Credit: Built in Boston
Reflecting back before looking forward, Built in Boston notes, “in 2016, Boston’s tech sector flourished, with startups maturing alongside the city’s legacy industries while a steady trickle of venture capital poured into industries like edtech, food-tech, fintech, digital media and healthtech…”
Click through to Built in Boston article to view its list of 50 start-ups in Boston to watch in 2017.
Boston Classrooms
Looking for a job? Come to Boston where our unemployment is the lowest in nearly 17 years.
According to a BBJ report citing the Executive Office of Labor and Development, “the state’s unemployment rate stood at 2.8 percent in December, the lowest it has been in 16 years…the rate fell from 2.9 percent in November, marking the sixth consecutive month that Massachusetts unemployment has decreased. The state added an estimated 6,600 jobs last month, according to the agency. Across 2016, Massachusetts added 75,000 jobs.”
More information can be found on the Boston Business Journal.
Credit: Boston Business Journal
Boston is number one in so many ways, here is the latest one.
From the Boston Business Journal:
Boston is ranked No. 1 among the top 25 startup hubs in the U.S., according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and startup incubator 1776. The ranking means Boston is best positioned to lead the digital economy, though it has work to do when it comes to corporate engagement, the report found.
The San Francisco Bay Area is still the leader in total startup activity, but “Boston earned the top spot by having clear emphasis on next generation tech companies specializing in education, energy and healthcare industries; high quality of life ratings; and a welcoming regulatory environment for startup communities,” according to a release from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Credit: Boston Business Journal
Massachusetts VC’s had a very busy 2015 with 531 deals at a record amount of $7.42 billion.
From the BBJ:
According to calculations by Seattle-based venture capital research firm PitchBook, it was the highest-ever annual venture capital investment in at least 15 years.
Massachusetts VC funding is in-line with that of New York, which saw $7.65 billion invested across 775 deals.
However, the San Francisco Bay Area still remains at the top — with a whopping $34 billion invested across 1,900 California companies, according to PitchBook.
Who are the newest inductees into MassChallenge? Have a look.
The BBJ remarked on the program’s intrigue, “part of the four-month long no-equity program, startup teams will be granted free office space at MassChallenge’s headquarters in the Seaport and work with expert mentors in the area. Hardware startups will also have access to the MADE@ MassChallenge hardware lab, where they can prototype and manufacture products.”
Jump over to the BizJournals.com website to see the complete list of all 128 startups accepted to the accelerator program.
Credit: BBJ
Not only do we in Boston believe that we have a flurry of startup activity, other across the country believe so as well.
Here’s a quote from the BBJ that represents this perspective on the Hub:
“At almost every tech event I’ve been to in 2014, everyone ranging from entrepreneurs and investors to politicians has talked about the booming innovation scene in Boston, and how Boston needs to tout its successes.”
The complete Boston Business Journal article is available, here.
Credit: Northeastern
Where do good ideas come from? Innovators. Northeastern has a great idea; bring the white board to the street, yes on a truck that hits key destinations within our city.
From the Boston Business Journal:
“Northeastern University is launching a new master’s degree in innovation and is celebrating with a “whiteboard innovation challenge,” meant to identify innovators who might be good candidates for the degree. A total of four questions will be posed in two-week segments for the duration of the eight week contest. Participants will be asked to submit their innovative idea via a whiteboard drawing, taking a photo and posting it for consideration through the D’Amore-McKim Facebook application or on the mobile truck white board at one of the various locations.”
Entrepreneurs: do you have an idea focused on the Financial Services sector? Look no further, Fidelity and Amazon would like to help back fledgling Boston startups through a new program, tagged the Fintech Sandbox.
A Boston Globe editorial highlights the target:
“Fintech entrepreneurs have a unique problem, which is the high cost of data to help them build applications,” said David Jegen, managing director of Devonshire Investors, the private investment arm of the Johnson family, which controls Fidelity. “They raise $2 million of venture capital funding, and then spend $500,000 of it buying market data from Bloomberg or Thomson Reuters. Or they show up to customers, who say, ‘Nice app, but it hasn’t been tested on robust data sets.’ We think that is a problem we can help solve.”
Credit: BetaBoston
Do you work late for a startup? Are you looking to be heard with respect to the cities plans to address a more vibrant late-night culture? Call Mayor Walsh at City Hall and be heard.
From BetaBoston:
“There isn’t a single representative from the sorts of small but promising companies that are streaming into Boston neighborhoods — such as the Seaport, the Leather District, and the Financial District — and that would be among the biggest beneficiaries, from a recruiting perspective, of Boston having better night-life….The task force thus may not actually represent the the interests of many of those located in the neighborhoods most likely to be the testing ground for the new late-night initiatives.”
The full article is available, here.
Credit: Boston.com
What 14 startups are on the move in Boston that just scored space at International Place?
Boston.com reported that “PayPal’s Boston office is filling its Start Tank with a new set of early-stage ventures. Created in 2012, the Tank offers entrepreneurs free office space in downtown Boston, along with mentorship from PayPal employees and seminars. Companies are welcome to stay for six months to a year; this is the third crop of businesses that the Start Tank has housed.”
To read the list and links to the 14 Boston startups that were selected, click over to Boston.com