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We released a lot of exciting news yesterday. We've raised $1M and we will officially give away up to $1M in cash awards this October. No strings attached. We're also offering 1st class office space on the Boston Waterfront for up to 100 finalists, along with intensive mentorship and guidance from big name entrepreneurs and investors. Our application is live and teams can now enter.

Aside from the money, the office space, the mentors, and other resources, why should you apply to MassChallenge? Well, the application process is modeled directly on reality, so entering will help you make the progress on your startup you need to make anyway. Perfecting your elevator pitch? Yep. Writing a compelling executive summary? Yep. Learning to work a room and get key players in the ecosystem to endorse you and your business? Yep. Learning to market your business online? Yep. Demonstrating technical and market viability to a panel of investors and experts? Yep. Working with mentors to set goals and hit milestones? … well, you get the picture.

We're big believers in the power of the Massachusetts ecosystem and we've spent the last 9 months making sure we know pretty much everyone all over the state. Enter and we'll connect you to the resources you need whether they are in Cambridge, Boston, Worcester, Amherst, Lowell, Dartmouth or anywhere else …. For those hard core Cambridge-philes out there, don't worry, entering/leaving Boston does not require a passport. Indeed, it's actually much closer to the majority of the investors, law firms and customers that will help you make your business a reality. Besides, we'll have a MassChallenge shuttle bus called the "Cricket" making round trips all day between Fan Pier and Kendall Square, so you can still make it to all the great events at CIC and the Microsoft NERD center.

Still not convinced?

To create a powerful sense of community and ensure maximum access to the ecosystem, we'll be holding weekly sailing trips with 15-20 people, including finalists, mentors, investors and other key people. Mayor Menino has promised to hold a few concerts and festivals outside our building, right on the water. Plus, the Institute for Contemporary Art offers free access every Thursday and holds concerts outside, right on the water. There are also water taxis to other spots in Boston and outside the city, and there are plenty of area restaurants with outdoor patios overlooking the harbor.

Yeah, it's better on the water. It's going to be awesome.

We're also in close proximity to plenty of restaurants and bars. We've started scoping and Flour Bakery is our favorite lunch spot so far. The Barking Crab is also fun, and the Legal Test Kitchen and Morton's Steakhouse are both nearby. I am particularly excited to try out Sushi-Teq, a nearby restaurant with outdoor seating that marries sushi and Tequila … two of my favorite consumables that I had not yet considered juxtaposing. Those of you who attended our launch know that One Marina Park Drive is a 1st class luxury building, typically WAY out of the price range of aspiring entrepreneurs. But then, we're offering it for free. Inside, we're building out both work space and fun space (e.g. ping pong tables, foosball, and maybe a pinball machine). It'll be work hard, play hard … right on the water, with incredible views of the harbor and the downtown skyline.

Because ultimately we're about helping you launch a high-growth, high-impact business, we will do everything we can to keep you inspired and motivated. You'll meet lots of exciting, new people. Your ideas and teams will be tested. And some of you will win. We're talking $50,000 and $100,000 cash prizes, plus generous in-kind awards including a continuation of the free office space until the next finalists arrive, free legal services, continued access to the best innovators and investors in the world, and more ….

Still not convinced?

Our explicit goal is to help you win. We really, really want you to launch your business, grow rapidly solve big problems, create lots of jobs, and become superstar entrepreneurs. That's why we don't attach any strings. Unlike other programs, we take no equity. Zero. None. 0.00% Zilch. Nada. We also won't tell you where to headquarter your business or how many jobs you should create, or place any other restrictions on you …. We just want you to succeed as quickly as possible. That's why we integrate the area's top investors and mentors into MassChallenge from the very beginning. Our goal is that you receive investment during or shortly after the competition. That's how we win -- we win if you win.

If you pay by May 15, you get $100 off the already nominal entry fee. Come to our events to collect Golden Tickets from the ecosystem's best and brightest and you can get another $100 off (yes, we will credit you if you have already paid). Plus, committing early gives you longer to expose your elevator pitch and collect points for public ratings -- not only does that contribute to your score, but it exposes you to the many investors and customers who are watching intently to connect with great entrepreneurs. Plus, we may invite you to exclusive events so you can connect with the ecosystem sooner ….

Get it? Good. Go enter. We'll help you win. That's what we do.

Entrepreneurs, bear with me for a moment.

When I was nine years old, I had the honor of playing in a Guns N’ Roses air tribute band.  With my Wilson tennis racquet doubling as an ES-175 Gibson guitar, I would transform into the unconquerable Izzy Stradlin as my brother and friends took on the personas of singer Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, and bassist Duff McKagan. ¹

With the aid of a few bad wigs, a boom box, and trampolines, we would turn our basement into a raging mosh pit, treating our imaginary but adoring fans to “Don’t Cry,” “Live and Let Die,” and all of the legendary songs that made Guns N’ Roses—well—Guns N’ Roses.

Now we absolutely sucked as a tribute band, which is downright shameful given that we played imaginary instruments.  But based upon the work of author Chuck Klosterman, it is clear that many tribute bands are extremely successful in building a loyal fan base—so successful, in fact, that I see 4 valuable lessons that entrepreneurs can take away. ²

Lesson #1:  Tribute bands sell an EXPERIENCE with an established record of success – Too many entrepreneurs are obsessed with innovation, even when there is no market for what they’re doing.  Consumers don’t care about innovation per se, they care about the experience.  With tribute bands, fans are already intimately familiar with the experience (i.e. songs, personas, and concert presence) and love it, so why not go after a market/product line that already has raging, loyal fans?  It’s safe to say that slight to zero product differentiation within a large market is better than extreme differentiation and no market opportunity.

Lesson #2:  Tribute bands are able to attract underserved markets – Let’s face it.  Putting aside the fact that the original Guns N’ Roses cast is no longer together, an average person would never find Slash, Izzy, Duff, and Axl jamming at a local bar at a price they can afford.  But the best tribute bands, like Beatallica, Paradise City, and Lez Zeppelin, are able to simulate the real band experience at a fraction of the cost.    

Lez Zeppelin and AC/DShe, which are all-female cover bands, have also drawn incredibly loyal bases among women, many of whom felt alienated by the misogynistic rock culture of the 70s and 80s.  In this sense, entrepreneurial theorist Clay Christensen would probably call tribute bands disruptive and not just because of the loud music they play— these bands are meeting the demand of consumers that were underserved by the original bands.  And that creates value in a way that your beautifully designed but inaccessible technology never will.

Lesson #3: Good tribute bands care about brand positioning - As Klosterman writes, AC/DShe’s rival band Zepparella tries to cover both AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.  Expressing her disagreement with this marketing strategy, a member of AC/DShe points out, “it’s really [expletive] hard when your Angus Young is also Jimmy Page.”  This demonstrates extraordinary marketing prowess on AC/DShe’s part.  It’s hard to build brand loyalty when it’s unclear what you stand for.  Above all, the image of a tribute band is inextricably linked to the band they’re covering.  Adding another band to the mix destroys that image. 

In a company, if you try to bite off too much, it can kill your brand and turn your company into vanilla (i.e. no one loves it, no one hates it, it’s mediocre at best).  While it may seem paradoxical, don’t be afraid to limit your market audience.  Your diehard fans will love you for it.

Lesson #4:  Play because you love what you do, not for the exit – No successful tribute band would ever say that they’re playing gigs to cash out and retire wealthy.  Tribute bands are irrationally obsessed with their craft and the bands they’re covering, so much so that many take on the personas of the original band.  As an entrepreneur, you should be well aware of the low odds of success, so you better LOVE what you do and the market you’re playing in.

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So for all those entrepreneurs that live and die by the sword of innovation, I encourage you to consider a healthy dose of imitation coupled with a slightly unhealthy dose of obsession.  And for those that are just starting companies, welcome to the jungle…

Footnotes:

1. In our Guns N’ Roses air tribute band, we left out drummer Steve Adler strictly because his name did not sound like a beer or automotive part. 

2. Due credit to Chuck Klosterman for his outstanding books Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs  and IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.  All quotes and stories from the tribute bands are borrowed from these works. 

Sombit Mishra is a second-year MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management and former Managing Director of the MIT $100K Competition.  With 5+ years of startup experience in marketing, strategy, and e-Commerce, Sombit is currently developing a new venture in the fitness & wellness space.  Follow Sombit on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sombit.

Last Thursday, I had the distinct honor of acting as emcee for the NEXT event, celebrating emerging entrepreneurs in Massachusetts. The event was organized by the MA Office of Small Business & Entrepreneurship and hosted at the UMass Venture Development Center, both of whom did an amazing job.

Around 125 people came to celebrate four startup teams from Massachusetts that Businessweek identified as among the 25 best entrepreneurs under 25 years old. FTR, this is the second year in a row that Massachusetts produced more promising young entrepreneurs than any other state, including California which has almost 6 times more people than Massachusetts. Pretty amazing.

• Emergent, Jesse Gossett, Jayson Uppal, Chris Jacobs
• IdeaPaint, John Goscha, Jeff Avallon, Morgen Newman
• SCVNGR, Seth Priebatsch, John Valentine
• Wistia, Christopher Savage and Brendan Schwartz

Diane Hessan of Communispace was the keynote. She is an awesome role model for aspiring entrepreneurs: smart, funny, collaborative and highly successful – another incredible female entrepreneur in Massachusetts. Next time you see Diane, ask her to tell you about the hobo entrepreneur ….

My favorite part of the event, though, was John Goscha’s anecdote about a fellow entrepreneur who had experienced a spate of recent successes. When asked how he did it, the entrepreneur replied simply “I get up. I hustle. I sleep. Then I do it again.

I think that really sums it up. Entrepreneurship is hard work. Nothing comes easy when you’re forging new territory. There’s no time for self-pity. You just have to commit yourself to your vision and then hustle like mad to get there. That’s also why it’s so important to care about the business you’re launching. There’s just no way you can keep up the pace necessary to succeed if you don’t love what you’re doing.

I know the MassChallenge team and I are having a blast. We’re especially excited to shift our focus from planning to actually supporting entrepreneurs. They are the reason why we are working so hard to make MassChallenge a huge success. It’s a nice reminder to meet people like Diane Hessan, John Goscha and the other entrepreneurs in attendance at NEXT – all of them have taken significant risks and have hustled relentlessly to achieve their vision and improve their community. Made me proud to be around them.

So, to all you entrepreneurs out there:

                                 stop reading and get back to hustling

Author: John Harthorne is the CEO and Founder of MassChallenge.