MassChallenge 2011: The Launch Heard Round the World
MassChallenge officially kicked off its 2011 competition today and we were fortunate to have Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor emcee the celebration, as Mitch Weiss Chief of Staff for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Lt. Governor Tim Murray, Vertex Founder Josh Boger, serial mentor Desh Deshpande and a host of other innovation leaders gathered at the MassChallenge headquarters alongside our founder John Harthorne to announce an open call for applications to our $1M global startup competition and accelerator program.
MassChallenge Launched via Telepresence between Boston and Israel
Governor Deval Patrick officially opened the 2011 MassChallenge Competition and Accelerator program to entry earlier in the day via a TelePresence event connecting Israel and Boston on the first day of the Governor’s Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Economy Partnership Mission. Governor Patrick also announced the administration pledged $1 million over the next four years to our program. We're extremely excited to continue working with the Patrick-Murray administration!
“It is fitting that we are connecting the world’s two leading innovation economies today in real-time to announce the second phase of this thrilling initiative,” said Governor Patrick.
Announcements and Support from Partners & Alumni
Together with the State of Massachusetts, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation increased it's support for MassChallenge significantly, renewing their commitment to support job creation and economic growth in the United States by supporting the country's best entrepreneurship initiatives.
Mayor Thomas Menino's Chief of Staff Mitch Weiss announced that the Fallon Management Company and MassMutual will extend their contribution of more than 22,000 square feet of class A office space in the Boston Innovation District for the use of MassChallenge and its Accelerator program through 2014.
Our event also included comments via Skype video from several outside partners around the world, including Carl Schramm, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kauffman Foundation; Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Strategic and Emerging Business Development; and Shaifali Puri, Executive Director of Scientists Without Borders. Several of our alumni teams spoke about their startups and recent success, including: Diagnostics for All, Oscomp Systems, StorageByMail (via live video from New York), JoyTunes (via live video from Israel), and RelayRides (via live video from California).
See our press release for more details on all that was announced, and also read about the Startup America White House initiative and the Startup America Partnership that MassChallenge is proud to have helped launch on January 31.
Everybody loves a good party
A special thank you to Microsoft New England Research and Development Center for sponsoring our 2011 Launch Party!
Following the program, the celebration moved upstairs to our space, where developer Joe Fallon and his daughter Liz set a world record for World's Longest Continuous Writable Surface using IdeaPaint to fill in the last unpainted spot on the walls. The Guinness Book verified the record by phone and is scheduling a visit to measure and validate it.
Jeff Taylor with the world's shortest whiteboard.
Check out more photos of the launch and party!
So what do MassChallenge entrants get?
Every MassChallenge entrant receives access to training, feedback, PR and networking support from experts, and the highest-potential startups receive 3 months of intensive mentorship and free services in 22,000 sq ft of premium office space on Boston’s Fan Pier. As a non-profit, MassChallenge does not take equity from entrants or place any restrictions on winners – there are no strings attached to the competition or awards. MassChallenge is designed entirely to help entrepreneurs win.
Check out a tiny sampling of the amazing, world-class mentors and speakers who were part of MassChallenge last year:
What did last year’s class look like?
In 2010, 446 startups from 24 states and 26 countries applied to MassChallenge. From there 300 startups made it to semifinalist stage where they either pitched in person or via skype to judging panels with experts from the Boston ecosystem. 111 of those startups were invited to the accelerator phase to work out of the MassChallenge Headquarters in the Innovation District on Boston’s waterfront. 26 teams made it to the final judging round and 16 winners split $1M in total. Those winners came from every sector from high-tech to life sciences to social impact to retail and walked away with non-dilutive grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.
What’s different this year?
- Increased mentorship focus via addition of Karl Büttner in newly created role of Chief Mentorship Officer
- Addition of Alumni in Residence program to ensure hands-on mentoring
- Addition of Investors in Residence program to expand access to capital
- Improved website and IT infrastructure to streamline connection with resources and partners, facilitated via addition of Mark Shiffer as CTO
- Introduction of active focus areas to enable more targeted curriculum, events and communication
- Expanded partnerships and resources available to support finalists in the accelerator
What are the key dates?
The application deadline is April 11. Based on the first round of applications, approximately 300 of the highest-potential startups will be invited to in-person pitches for round two judging during the weeks of May 9 and May 16. Finalists will be announced on May 24 and will be invited to join the accelerator program from the end of June through the end of September. Final Judging will occur in the first 2 weeks of October and the Final Ceremony will take place Oct 20.
What should I do next?
Apply to MassChallenge! www.masschallenge.org/enter
The first round of the application can be completed entirely online by answering 10 questions with short character limits, amounting to approximately 2 standard Word pages of actual typing.
To get a discount on our entry fee and additional points toward judging check out our endorsement list for referring organizations/individuals.
