you communicate with other goTenna users when you don’t have service. The company launched a preorder campaign midway through 2014, and the product became available for purchase in November of this year.

 

 

Nancy Kruger Cohen
Cofounder and Chief Creative Officer, Mouth Foods

Nancy Kruger Cohen is the Founder and Chief  Creative Officer of

,  an e-commerce food market. On October 20,  Mouth Foods raised a $5.5 million Series A round.

 

 

 

Audry Hill and Gauri Nanda
Cofounders of Toymail

 is pioneering the IoT for toys as a connected platform that entertains and educates children without putting them behind a screen. Gauri Nanda cofounded Toymail with her best friend, Audry Hill, when she wanted to stay connected to Audry’s kids.

 

 

Erin Bagwell
Producer and Founder, Dream, Girl

In August of 2014, Erin Bagwell, founder of  Feminist Wednesday, launched a Kickstarter  campaign to fund her vision for a documentary  film. Over 30 days, Bagwell’s campaign almost  doubled its financial goals and raised over  $100,000 to produce "Dream, Girl," a documentary that will tell the untold stories of women entrepreneurs. Dream, Girl will be released in the spring of 2016.

 

 

Emily Doubilet and Jessica Holsey
Cofounders of Susty Party

Emily Doubilet and Jessica Holsey met at a party  and then decided to launch a line of eco-friendly    products together.

is an e-commerce platform that offers sustainable and compostable party tableware and home goods. All products are made in partnership with nonprofit factories who employ and empower people with disabilities, visual impairments or support a charitable cause by donating proceeds.

 

 

Elizabeth Green
Cofounder, CEO, Editor-in-Chief, Chalkbeat

With a passion for journalism and educational  equity, Elizabeth Green founded

, a digital news startup that  provides news and analysis on educational change efforts. Chalkbeat’s mission comes from Green’s belief that a more informed education conversation will spark tangible improvements in public schools.

 

 

Jocelyn Leavitt
CEO and Cofounder, Hopscotch

Jocelyn is the CEO and cofounder of

, a mobile-first platform that  makes computer programming fun and accessible to children. Prior to founding Hopscotch, Leavitt worked as an educator and business owner, and now wants to empower students through experiential learning.

 

 

Jennifer Fitzgerald
Cofounder at PolicyGenius

A former McKinsey consultant, Jennifer Fitzgerald  cofounded  to fill a  gap in the insurance industry. PolicyGenius  provides a modern form of consumer insurance  with instant, accurate online quoting and digital advice tools. In June, the company nabbed a $5.3 million Series A.

 

 

Katelyn Gleason
CEO and cofounder at Eligible

Katelyn Gleason is the CEO and cofounder of  

, the platform that  makes it simple for healthcare engineers to pass  and receive financial transactions with over 1,000  health insurance  companies across the country.  In the summer of 2012, Gleason studied at Y Combinator in Mountain View, CA to help bring Eligible to fruition.

 

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