An Interview with Ty Brown, Founder of Brooklyn United
As a teenager Ty Brown’s mother sent him to live with his Dad in the southern United States. But, he quickly wore out his father’s southern hospitality. When he arrived back in Crown Heights, despite having no experience in music, he joined a local marching band. The teenage Ty was likely unaware that this experience would become the stepping stone to a career in entrepreneurship and education.
Ty runs the famous Brooklyn United (B.U.), a youth marching band and after-school music program. While B.U. is known for their music performances in the neighborhood, they are more than just entertainment.
I interviewed Ty Brown at his new restaurant, Bergen BK, to talk about how he runs his businesses and the impact of Brooklyn United on the local community.
Q: In addition to Brooklyn United you recently opened a new restaurant, Bergen BK? What’s the motivation behind opening a restaurant?
A: These things are close to my heart, because the band needed it, the kids needed it, and the communities needed it. One of the biggest questions that the kids ask their parents at pick up is ‘What are we eating tonight?’ so there came the restaurant.
We also have a bus company, a printing company, and event spaces that BU uses for rehearsal.
Q: With multiple businesses to run, how do you personally stay focused?
A: It’s about early wake up, man. I love my 4 a.m. wakeup. I’m up planning and sending out to-do lists. By 9 a.m. when everyone catches up to me, I’m getting the reports for the day. And then at night I check again.
But it’s protected by an amazing team. I mean over 27 people on staff and most of them former members of the program or parents. At this point, it’s like a well-oiled machine. Managing it may seem hard, but we trust the team. They all know that I treat them as partners and not employees so if we lose money then they lose money.
Q: What impact has Brooklyn United had on the community?
A: Brooklyn United has dozens and dozens of young people who went to historically black colleges, with band scholarships. So the reality is, my personal focus is less about music and more about life. The truth is that we don’t treat our 4 year olds any different than our 17 year olds. We want to build strong individuals because when they get a “no” at one job, they can just move on to the next one.
Then, we have to take them beyond the entertainment side.
It’s a B.U. guarantee that they’ll [the students] will have exposure to stuff that other kids their age are never exposed to. The kids have traveled to Norway and South Africa and were able to experience a whole different culture.
I can almost guarantee that if they [the kids] spend five years with me, when they move on, they’re much better prepared than their counterparts. So we definitely put those [drum] sticks down and force them to interact with the audience so they can feel strong and confident.
My kids are not doing it for a grade or just to have something to do. They’re doing it because I’m promising success in life if you stick to this.
