[Updated 9:05 a.m., 11/16/09, see below] David Cohen, the co-founder of Boulder, CO-based venture incubator program TechStars, sent Xconomy a note this morning to say that the Boston version of TechStars is coming back to town a bit earlier than expected. The 2010 session of TechStars Boston will take place in the spring, rather than … Continue reading “TechStars Boston Gets a Jump on Summer, Switches to Spring; Applications Open Now”
Tag: TechStars
The Rise of Agile Organizational Development
There’s lots of buzz in the startup community about agile software development; there are software programs, books, and seminars on the topic, and even huge firms like IBM are now touting their “agile development solutions”. The general idea is to create a team and a software process that is flexible, quick, and adaptive to feedback … Continue reading “The Rise of Agile Organizational Development”
Startup Failure: Seattle’s Stigma, Boston’s Chip on Its Shoulder, and Silicon Valley’s Badge of Honor
“People say if you fail in Seattle, you’re screwed,” said Marcelo Calbucci. “If you fail in the Bay Area, you just have a badge of honor.” We were at the TechStars reunion event in Seattle last week, listening to early-stage investors Brad Feld, Andy Sack, Steve Hall, Greg Gottesman, Shawn Broderick, and Chris Sheehan speak … Continue reading “Startup Failure: Seattle’s Stigma, Boston’s Chip on Its Shoulder, and Silicon Valley’s Badge of Honor”
A Tale of Three Cities: How Boston, Boulder, and Seattle Measure Up as Tech Innovation Hubs
I was chatting with a couple of local investors at the TechStars (seed fund and mentorship program) event in Seattle on Wednesday. They thought the VC panel discussion of the startup climate and culture in different cities around the country was boring. If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, they said, that’s just where you are, … Continue reading “A Tale of Three Cities: How Boston, Boulder, and Seattle Measure Up as Tech Innovation Hubs”
Energy Experts React to Forthcoming Cleantech Incubator from McKinstry
The smell of startup incubators is in the air. Adeo Ressi from TheFunded recently announced that his Founder Institute training program for entrepreneurs is coming to Seattle this winter. And next week, TechStars, the seed-stage investment fund with operations in Boulder, CO, and Boston, is holding its annual reunion event in Seattle amid increasing buzz … Continue reading “Energy Experts React to Forthcoming Cleantech Incubator from McKinstry”
Founder Institute, Early-Stage Startup Program, Comes to Seattle Thanks to a Gaming Connection
There’s a new tech startup incubator in town. The Founder Institute is accepting applications for its four-month training program, which begins in Seattle on December 7. The program is designed to mentor very early-stage entrepreneurs, with the goal of creating new companies across a wide variety of tech sectors including software, social media, consumer electronics, … Continue reading “Founder Institute, Early-Stage Startup Program, Comes to Seattle Thanks to a Gaming Connection”
TechStars Event in Seattle to Draw Top VCs and Angel Investors
TechStars, the startup incubation and seed investment fund based in Boulder, CO, and Boston (as of this year), is holding its annual reunion event in Seattle on November 4. (See a couple of local VC blogs here and here.) As part of the event, a number of TechStars companies that are raising money will make … Continue reading “TechStars Event in Seattle to Draw Top VCs and Angel Investors”
Notes from Dogpatch Labs’ Housewarming Party—and a List of Initial Inhabitants
It was a cold and drizzly night (how’s that for original writing?) last Thursday, and I was running late. But Dogpatch Labs Cambridge was holding its housewarming party across the street from Xconomy World Headquarters, so I braved the elements to stop in. I walked into a crowded house of 70 folks or so, boxes … Continue reading “Notes from Dogpatch Labs’ Housewarming Party—and a List of Initial Inhabitants”
TechStars Boston is Homeless, But Will Return in 2010—Director Finds Shelter in Dogpatch Labs
One of the worst things that happened in the Boston entrepreneurial community this year was that Y Combinator decamped to do all its incubating of new tech companies in Silicon Valley. One of the best things that happened was that a few months later, TechStars moved right in to fill the void. The incubator camp … Continue reading “TechStars Boston is Homeless, But Will Return in 2010—Director Finds Shelter in Dogpatch Labs”
How Twitter Got an App Store: The Oneforty Story (Part 2)
The second big thing in the genesis of Twitter app store oneforty (the first being proof that a real economy was possible on Twitter—see Part 1 of the oneforty story) was that Laura Fitton couldn’t find anyone besides herself to manage the company. As readers of the initial installment of this story will remember, Fitton … Continue reading “How Twitter Got an App Store: The Oneforty Story (Part 2)”
“Not Your Father’s Route 128”: Jason Schupbach Promotes Massachusetts’ Creative Economy
In his 2006 run for the Massachusetts governor’s office, Deval Patrick campaigned on the need to make the most of the state’s “creative economy,” meaning industries such as advertising, architecture, design, digital media, film, gaming, marketing, music, publishing, tourism, and the arts. It’s a sector that employs at least 100,000 people in the state, and … Continue reading ““Not Your Father’s Route 128”: Jason Schupbach Promotes Massachusetts’ Creative Economy”
How Twitter Got an App Store: The Oneforty Story (Part 1)
“Ohh, Twitter needs an app store.” It was coming up on Christmas of 2008. Laura Fitton was writing a chapter on the top 10 applications for Twitter for her book Twitter for Dummies when the thought struck her like a tweet out of the blue. She jumped up from her office in Brighton, MA, and … Continue reading “How Twitter Got an App Store: The Oneforty Story (Part 1)”
TechStars’ First Class of Boston Startups Launched at Microsoft-Hosted Gala
One of the big tickets in town last night for the tech startup community was the TechStars Investor Evening at Microsoft’s New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge. (The other was a big Polaris-hosted party at Fenway Park for Woburn, MA-based LogMeIn, celebrating its July IPO.) The TechStars event, where the Boulder, CO-based venture … Continue reading “TechStars’ First Class of Boston Startups Launched at Microsoft-Hosted Gala”
Dog Patch Labs Is Just the Latest in a Rash of New Initiatives to Help Boston Entrepreneurs—And It All Seemed to Start When Y Combinator Left Town
[Updated October 5, 2009—see below] Today was a good day for Boston area entrepreneurs, as Polaris Venture Partners announced the opening of a new startup incubation and geek hangout space, Dog Patch Labs Cambridge, which will open next week on Third Street not far from Kendall Square. Dog Patch Cambridge, which I wrote about earlier … Continue reading “Dog Patch Labs Is Just the Latest in a Rash of New Initiatives to Help Boston Entrepreneurs—And It All Seemed to Start When Y Combinator Left Town”
Oneforty Gets Funded
Oneforty, a company creating an online clearinghouse of applications related to Twitter, is the first participant in the TechStars Boston summer startup incubator program to receive funding, according to a report last Friday from Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner. The San Francisco company, led by CEO Laura Fitton, has reportedly raised under $250,000 in funding … Continue reading “Oneforty Gets Funded”
Boston Venture Firms Dominate New Mentoring Program for New York Startups
If you want to build a program to nurture early-stage startups in New York City through regular meetings with investors, legal and financial advisors, and experienced CEOs, where do you turn for mentors and sponsors? To Boston, naturally. Of the 11 founding members of the new First Growth Venture Network, five—Battery Ventures, Charles River Ventures, … Continue reading “Boston Venture Firms Dominate New Mentoring Program for New York Startups”
Boston VCs Grok Social Media—So Can We Please Not Tell That Facebook Story Anymore?
The X Factor, which debuted last week without yet having a name, is a mostly weekly column featuring conversations with local innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors. It’s a legendary story of doom here in Boston (folks around here kind of like gloomy stories)—how the local VCs passed on this idea called Facebook, the kids from Harvard … Continue reading “Boston VCs Grok Social Media—So Can We Please Not Tell That Facebook Story Anymore?”
LaunchCapital Announces Investments in Six Startups
Massachusetts venture investors have long taken heat for the perception, at least, that they shy away from very early-stage (read, risky but potentially game-changing) investments—and many folks have pointed to a relative dearth of venture firms that specialize in seed-stage plays. In recent months, though, there seems to be a definite uptick in interest in … Continue reading “LaunchCapital Announces Investments in Six Startups”
Spark Capital Launches Startup Seed Fund
[Updated with interview material from Spark Capital general partner Bijan Sabet, see below.] It’s almost the equivalent of the “microloans” phenomenon for the venture world: the profusion of startup schools, bootcamps, incubators, and seed funds that give teams small amounts of money—from a few thousand dollars to a few hundred thousand—to get their ideas up … Continue reading “Spark Capital Launches Startup Seed Fund”
A New World Order for High-Growth Firms
Many of my friends and neighbors may have noticed that I haven’t been in town as much lately, and that I’m spending more and more of my time in Kansas City. So why would a hardened MIT denizen who used to think that distant travel meant going to Porter Square now be flying back and … Continue reading “A New World Order for High-Growth Firms”
Highland Program Offers No-Strings Stipends to Student Entrepreneurs
With the departure of Paul Graham’s Y Combinator startup school, Boston-area entrepreneurs have one less local source for seed funding and mentorship. With the advent of a Boston clone of Boulder, CO-based TechStars, they have one more—so things have evened out. But Highland Capital Partners‘ “Summer@Highland” program has been a constant in the area throughout … Continue reading “Highland Program Offers No-Strings Stipends to Student Entrepreneurs”
VC Model Is Not Broken: Insights from Brad Feld of TechStars and Foundry Group
It’s always good to hear an outside perspective. Last night, Boulder, CO-based entrepreneur and investor Brad Feld, the co-founder of Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, and TechStars, gave a talk at the Palace Ballroom in Seattle. The event was organized by Dave Schappell of TeachStreet and T.A. McCann of Gist. The crowd amounted to well … Continue reading “VC Model Is Not Broken: Insights from Brad Feld of TechStars and Foundry Group”
TechStars “Entrepreneurship Boot Camp” Comes to Boston: An Interview with Co-founder David Cohen
You lose some, you win some. Less than four weeks after Paul Graham’s unceremonious announcement that his formerly bicoastal startup school Y Combinator would be taking up permanent residence in Mountain View, CA, ending a tradition of summer sessions in Cambridge, MA, a new startup program is coming to town: Boulder, CO-based TechStars. Founded in … Continue reading “TechStars “Entrepreneurship Boot Camp” Comes to Boston: An Interview with Co-founder David Cohen”
Google to Host Startup Weekend in Seattle
Want 54 hours to start a tech company? You got it. In a few weeks, Google will be hosting a talented group of entrepreneurs from the startup community, giving them time and space over a weekend, and adding stimulating discussions, activities, and, yes, food. With that potent mix at work, local organizers want to see … Continue reading “Google to Host Startup Weekend in Seattle”
Founder’s Co-op Gets Warm Reception, Wants Startups That Will Survive Cold Recession
Andy Sack’s favorite coffee drink is a 12-ounce, single-shot, non-fat latte. But if you’re meeting with him to pitch your latest technology startup idea, be advised that he’s probably on his second or third cup already. These days, his schedule is filled with meetings and networking—most of it pretty informal. “I’ll have coffee with anyone,” … Continue reading “Founder’s Co-op Gets Warm Reception, Wants Startups That Will Survive Cold Recession”
Y Combinator Recombined: Talking with Philadelphia Startup Incubator DreamIt Ventures
Everything is moving faster in the Internet age, it seems—including startup incubators. At incubators that follow the traditional model, like Idealab or Biogen Idec’s Innovation Incubator, young companies get to spend a leisurely year or two getting their first product out the door, while benefiting from the financial and administrative support of a larger parent … Continue reading “Y Combinator Recombined: Talking with Philadelphia Startup Incubator DreamIt Ventures”