FAQ

MassChallenge is a non-profit organization that connects early stage entrepreneurs to the resources they need to launch high-growth businesses immediately.

Our primary activities include running an annual global startup competition, documenting and organizing key resources, and organizing training and networking events. The competition will formally launch in April 2010. The competition is industry and geographically agnostic – anyone can enter, with any startup idea, from anywhere on the planet.

Every entrant, not just the winners, will receive access to workshops, mentors, executives, other tam members and sources of funding. Experts from the Massachusetts ecosystem will identify the highest potential startups, which will receive cash prizes and will qualify for privileged access to funding sources from across Massachusetts. The exact number and amount of prizes will depend on the judges, but we expect 15-20 prizes of $50K-100K, totaling $1million of prize money.

Anyone can enter MassChallenge, with any startup idea, from anywhere around the world. 
Startups do not need to originate or headquarter in Massachusetts. To qualify, your company must be a seed- or early-stage startup. As we define it, this means you probably haven’t raised over $500K of investment, and probably don’t have more than $1M in annual revenue. You can still apply if you exceed these guidelines – a special judging panel will review your application to determine if you are 'early sage.' You can email us at contact@masschallenge.org too and we'll let you know as soon as possible.

Given the importance of judging teams and people, semi-finalists will be required to engage with mentors and judges in person. Because finalists will be required to attend events and meetings in Massachusetts in person, non-US entrants will need to demonstrate viable accessibility to the United States during the semi-finals, e.g. access to visas and funding for travel starting in mid July and extending through mid October. MassChallenge can work with entrants to facilitate access to visas, sponsorship and/or local accommodations, but we make no guarantees.

Yes, nonprofits are eligible.

You apply though out website entry form. Each user must be individually registered as an entrant on our website. To register, go to get involved and sign up as an entrant.

To fill out the application, please go to our enter page. Here you can sign up your team and start filling out your application. The application process asks for some background information on your team, short answer questions that form an executive summary, and an optional video pitch. If you have any additional questions on the process, please read our instructions or contact us at contact@masschallenge.org

Note: All applications must be in English

The entry form includes background information on your team, startup and questions that help you form your executive summary. To see the form click here

To fill out the application, please go to our enter page. Here you can sign up your team and start filling out your application. The application process asks for some background information on your team, short answer questions that form an executive summary, and an optional video pitch. If you have any additional questions on the process, please read our instructions or contact us at contact@masschallenge.org

Note: All applications must be in English

Endorsement points act as a form of referral. All successful startups need to network and collect support from key stakeholders in the ecosystem. Most investors won't even take meetings without a referral from someone they know and trust. Endorsements are our way of encouraging startups to network actively and to pitch constantly. Please see the competition rules (http://www.masschallenge.org/competition/rules/) for further details.

1. Endorsements add to the judging score, but do not influence the judges review of the entry.
2. To count in round 1 judging, endorsements must be entered by Wednesday, June 30th at midnight EST.
3. To count in round 2 judging, endorsements must be entered by Saturday, July 10th at Midnight.
4. Successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, subject experts, investors and other prominent individuals in the entrepreneurial ecosystem can endorse your team by emailing endorsements@masschallenge.org and ccing your team and indicating what type of endorsement they would like to provide. Endorsers should please provide their background to assure that the validity of their endorsement and integrity of the endorsement system.

There are three types of endorsement tickets available:

Endorsement type           Point value        Reimbursement on Entry

Diamond                             +5                        Free Entry

Platinum                             +1                         $100 off

Gold                                   +1                            N/A

Teams can collect as many endorsements as possible, but only one diamond endorsement (each worth 5 endorsement points) can be collected from any one endorser and there is a limit of three gold or platinum endorsements (each worth 1 endorsement point) from any one endorser. This limit will be enforced via the counting algorithm at the end of the first round of judging (July 11th).

Any reimbursement/discount indicated on any ticket will only be honored if entered into the website portal prior to the June 11th (6/11) midnight EST entry deadline.

Endorsement tickets have been distributed to thousands of investors, experts, business leaders, successful entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship centers, incubators, and other nodes of entrepreneurship.

In the event that a team find individuals who fit the criteria above who do not have endorsement tickets, these people/organizations can still endorse a MassChallenge entrant. These experts can endorse a team by emailing endorsements@masschallenge.org, CCing the team that they would like to endorse and at what level. Endorsers should include some brief background about themselves to validate the endorsement and maintain the integrity of the endorsement system. MassChallenge will then distribute the endorsement to the endorsed team. Please see the competition rules (http://www.masschallenge.org/competition/rules/) for further details.

Outside of Massachusetts, MassChallenge has made an effort to distribute endorsement tickets to key nodes of entrepreneurship including school business plan competitions, entrepreneurship centers, and organizations who focus on supporting entrepreneurs. In turn, these nodes have the ability to distribute tickets further to experts in their community. To learn more, click here

As indicated in the competition rules (http://www.masschallenge.org/competition/rules/), endorsement points count for 10% of the judging score in the first and second rounds of the competition.

Endorsement points can be collected and accrue until July 10th (7/10) at midnight (Eastern Standard Time) at which point all ticket numbers must be entered into the "endorsements" field in each team's account on the MassChallenge website. Endorsements entered before June 30th at midnight will count towards 1st round judging. Those entered after will count towards 2nd round judging.

Any reimbursement/discount indicated on any ticket will only be honored if entered into the website portal prior to the June 11th (6/11) midnight EST entry deadline.

Endorsement tickets each contain a unique "ticket number" with a long hexidecimal number (letters and numbers). This is the number that must be entered into each team's account on the MassChallenge website.

Endorsement points can be collected and accrue until Wednesday, June 30th at midnight EST to count in 1st round judging, and Saturday, July 10th at Midnight for 2nd round judging. All endorsement ticket numbers must be entered into the "endorsements" field in each team's account on the MassChallenge website.

If you are a successful entrepreneur, business leader, subject expert, investor or other prominent individual in your entrepreneurial community, please watch this short video on how to endorse MassChallenge teams:

If you do not fall into this category, you can still support a team that you like by going to http://www.masschallenge.org/competition/team-pitches and providing a rating to the team's elevator pitch or video if they posted one.

The entry fee is $195 until June 4th and $295 until June 11th. You can get free or $100 off tickets from our sponsors, key entrepreneurial nodes in the community, or at MassChallenge events.

<!--StartFragment-->

<!--EndFragment-->

For final round judging, MassChallenge will provide guidelines to the final judges, but they will ultimately decide which are the most viable, high impact companies.

Yes, anyone can enter the competition as long as they meet the eligibility requirements above.

No, anyone can enter, with any startup idea from anywhere in the world. We are focused on helping all startups with high growth potential, regardless of the sector.

The first round of judging occurs online and can be completed remotely from anywhere in the world. The second round of judging involves an in-person pitch to top entrepreneurs and investors, however, and entrants should be prepared to fly to Boston if selected for that opportunity. The final round will require the applicant to be physically present in Massachusetts. Acceleration of finalists requires close integration with experts from the Massachusetts ecosystem. Winners are not required to remain in Massachusetts after the competition.

We will do our best to help you. Here is a document to get you on the right track. click here

To qualify for MassChallenge, your company must be a seed- or early-stage startup. As we define it, this means you probably haven’t raised over $500K of investment, and probably don’t have more than $1M in annual revenue. You can still apply if you exceed these guidelines – a special judging panel will review your application to determine if you are 'early stage.' You can email us at contact@masschallenge.org too and we'll let you know as soon as possible.

We are no longer planning to include an expansion stage category in 2010.

Entrants will need to submit an executive summary and an online elevator pitch for the first round of judging. Our website will enable submission starting on April 14, 2010. Those entrants who pass to the second round of judging will pitch directly to a panel of experts. The best 100 of those teams will receive free resources (including office space), and will enjoy access to top mentors and hundreds of other stakeholders from across Massachusetts and New England. The final round of judging will be based on more detailed presentations to a panel of extremely successful entrepreneurs.

We anticipate the following approximate dates for entry, and will update these dates here as they become final:

                  April 14                 MassChallenge official launch Online submission opens

                  June 11                 Deadline for online submission

            June 11–July 11           First round judging

                   July 11                 Semi-finalists announced

                July 12-16               Second round judging

                   July 20                 Finalists announced

              Early August              Mentors matched with finalists

         July 20-October 15          Finalist accelerator

               October 15               Final ceremony

No, there is no requirement to relocate to Massachusetts. We believe that Massachusetts is the world's strongest innovation ecosystem and that winners will want to stay, but they are under no obligation.

No, the MassChallenge competition is an annual event.

Yes, we run a number of networking works throughout the year. You can visit our events calendar for a full list of our events.

Yes, you can be a volunteer, mentor, judge, sponsor or speaker. To find out more and sign up, click on get involved You can also learn more about internships and fellowships on our careers page

For the latest and most personalized information, please register now.

Please join our Facebook page and Linkedin group, follow us on Twitter, and monitor our website for updates. If you have a specific request and/or question that isn’t addressed on our website or social networking sites, please send an email inquiry to: contact@masschallenge.org

In order to enable effective mentorship, we require that at least one team member be physically accessible in MA for the majority of the accelerator phase (August 2 - Oct 21st). This does not necessarily require the finalist to live in Massachusetts, but we require finalists to interact with mentors and other stakeholders in person.

You are obviously free to stay wherever you like. If you have a friend or relative in the area, ask them if you can stay with them for free.

We have negotiated discount rates with the following hotels/hostels:

40 Berkeley - www.40berkeley.com Tel: (617) 375-2524
This is a hostel with a nice, but not luxurious offering.

Location:
40 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116

This is part of the South End area of Boston, relatively near the Back Bay area, and is within walking distance day and night attractions. You could walk to ONE Marina Park Drive in 35-40 minutes or could use bus or subway lines to reduce that travel time to by about 10 min. You could bike to the office from this location in ~15 minutes.

Short-term stays:
$75 per night for a single room.
Rate includes all taxes and fees.
Breakfast and dinner at the hostel are included.
Mention MassChallenge to secure rate.

NOTE: the website occasionally offers one-off deals that are better than $75 on a first come, first serve basis – so check the website first and be sure to request the best available rate.

Contact for short-term stays:
Sandra Roque
617 375 2524

Long-term stays:
Rates vary. Negotiate individually, but mention MassChallenge.

NOTE: please email us your rate information so we can share it with other teams to ensure we secure the best possible rates.

Contact for long-term stays:
Rebecca Marshall
617 375 2524

Lenox Hotel
The Lenox is a luxury, boutique hotel located in the heart of the Back Bay area of Boston, near shopping and restaurant attractions.

Location:
61 Exeter Street | Boston, Massachusetts 02116-2699

Click here for more details and rates(PDF).

7/5/10 – 9/6/10 $189
9/7/10 – 11/19/10 $239

They are open to negotiating long term leases. Call Scott Grigelevish 617 421 4908 for details.

AirBnb

http://www.airbnb.com/boston That is a site for private individuals to rent out their space. We cannot accept responsibility if any of these as this is an external site over which we have no oversight or control.

TARGET 2-3 DAYS PER WEEK as this is what we have scheduled for entrepreneurs to take advantage of. You will receive a calendar on August 2nd, 2010 aka Orientation Day along with mentor/finalist requirements (at the MINIMUM 1 hr/2 weeks).

All 2nd round feedback should be accessible on the website now. To view it, please sign in to the website using your team account. If you are already signed in with this account, click the My Account link in the upper right of the website. Then click on the 2nd round feedback tab within the My Account section.

If you have any problems, please send a descriptive email that includes your team username to contact@masschallenge.org

We require each finalist team to work with a mentor throughout the Accelerator stage.

If you already have a mentor, please email the mentor’s name, bio and contact information to contact@masschallenge.org

If you do not yet have a mentor, we can help you connect with one. We will provide you with a list of potential mentors during orientation. You can review that list to identify mentors who might potentially fit your needs and can contact them directly. We will also be hosting a number of events during the first 2 weeks of the Accelerator to help you and your team members get to know the mentors personally.

Ideally, you will pair yourself with a mentor on your own or via these events. If you do not make a mentorship connection directly, we will help to pair you with a mentor.

We will hold a number of events in the first 2 weeks and will provide you with contact information for the mentors so you can reach out directly. If you do not make a mentorship connection directly, we will help to pair you with a mentor.

The accelerator runs from August 2 - Oct 21st. During this time, each team will

• work with their MassChallenge mentor to advance their business
• enjoy free office space at ONE Marina Park Drive
• enjoy access to all trainings, workshops and networking events (about 3-4 events per week, mostly at ONE Marina Park Drive)
• enjoy privileged access to a broad network of partners and supporters.

We will provide additional details on August 2nd during orientation.

The office space is on the 14th floor of a beautiful new building, ONE Marina Park Drive at FanPier (http://www.fanpierboston.com/).
Each team will receive:

• A desk with drawers for each team member
• Free wireless Internet access
• The use of phones (8 shared phone lines with free US calls)
• The use of a kitchen with refrigerators, a microwave, a toaster and a coffee machine
• Access to conference rooms (4 shared conference rooms on the 14th floor)
• Access to plenty of dry erase board space

Yes. The office space use is optional. All finalists are welcome to attend MassChallenge events, regardless of whether they operate out of ONE Marina Park Drive or not.

There are various groups that have offered space that we are willing to link our finalist teams to but we need an email indicating the TYPE of space needed, if you will need equipment or if you will be bringing your own. Email needs to contact@masschallenge.org.