Specifically, what are some good places (like TechCrunch etc.) to publicize a startup?

It also greatly depends on "why" do you want the publicity. There are tools to become visible for investors, there are networks to attract board members etc
At last but not least - there are networks and tools to get partners and buyers/licensees.
Happy to discuss.

Totally depends on the nature of your startup. Assuming it's a "normal" tech/software/app kind of startup, given your TC reference....

There is publicity you pay for (advertising), you earned (did something the press wanted to write about), or you generate (like building an infographic that goes viral).

Assuming you mean traditional press, the normal outlets are: TechCrunch, VentureBeat, GigaOm, Mashable, and PandoDaily. Other publications also include startup coverage, like WSJ, Forbes, Wired, Inc, FastCo, etc.

But be warned that these are press outlets. They want to cover *stories*. You don't just approach them and say "publicize me"... unless you want to pay for the ad space to do so.

If you want to buy space on those sites, check out www.buyads.com.

It really depends of the nature of your startup to be honest.

If you want you can send me a link to your website and a brief decription of what you do, what kind of problems you solve, what is your target audience. After that we can make a call and I can explain you exactly how you can gain publicity for your startup.

I'm sending you a VIP link for a free call
https://clarity.fm/martinzhel/inbound

If you're pre-release and you're looking to do some lead generation for your startup, then http://betali.st/ is a fantastic resource. I've used it a couple of times now and have received between 300 - 500 e-mail signups in the first week.

I have been a journalist and PR practitioner for more than 25 years. I can't count how many media lists I have developed or reviewed for clients. I can't give you specific places because you've told me nothing about your venture. However, there are only two questions you need to answer:

1. Does this outlet reach and influence my market? If it doesn't, you're wasting your time. No matter how ego-boosting it might be to get into TechCrunch, if your customers and those who influence your customers aren't reading it, then it's doing you no good!

2. Does this outlet or writer cover what I'm all about? If they don't, then, again, you're wasting your time.

Imagine a Venn diagram with each of two circles containing all the outlets for which you answered yes to one of these two questions. The outlets in the overlap portion are your targets. Period.

Of course, there are many more things you need to cover off before pitching even the right media, not least of which is that the answers to my questions will change depending on the story you're pitching. Happy to go over some of those on a call.