With the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing last week, I have found it difficult to think about much else. Xconomy had previously invited me to write about the upcoming transformation MIT is bringing to Kendall Square. When it came time to sit down and write this piece, my first reaction was to pass. But … Continue reading “Kendall Square’s New Rules”
Author: Tim Rowe
Tim Rowe is the Founder and CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center. CIC houses approximately 185 startups, and is perhaps the densest collection of startups anywhere in the world. The Boston Globe has described CIC as “what may just be the most important building in Greater Boston.” Tim is also a Founder and Venture Partner with New Atlantic Ventures, an $115M early stage technology fund based in Kendall Square.
Previous adventures included four years with Boston Consulting Group in Boston, Madrid, and Singapore; a two-year stint as a lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management; and a role in organizing the “Woodstock of the Web” at CERN.
Tim is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management and Amherst College.
Tim has been named one of Boston’s “40 under 40” young business leaders, and currently serves as President of the Kendall Square Association.
Crowdfunding: The Train to the Future Is Leaving—Get on Board
It has been a whirlwind last few days in the crowd-funding world. For those of you who have not yet tuned in to this, there is legislation afoot, backed by the President and (so far) the House, that would enable, in effect, mini- IPOs as a way to fund startups. Forget everything you know about … Continue reading “Crowdfunding: The Train to the Future Is Leaving—Get on Board”
The World’s Most Innovative City
Most readers will be aware that Vertex announced it is moving from 900,000 square feet of laboratories and offices in Cambridge to over a million square feet in Boston. Some are asking if this spells serious trouble in Cambridge. This question surprises me. Cambridge is one of the world’s most important sources of next-generation technology … Continue reading “The World’s Most Innovative City”
Why It’s Noble to Be An Innovator
Many Xconomy readers have spent their careers in the innovation field. How important is our work? We all have friends who are doctors, teachers, firemen, journalists… people who make the world better somehow. How about us? Does our work stack up as meaningful? If you are an innovator, what follows is a primer on why … Continue reading “Why It’s Noble to Be An Innovator”
Boston Tech Scene Needs Fewer Doubles and Triples, More Home Runs
If the NSA monitored communications in Massachusetts, their analysts might raise an alert. With the baseball season over, there has been an anomalous amount of chatter using baseball terms as code for something. They would trace the threat to Bill Warner, Avid founder and long time innovation activist. Bill has recently published a manifesto on … Continue reading “Boston Tech Scene Needs Fewer Doubles and Triples, More Home Runs”
Net Neutrality: The Story of The Seven Pipes
Today at 4:30 at the Media Lab’s Bartos Theatre, the FCC will hold a public workshop to discuss net neutrality policy. What is the importance of net neutrality to the innovation community? We can learn a great deal about this by examining the stories of the seven pipes going into most American homes. Most homes … Continue reading “Net Neutrality: The Story of The Seven Pipes”
Thank You, Microsoft
This article was written with Michael Greeley, general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners and chairman of the New England Venture Capital Association. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer is here in Cambridge this morning meeting with community leaders, and presumably also with his own staff to learn how things are going at Microsoft’s New England Research and Development … Continue reading “Thank You, Microsoft”
As Legislators Ponder Non-Compete Agreements, A Look at Massachusetts’ Innovation History
This article was written with Geoff Mamlet. Today, some of our legislators will hold a hearing at the State House to discuss changes in Massachusetts’ non-compete laws. They would do well to heed our own past as an open employment state. In the mid-1780s, Samuel Slater was a young apprentice in England working for the … Continue reading “As Legislators Ponder Non-Compete Agreements, A Look at Massachusetts’ Innovation History”
How “Place” Matters in Innovation
There has been a lively debate following Scott Kirsner’s Innovation Economy blog “Why Waltham Doesn’t Matter.” One of the threads is whether it matters if entrepreneurs and VCs are physically concentrated close to each other. It should not matter where a VC’s offices are located. Good VCs and entrepreneurs will find each other. Andrew Perlman, … Continue reading “How “Place” Matters in Innovation”
Tragedy of the Commons: It’s (Really) Time to Ban Non-Compete Agreements
On snowy days in certain neighborhoods of our great city it is not unusual for someone to put an old trash can in an on-street parking space that they have recently cleared. We all know there is threat implied: if you take the spot, you will regret it. Given the effort expended to clear the … Continue reading “Tragedy of the Commons: It’s (Really) Time to Ban Non-Compete Agreements”
The Long Game
Old places can accomplish new things. Boston and Tokyo are both about 400 years old. Yet we’re different when it comes to planning for the future. Not long ago, Tokyo finished building a new island in its harbor, and a new city on that island, complete with a subway system that runs without human intervention. … Continue reading “The Long Game”