All posts tagged with Entrepreneurship

If You Are a 20-Something Entrepreneur in Boston, Check This Out

I previously wrote a To-Do list for new entrepreneurs arriving in Boston.  It included a bunch of folks to follow on twitter and on their blogs, events to go to, and companies to get familiar with.

I’d like to add a new to-do on the list, especially if you are a younger entrepreneur.  Check out Dart Boston - a community of entrepreneurs 30 and under helping one another start their businesses.  These guys have sprung up out of nowhere in recent months, and I’ve been really impressed by their level of activity and creativity.  For example:

Pokin’ Holes: A weekly meetup and video show where one local entrepreneur presents their company and gets grilled by their peers.  The show moves around Boston in an effort to engage the entrepreneur community in different areas.  Tonight’s event is at Tufts.

Capitalize: A monthly show where one company pitches to a VC or angel investor.  You get to see the pitch and feedback streamed live.  This month, it was at Kepha Partners with Eric Hjerpe.  In May, I’ll be on the show at Spark Capital.

Rule 53: A podcast that features a series of interviews about startup life, business, and tech.

I don’t know how these guys and gals have time for all this, but I’ve been very impressed and think it’s an excellent addition to the local tech scene.

A "To-Do" List for New Entrepreneurs Arriving in Boston

Fall is upon us (although it feels like winter) and for Boston, that means a new wave of folks who are arriving here for studies or new career opportunities.

When I moved to Boston from Silicon Valley in 2005, I had a pretty sparse network of friends in the tech and entrepreneurship scene.   I also found the tech community here a little disorganized and opaque, although I think that has been changing quite a bit in recent years.

Four years later, I think I have a much better idea of what’s going on, and I’m excited about it.  But it took a while to figure out.  So I thought I’d post a little to-do list for folks who want to get integrated into the local tech community and benefit from all it has to offer.

1. Follow this list of entrepreneurs, VC’s, and academics

2. Follow a few journalists and news aggregators

3. Go to the follow meetups at least once

4. Hang out where you are likely to have chance encounters (ok, this isn’t really that practical, but it’s interesting to know where VC’s and entrepreneurs tend to go)

  • Deisel Cafe in Davis Square
  • Andala Cafe in Central Square
  • Paramount Restaurant in Beacon Hill
  • Henrietta’s Table in Harvard Square
  • Naked Fish in Waltham
  • The Marriott in Newton
  • The Westin in Waltham
  • Preschool OpenHouses in Wellesley, Weston, Cambridge, Lexington,  BeaconHill, etc.  (I’m obviously joking here, but this just happened to me, so I couldn’t resist.  We went to an open house at the Cambridge Ellis School, and among the group of parents, I saw 2 VC’s, an entrepreneur friend, and an HBS professor before deciding the school was way out of my price range)

5. Try to meet folks affiliated with the following organizations and companies (the reasoning being that people at interesting companies and organizations tend to congregate)

Hopefully this is a helpful start.  Should take a few months to work through all of these.  I know I’m missing a few (I think I’m obviously missing out events and people affiliated with MIT, among others).  Feel free to add additional thoughts in a comment.

Rob Go Thanks for visiting my blog! Learn more about me or ask me a question.