THE MASSACHUSETTS SPIRIT OF INNOVATION, entrepreneurship and opportunity has benefitted the state, the nation and the world. There are endless resources available for entrepreneurs and businesses to grow and develop here!
VENTURE-BACKED COMPANIES IN MASSACHUSETTS
View Venture-backed Companies in MA, 2010 in a larger map
12x12
12x12 is an opportunity for some of the region’s most successful CEOs and VCs to give back through an unprecedented collaboration to amplify the region’s flow of innovation. It will accelerate the mix-and-match of great technology and business ideas, capital, and leadership to speed up the formation of new business with a high likelihood of success. 12x12 shines a spotlight on the state's vibrant environment for entrepreneurship and the vitality of Massachusetts as a global hub of technology and innovation12x12 is an opportunity for some of the region’s most successful CEOs and VCs to give back through an unprecedented collaboration to amplify the region’s flow of innovation. It will accelerate the mix-and-match of great technology and business ideas, capital, and leadership to speed up the formation of new business with a high likelihood of success. 12x12 shines a spotlight on the state's vibrant environment for entrepreneurship and the vitality of Massachusetts as a global hub of technology and innovation
MassChallenge is launching the largest-ever global startup competition to accelerate the launch and success of high-growth, high-impact new business. The first compeitition will launch this April and will end in October. Anyone can enter, with any idea, from anywhere in the world. Physical activities will take place in Massachusetts where innovation resources are most concentrated. Every entrant will receive training, feedback, PR and networking support via expert volunteers from partner organizations. Around 100 high-potential finalists will receive intensive mentorship and free resources based in Massachusetts, including office space, lab space, legal advice and targeted introductions to customers and funding sources. A dozen of winners will receive cash awards of ~$50-100K toward launching their businesses and will enjoy enhanced PR and privileged access to top investors. MassChallenge is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) leveraging both public and private funding, and does not take an equity stake in entrants or impose any restrictions on winners.
Produced by MITX, the industry's largest trade association for the Internet business and marketing community, the 7th Annual Technology Awards is a regional competition that recognizes and celebrates the most innovative technologies and services developed in New England. The competition provides a powerful opportunity for startups and mature technology companies alike to showcase their technologies to the media, investment and general business community. over the last seven years, this competition has honored hundreds of emerging companies and enterprises that have acknowledged the validation and exposure it brings to their company and products. To receive more information on this program, email awards@mitx.org with the name of your company, contact information and an explanation of how your company is currently funded.
Cambridge Innovation Center - Open Office Hours
A number of organizations who currently call the Innovation Center home will be hosting open office hours, including: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mass It's All Here, MassChallenge, and the New England Venture Capital Association. Click on the organization you would like to visit to learn more.
New England Venture Capital Association Members will hold open office hours in Kendall Square for the entrepreneurial community at large every Thursday from 2-5 PM during the Start Here segment in the 11th floor cafe of the Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway. To claim your slot, please visit here.
The office hour schedule for representatives from The Patrick Administration and Mass It's All Here may be accessed here.
Check out the Cambridge Innovation Center Groundbreaking here.
The Massachusetts Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
The Massachusetts Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold its annual celebration of Young Entrepreneurs honoring exceptional Massachusetts companies on February 25th from 6-8 at the UMass Boston Venture Development Center and in partnership Cambridge Innovation Center will launch their Entrepreneur Speaker Tour Series to state and community colleges, a program to introduce more college graduates in massachusetts to the idea of pursuing entrepreneurship as a career path.
Mass Technology Leadership Council, Inc.
Formed by the powerful combination of Mass Software Council and New England Business and Technology Association, Inc., the organization is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and promoting the success of companies that develop and deploy technology across industry sectors.
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The Mass Technology Leadership Council has April filled with great events for entrepreneurs and businesses! Click here for a calendar.
Mass Econ
Looking to locate or expand your business here? Mass Econ is the Commonwealth's central source of available property information in Massachusetts. Mass Econ's Site Finder Service paired with its Research and Information Service and Ambassadors program, ensure their ability to provide decision-support to companies evaluating Massachusetts as a location for their business
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SPECIFIC INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS AND INITIATIVES
Click on one of the links below to discover support, associations and opportunities in each industry.
Ongoing Venture Capital Support:
In addition to the upcoming open office hours, several local venture-captial companies have programs to help young entrepreneurs: Spark Capital's start@Spark, and Polaris' Dogpatch Labs. For more information on Dogpatch Labs click here.
Great news outlets/blogs to find out what’s going on in Massachusetts’ IT Cluster
Mass High Tech
Xconomy
Scott Kirsner’s Innovation Economy Blog
MIT Technology Review
Mass Innovation Blog
Regional EDCs
Regional organizations that provide resources and information to businesses operating in or entering various area of the Commonwealth by aiding in expansion, relocation and networking.
Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council
Berkshire Economic Development Corporation
Cape Cod Economic Development Council
North Shore Alliance for Economic Development
SouthCoast Development Partnership
495/MetroWest Partnership
North Central Economic Development Council
Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts
Startup Weekend
Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.The participants that attend a Startup Weekend decide what they want to tackle over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Attendees are responsible for bringing the same desire and passion to the project and walk out of the room with the task at hand, in a short 54 hours. Sound intense? It is.
OPEN HOUSE SERIES
A number of innovative entrepreneurial massachusetts companies will host open house receptions for the innovation industry state legislators, students and more all over the state. These receptions will include representatives from the extended company teams such as venture capitalists, counsel, accountants, universities and corporate partnerships.
Women and Entrepreneurship
Do women think, plan and grow companies differently?
Is
We're assembling a great panel of successful women who will give you their take on women and entrepreneurship featuring Sheila Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Care.com and the evening's host Ellen Rubin, Founder & VP of Products, Cloudswitch. For date and time click HERE.
HubSpot
HubSpot transforms a relatively static website into a modern marketing machine that produces the right leads and helps convert a higher percentage of them into qualified opportunities. For date and time click HERE.
Vivox
Vivox is the leading provider of voice chat services for online games and virtual worlds. Supporting over 15 million users in more than 180 countries and delivering over 2 billion minutes of voice chat a month, the Vivox Network is the world’s largest voice network for gamers. The Vivox voice chat solution is available on multiple platforms – PC, web based and for the PlayStation3® console. For date and time click HERE
RatePoint
Founded in 2006, RatePoint, Inc., provides small to medium-sized businesses with an easy and affordable web-based communication solution to build successful, lasting customer relationships, increase consumer confidence and manage their online reputation. With RatePoint, businesses can harness the power of credible customer feedback and automatically promote it online to leverage customer reviews into a sales, marketing and customer service asset. For date and time click HERE.
START-UP CHRONICLES
2010 Corporate Welcome Series
MassEcon, the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development, and its Ambassador network kicked of its 2010 Corporate Welcome Series with MassEcon's Ambassadors Corporate Welcome Reception on March 23, 2010. The event brought together senior state officials and private sector leaders to welcome eleven companies that have recently opened their doors in Massachusetts. MORE
Dr. Jennifer Rossi at Biocius explains why they've chosen to operate their business in Massachusetts.
Dr. Satish Medicetty of Neostem explains why Massachusetts is the right place to grow their company.
2010 Corporate Welcome Series companies:
MedTech IGNITE
MedTech IGNITE, an initiative of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), provides free mentoring to medical device entrepreneurs at the early stages of their company's conceptualization, formation and development
TechStars Boston
TechStars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment fund. Each year they run a summer-long program in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Web Innovators Group
The Web Innovators Group (WebInno) is comprised of people engaged in internet and mobile innovation in the Boston area. They aim to support entrepreneurs, visionaries, and creative thinkers in the field by holding events which foster community interaction.
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OpenCoffee
The OpenCoffee Club was started to encourage entrepreneurs, developers and investors to organize real-world informal meetups to chat, network and grow. They gather every Wednesday morning in Central Square, Cambridge.
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Dart Boston
DartBoston is a community of entrepreneurs, students and professionals under 30 helping one another start businesses.
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Check out these past DartBoston events:
Betahouse
Betahouse provides coworking for entrepreneurs, technologists and creatives.
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Awesome Foundation
Awesome Foundation awards $1000 grant to awesome ideas.
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Mass Innovation Nights
Mass Innovation Nights connect Massachusetts-based innovators with the marketplace using social media. Held at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, the monthly Launch Parties are free for everyone — companies and guests alike.
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Hubspot.tv and Permission TV are two local companies doing live online TV shows on helping entrepreneurs with social media techniques.
The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge is a volunteer, non-profit organization based at MIT whose mission is to promote and strengthen the process of starting and growing innovative and technology-oriented companies by providing services and programs that educate, inform, and support the entrepreneurial community.
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Silver Lining is a technology-focused group in New England that gathers to discuss issues and opportunities which include innovation, standardization, security, privacy, cloud computing, tech investment and other trends that arise. They currently focus on cloud computing.
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The Social Media Breakfast was founded as an event where social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.
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Greenhorn Connect is a Web portal Boston region entrepreneurs, connecting them with the most comprehensive resource listing and events calendar in the region, as well as other relevant and original content. Greenhorn Connect is focused on fostering community, as anyone can add a resource or an event to their calendar and regularly invites guest bloggers from the region to share their knowledge and experience.
The Capital Network is a community for entrepreneurs seeking between $50k and $4M who are building fundable businesses towards an exit strategy.
TiE-Boston is a comprehensive eco-system for entrepreneurs with vital resources for every stage of the entrepreneurial process. TiE-Boston runs several vibrant programs to educate, mentor, network and inspire entrepreneurs in the community. TiE connects entrepreneurs with each other and other stakeholders in the entrepreneurial world including other serial entrepreneurs, Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, Vendors and Service Providers. MORE.
Entrepreneur's Organization Boston
Entrepreneur's Organization is a dynamic, global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life.
