We called, and you answered.
A big thank you to everyone who sent in session ideas for our MassTLC Innovation unConference ticket giveaway. We received a number of great suggestions, but three of them stood out to us. Each of these ideas offers a unique framework for tackling perennial problems in the innovation community.
Here are the three winning submissions, as chosen by our editors, with descriptions (titles and descriptions have been edited):
Finding A Champion For Your Venture
“While getting an institutional or angel investor is great, sometimes what’s needed instead is a champion—someone, perhaps an industry luminary, who believes in the entrepreneur and the idea and is willing to open up his/her Rolodex and introduce the entrepreneur to potential customers, strategic partners, or investors,” says Tandhoni Rao.
Government or Private Sector Investment in Big Problems?
John Kawola notes that there are a number of societal problems that are too big for private industry to solve on its own, but that arguably might not fall within the role of government. “Is there a solution, perhaps a hybrid model where government and the private sector can work together?” asks John.
Bringing the Boston/Cambridge “Virtual” Incubator Model to Smaller Tech Hubs
“We know you can’t cut and paste, but how can you innovate it to create hubs that work?” is the question posed by Kerry Swift. Kerry cites Vermont as a place, like many others, facing both promising opportunities and daunting obstacles.
Congratulations to Tandhoni, John, and Kerry for their winning ideas! And don’t forget that you can still grab a ticket to the MassTLC Innovation unConference the old fashioned way by visiting http://masstlcuncon.org/register/.