2012 Accelerator

MassChallenge Overview

MassChallenge is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached. Benefits for startups include:

3 month accelerator program. World-class mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, media and more.
$1M in Cash Awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
No equity taken. No restrictions applied.

President Obama honored MassChallenge in January of 2011 as one of the nation's best organizations for supporting high-growth entrepreneurs, and MassChallenge is an affiliate of the Startup America Partnership.

The 111 startups supported in the 2010 accelerator raised over ~$100M in outside funding and created ~500 new jobs in under 12 months.

MassChallenge Results: Satisfaction

We accelerated 111 startups in 2010 during our first-ever program – more than any other accelerator in the world. We accelerated another 125 startups in 2011 – another world record. Those 236 startups express higher satisfaction with MassChallenge than Apple customers express with Apple.

Nearly 80% of MassChallenge startups answered 9 or 10 out of 10 when asked how likely they are to recommend MassChallenge to another early-stage startup, and over 95% answered 7 or above. Based on public, comparative data, that places MassChallenge in the top 5 brands in the United States based on customer satisfaction and enthusiasm.

But don't take our word for it, ask one of our 2010 or 2011 alumni startups!

MassChallenge Results: Funding and Hiring

The 111 startups MassChallenge accelerated in 2010 raised over $103M of new funding within 12 months of joining MassChallenge, and they have raised tens of millions of dollars more since they crossed the 12-month mark in August 2011. They have also added jobs at a breath-taking pace. Upon starting with MassChallenge, the 111 startups increased their total employee count from 296 to 805 in under 12 months.

How it works

MassChallenge uses a $1M startup competition to identify the world's most promising, high-impact startups and offers the 125 finalist startups access to a world-class accelerator with no strings attached. MassChallenge has 27,000 square feet of class A office space located in the Boston Innovation District for use as an accelerator space. .

As part of the accelerator, we connect startups to world-class resources free of charge, including
- Expert mentors
- Funding and Investors
- Legal advice
- Training and events
- Customers
- Co-founders and team members
- Media opportunities
- Facilities and technology
- A community of inspiring, enthusiastic startups

In a final round of judging following the 3 month accelerator, expert judges identify 10-20 startups who split $1,000,000 in cash awards. The final 26 teams in the competition can continue to work out of the MassChallenge office space until May 2013 free of charge, and the remaining 99 startups can stay for a nominal monthly fee.

Expert Mentors

MassChallenge teams get access to some of the world’s best experts as personal mentors.

MassChallenge mentors come from all disciplines and industries and include entrepreneurs, investors, lawyers, marketers, finance professionals, etc.
Team-mentor matching is mutual: events and software help identify potential matches, but teams and mentors mutually decide whom to work with.

Funding and Investors

MassChallenge has access to some of the world's most active and successful investors, and actively connects finalists to Angel investors, Venture Capitalists and strategic investors throughout the summer. Last year more than 30 venture firms and dozens of Angel investors participated in the program. Previous finalists have received investment from Accel Partners, Spark Capital, Google Ventures, Johnson & Johnson, the Gates Foundation, LaunchPad Angel Group, the Founders Collective, Jonathan Kraft, Jim Pallotta, Dave McClure, John Landry, Reed Sturtevant, Katie Rae, and many more of the world's top investors.

Legal Advice

Expert lawyers from top law firms give free advice to startups on legal issues such as incorporation, equity compensation, IP strategy, Licensing agreements, and partnership agreements. Collectively, these law firms work with most of the VCs, angels and startup companies not only in the Boston ecosystem, but across the nation. A partial list of the law firms involved includes:

Foley & Lardner LLP.
Goodwin Procter
Foley Hoag
Duane Morris
Fish and Richardson

Training and events

MassChallenge startups gain access to an incredible array of presentations, panel sessions, interactive workshops, and one-on-one sessions with experts across all aspects and stages of building a business.

In 2011 MassChallenge held over 250 sessions, panels and workshops throughout the 3 month Accelerator program — an average of over 8 per day!
The accelerator program kicks off with an intensive 2-week Bootcamp
The 3 month Accelerator program then offers continued access to:
- Training workshops led by industry leaders
- Exclusive networking events with key influencers in the community
- Office Hours with industry and topical experts and investors
- Social activities with other startups, investors and mentors
- Pitch practice sessions and investor days
- Open house events to showcase startups to the media and public
- and more ...