Last year, I created a startup in secret.
I thought there should an easier way for local businesses to create and run a commercial on YouTube.
So I enrolled in Startup School from Y Combinator. I learned After Effects, Audition, Premiere Pro, and a dose of automation. I got certified in Google Ads for Video. And I started testing formats for local YouTube commercials — hyper-targeting folks in their neighborhood who had recently searched for what they do.
Some worked. Others didn’t. But each test improved the next one. And the next one. Until more people started watching the commercials than skipping them.
Finally, I had a tool that opened the elusive world of video advertising to local businesses, and brought real people into their doors.
But then the shutdown happened.
My freelance gig (funding the endeavor) got cut short. My Brooklyn neighborhood completely changed.
And it became clear: now is not the time to ask for money from small businesses.
So I went with my gut. And made the entire thing free.
Introducing Neighborhood: The easiest way to launch a commercial for your local business — completely free for every small business in NYC.
