Is New York the Next Hardware Epicenter?.
Over the past decade I have had a front row seat to the Hardware Renaissance. Having builtContour during a time period when “hardware” was considered a dirty word, I had the opportunity to watch Shenzen, Hong Kong, and San Francisco become the hardware startup ecosystems that everyone is talking about.
Primarily a west coast phenomenon, I didn’t spend much time in New York, until this last week. Not expecting much, I left the big Apple blown away by the energy of the hardware scene and convinced that New York will be one the epicenters for the hardware revolution.
Quietly, New York is building a thriving hardware scene from hackers to successful, multi million dollar companies. And although the shift has been recent, the depth and breadth of what is happening there is impressive.
Here are a few highlights of what I experienced.
Adafruit – Innovative Commerce
Adafruit, a maker focused website, has the potential to become the Zappos of the electronics market. Their roots in designing beautiful, open-source hardware is transcending into a passionate community of builders. Their education programs, company transparency, and incredible customer service leaves no doubt they are going to build something amazing. Well beyond the hardware components you can buy on their website, they are slowly creating a platform that enables anyone to build hardware faster, more affordably and with higher quality.
