Summer is here, and as we move into the
Memorial Day weekend, it's a good time to get out and remember why we
choose to live in New England.
But first, let's catch up on some news, shall we?
As Greylock Partners moves their home office to
Silicon Valley,
local entrepreneurs instead have been busy thinking of new and
innovative ways to attract
new ventures. A leader in this effort is Scott Kirsner, a columnist for
the Boston Globe and an evangelist for innovation in New England.
Below we reference a summary of a discussion
Scott moderated recently with leaders of the regional innovation
economy to discuss how to better promote New England to the country and
the world. I wasn't there, but I did listen to the 90 minute or so
recording on his web site. If you are interested in this topic -- and
you probably are if you are reading this newsletter -- it is definitely
worth the time it takes to listen.
There are plenty of intelligent people tossing
out many interesting ideas. I found it useful not just as I think about
how to tie together and promote web entrepreneurs in the area, but also
got a few business ideas along the way.
Finally, a reminder to please pass this newsletter on to colleagues and friends who might be interested. It is easy for anyone to sign up to receive this newsletter. We're also always looking for ideas for content for this newsletter as well as the calendar below, so just email me with any suggestions.
Now, let's move on to upcoming items from the NEWE Calendar of Events and then the news update.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, May 26
* All day - TechStars Boston Begins
Wednesday, May 27
* 8:30am - OpenCoffee in Cambridge, MA
* 6:30pm - All Software Is Defective: Implications for the Software Industry
Thursday, May 28
* 6:00pm - Get Smart: Legal Guide to doing Business on the Internet
Friday, May 29
* 7:30am - Growing Your Business in a Down Economy: What Successful Companies are Doing for High Yield Results
Brainstorming: How Do We Better Communicate New England's Innovative Mojo
Scott Kirsner - Innovative Economy
We had a great 2.5 hour brainstorming session last night at the offices of Flybridge Capital Partners in the Back Bay, focused on this question: how do we better communicate New England's innovative, creative, entrepreneurial spirit to the rest of the world? The folks who participated are listed all the way at the bottom of this post. I would've invited more, but we wanted a small-ish group in order to give everyone a chance to participate, and wanted to represent various fields (like energy, life sciences, digital media, etc.)
Scott Kirsner - Innovative Economy
We had a great 2.5 hour brainstorming session last night at the offices of Flybridge Capital Partners in the Back Bay, focused on this question: how do we better communicate New England's innovative, creative, entrepreneurial spirit to the rest of the world? The folks who participated are listed all the way at the bottom of this post. I would've invited more, but we wanted a small-ish group in order to give everyone a chance to participate, and wanted to represent various fields (like energy, life sciences, digital media, etc.)
Downturn Can Be Good For Startups
Tom Brown - Burlington Free Press
Keynote speaker David Aronoff of the Boston-based venture capital firm Flybridge Capital Partners said the down economy favors startup companies over toddler-aged firms that are expected to produce revenue. "The best investments are made at a trough in investment activity, not as the markets accelerate," Aronoff said. The event is designed to bring students, faculty and the business community together to explore how to bring technology ideas to market. Workshops focused on what works and what doesn't in building a business plan, how to find the right match between company and investor, and where the money is to fund startups these days.
Tom Brown - Burlington Free Press
Keynote speaker David Aronoff of the Boston-based venture capital firm Flybridge Capital Partners said the down economy favors startup companies over toddler-aged firms that are expected to produce revenue. "The best investments are made at a trough in investment activity, not as the markets accelerate," Aronoff said. The event is designed to bring students, faculty and the business community together to explore how to bring technology ideas to market. Workshops focused on what works and what doesn't in building a business plan, how to find the right match between company and investor, and where the money is to fund startups these days.
Brad Feld's Latest Investment: Students
Roxanne Palmer - Xconomy
A 1988 graduate of Sloan and co-founder of the Foundry Group, a
Boulder, CO-based venture capital firm, Feld was looking to make a gift
to his alma mater that would nurture the climate of entrepreneurship at
the school. "With the current economic downturn," says Feld, "there was
a lot of interest in helping subsidize some of these internships." So
part of a donation Feld recently sent to the school will be used to
fund summer internships for six first-year Sloan MBA students at
Boston-area startups. The program pays half of the students' $1,000
weekly salary, with the companies themselves putting up the rest.
New HQ for Greylock Partners: Sand Hill Road... Menlo Park...California
Scott Kirsner - Innovation Economy
Just got off the phone with Bill Helman of Greylock Partners, who shed some light on the story everyone is talking (and Tweeting) about this morning: Greylock is moving its home office from Waltham to Menlo Park. "This doesn't mean that Boston is a zero," he continued. "Boston is a terrific location, and there will continue to be success here. But the big change was moving the back office [to California, and deciding to add new partners there.] I have an emotional attachment to Boston. I live in Cambridge. I love Harvard, and I love MIT. But we have a responsibility to our limited partners."
Ex Monster Exec Launching New Startup ClickFuel
Galen Moore -Mass High Tech
Former Monster North America president Steve Pogorzelski is working on a new company based in Boston's South End. Co-founded with AuctionPal co-founder Colby West, ClickFuel Inc. provides online marketing services for the small- to medium-sized business market. The company doesn't have any "whiz-bang technology," says Pogorzelski, who has taken the role of CEO. Account managers buy pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization consulting and custom landing pages. Another feature is designed to provide unique phone numbers on each landing page and automatically record incoming calls for sales training. The customer gets a results dashboard that helps them understand their return on investment, Pogorzelski said.
Is Boston Still A Venture Capital Hotbed?
Claire Cain Miller - The New York Times
In an interview with the site Xconomy, Mr. Graham said that in Silicon Valley, investors are less frightened of risky new ideas, lawyers are more familiar with start-up deal terms and entrepreneurs have more support from other founders and advisers. The differences start early; Stanford students think about working at start-ups while MIT students think about working at big companies, he said.
New Hampshire Small Business Administration 2009 SBA Awards
Small Business Administration.gov
Mary Ann Kristiansen, Executive Director of Hannah Grimes Center has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2009 NH Home Based Business Champion of the Year. Kristiansen was selected for this award based on her demonstrated interest in home based-businesses, measurable accomplishments in advancing home-based businesses and volunteered time and energy to improve conditions for these businesses. She was one of the early members of the Pinnacle Broadband Initiative, which aspired to bring high speed internet access to small underserved towns around Keene in order to enable home businesses to have high speed telecommunication access. She was a co-founder with the NH Small Business Development Center of the Monadnock Angel Investors Group.
Scott Kirsner - Innovation Economy
Just got off the phone with Bill Helman of Greylock Partners, who shed some light on the story everyone is talking (and Tweeting) about this morning: Greylock is moving its home office from Waltham to Menlo Park. "This doesn't mean that Boston is a zero," he continued. "Boston is a terrific location, and there will continue to be success here. But the big change was moving the back office [to California, and deciding to add new partners there.] I have an emotional attachment to Boston. I live in Cambridge. I love Harvard, and I love MIT. But we have a responsibility to our limited partners."
Ex Monster Exec Launching New Startup ClickFuel
Galen Moore -Mass High Tech
Former Monster North America president Steve Pogorzelski is working on a new company based in Boston's South End. Co-founded with AuctionPal co-founder Colby West, ClickFuel Inc. provides online marketing services for the small- to medium-sized business market. The company doesn't have any "whiz-bang technology," says Pogorzelski, who has taken the role of CEO. Account managers buy pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization consulting and custom landing pages. Another feature is designed to provide unique phone numbers on each landing page and automatically record incoming calls for sales training. The customer gets a results dashboard that helps them understand their return on investment, Pogorzelski said.
Is Boston Still A Venture Capital Hotbed?
Claire Cain Miller - The New York Times
In an interview with the site Xconomy, Mr. Graham said that in Silicon Valley, investors are less frightened of risky new ideas, lawyers are more familiar with start-up deal terms and entrepreneurs have more support from other founders and advisers. The differences start early; Stanford students think about working at start-ups while MIT students think about working at big companies, he said.
New Hampshire Small Business Administration 2009 SBA Awards
Small Business Administration.gov
Mary Ann Kristiansen, Executive Director of Hannah Grimes Center has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2009 NH Home Based Business Champion of the Year. Kristiansen was selected for this award based on her demonstrated interest in home based-businesses, measurable accomplishments in advancing home-based businesses and volunteered time and energy to improve conditions for these businesses. She was one of the early members of the Pinnacle Broadband Initiative, which aspired to bring high speed internet access to small underserved towns around Keene in order to enable home businesses to have high speed telecommunication access. She was a co-founder with the NH Small Business Development Center of the Monadnock Angel Investors Group.
Scott Kirsner - Innovation Economy
Bill Warner (founder of Avid Technology, Wildfire, and one of the godfathers who is bringing TechStars to Boston this summer) tells me he's working out of the new C3 co-working space at Cambridge Innovation Center. His mission: to attract three or four other local angel investors to the space, and create a little angel investing cluster there.
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