Frequently Asked Questions

 
MassChallenge is the largest-ever startup accelerator, 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 apply. 

The accelerator runs from June 25 – September 30. 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
• Enjoy privileged access to a broad network of partners and supporters.

All applicants receive feedback from expert judges on their online applications.
 
All 300 Semi-Finalists receive extended feedback from expert judges on their in-person pitches.
 
All ~125 Finalists take part in the 3-month accelerator, whose benefits include:

• World-class mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, media and more.
• $1.1M cash awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
• No equity taken
• An extensive community of enthusiastic entrepreneurs 

Yes, really. No strings attached. MassChallenge awards more than $1M annually and does not take any equity from participants.

In the 12 months after MassChallenge, the 111 startups from 2010 have raised over $100M in capital and created 500+ new jobs.

MassChallenge alumni are more satisfied with MassChallenge than Apple customers are with Apple, Inc.

MassChallenge judges and mentors are all innovators and entrepreneurs from the Massachusetts ecosystem.

MassChallenge is a 501c3 non-profit. We are designed to help startups win. Our sponsorships and donations cover prize money and operating expenses. MassChallenge does not make money.

MassChallenge is a startup accelerator, and in that sense, we are similar to Techstars and Y-Combinator. Unlike most accelerators, however, MassChallenge is open to startups in any industry and MassChallenge does not take equity from the startups we support.
 
Startups in the MassChallenge accelerator also don't automatically receive funding up front, as they would from TechStars or Y-Combinator (typically about $15,000), but all of the teams in the MassChallenge accelerator have a chance to win a share of $1M with no strings attached. 
 
Essentially, MassChallenge uses a competition framework to facilitate our accelerator program instead of an investment program. Prizes are awarded at the end of the MassChallenge accelerator based on a final round of judging, and are awarded in amounts of $50K and $100K, totaling $1 million. 
 
Experts from the startup community act as volunteer judges. By using a crowd-sourced competition model, we are able to operate at larger scale -- enabling us to provide effective acceleration benefits for 125 startups at a time and making us the largest-ever startup accelerator. That scale provides additional value for the startups, as it attracts attention and leads to an inbound flow of resources, including investment funds and expert mentorship.
 

It is up to the entrant to define what it means to be high impact. Entrant’s definitions should be compelling (e.g. revenue, profit, job creation, helping a population, curing a disease)

Yes, we run many networking events throughout the year. You can visit our calendar for a full list of MassChallenge and partner events, and you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for event updates.

 
Protection of intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, etc.) in your concept is your responsibility and your responsibility alone.  If you think you might have something that you might want to patent some day, definitely talk to a lawyer before submitting information about this idea to MassChallenge.  MassChallenge is not equipped to advise you on legal issues. If you think you may have intellectual property rights, and that may they contribute to the value of your concept, you should give serious consideration to consulting with an attorney before making any disclosures. Patent rights in particular can be severely diminished, or even lost, if timely steps for protection are not taken. For example, in most countries outside the U.S., any disclosure, whether by you, or by anyone else, before a patent application is filed can immediately become part of the prior art which must be overcome before a patent can be obtained. U.S patent law is similar, with a limited grace period.
 
You, as a participant (or as a potential participant) in the MassChallenge program, should recognize that many of the steps and processes of this program could result in disclosure of your intellectual property. However, MassChallenge is not in a position to protect or advise you on your intellectual property rights, and therefore cannot, and does not, take any responsibility for doing so. Furthermore, you should be aware that MassChallenge does not require non-disclosure agreements or other obligations for confidentiality from anyone involved in the process.

Join our mailing list to receive our weekly newsletter and find us on Twitter, Facebook, or our LinkedIn Group.
 
If you have further questions about applying the MassChallenge 2012 Accelerator Program, please write to Apply@MassChallenge.org.
 
If you have a specific request and/or question about MassChallenge in general that isn’t addressed on our website or social networking sites, please send an email inquiry to: contact@masschallenge.org.

MassChallenge is an opportunity to dramatically accelerate your business. You will receive access to key resources, mentorship, and excellent office space during the accelerator program and have an opportunity to win part of $1.1M. 
 
In the 12 months after MassChallenge, the 111 startups from 2010 have raised over $100M in capital and created 500+ new jobs.
 
MassChallenge alumni are more satisfied with MassChallenge than Apple customers are with Apple, Inc.

Please see How to Apply to MassChallenge for full details. 
 
You can apply though our website entry form. 2012 applications opened on March 1 and close April 11. See here for  the full MassChallenge 2012 timeline. 
 
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 refer to our website or contact us at apply@masschallenge.org.
 
Note: All applications must be in English.

MassChallenge 2012 Entry officially begins in the afternoon on March 1st, 2012, and closes on April 11th. Visit the website between these dates and register for a "Startup" account to submit your startup company.
 
Please see here for the full MassChallenge 2012 timeline.

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 stage.' There is no lower limit in terms of funding or development to apply to MassChallenge. You can also email us at apply@masschallenge.org and we'll let you know if you qualify as soon as possible.
 
Given the importance of judging teams and people, 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.

Anyone can enter MassChallenge with any startup idea, even if your startup is still in the idea phase.
 
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 stage.' There is no lower limit in terms of funding or development to apply to MassChallenge.
 
You can also email us at apply@masschallenge.org and we'll let you know if you qualify as soon as possible.

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.

Yes, nonprofits are eligible.

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

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 a panel of judges, made up by top entrepreneurs and investors. 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 through the process.

The 2012 entry fee is $199. However, there is an "Early Bird" special of $99 for applicants who pay by March 19.
 
Note: To receive the "Early Bird" special, you do not need to complete your application by March 19, but just need to pay, and can complete applications by April 11.
 
Please send any additional questions regarding application payment to pay@MassChallenge.org.

After you pay the Application Fee, you may submit one or more unique Refund Codes that you acquire from MassChallenge sponsors or other organizations after March 15.
 
Each Refund Code you submit will entitle you to a certain refund amount (for example, $25) to be paid to you after the close of the Application Deadline of April 11.
 
Note that Refund Codes are unique – each code can be applied to only one Startup Application. If you attempt to submit a Refund Code that has already been applied to another Startup Application, the Refund Code will not validate for you.
 
You may accumulate and submit as many Refund Codes as you like – it is possible to completely refund your entire Application Fee (but not more than you paid!).
 
Please be thoughtful in how you pursue acquiring Refund Codes -- it is wise to NOT "spam" the universe asking for Refund Codes, as such an action will probably not endear you to those spam recipients. The goal of Refund Codes is to 1) reduce your application fee, and 2) promote thoughtful engagement between you and the organizations who have Refund Codes.

When your Startup Profile is published on the MassChallenge web site (after you pay the Application Fee), your Startup can receive “Public Votes” from members of the public. Public Votes count for 10% of your overall score (evaluation of your Application by judges counts for the remaining 90%).
 
We encourage you to promote the fact that you have applied to MassChallenge and encourage the public to vote for your Startup.
 
You can start receiving Public Votes as soon as you pay your Application Fee, even before you have finished your Application (only your Startup Profile is visible to the public). You can continue to receive Public Votes while you work on and after you have finished your Application.
 
The public may vote for your Startup by following the simple steps outlined here. A given individual may vote on a given Startup only once, but may vote on any number of different Startups.
 
If you choose to keep your Startup Profile in “Stealth” mode and not have it published on the MassChallenge web site, you will not be able to receive public votes. However, this forfeits only 10% of your overall score.
 
The last day to cast votes is May 2, 2012.

Yes, you can be a volunteer, mentor, judge, sponsor or speaker. Experts who want to get involved in MassChallenge 2012 can Register Here. Others looking to volunteer can visit our Jobs page or contact contact@MassChallenge.org.

If your application is stuck at 95% (or some number less than 100%) this means that you have not filled out all the fields.  If you do not have any part-time employees, that field must have a zero in it.  Or, if you are a team from outside of the United States, it could be that you have left the "State" field blank.  You need to select the "International" item from the State drop down list.  Sorry for any confusion.

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 24 hour access to:

• Shared work space and desks
• Free wireless Internet
• Phones (8 shared phone lines with free US calls)
• Kitchen with refrigerators, a microwave, a toaster and a coffee machine
• Conference rooms (4 shared conference rooms on the 14th floor)
• Plenty of dry erase board space
• Foosball and ping pong tables

Activities take place in Boston where innovation resources are most concentrated. We have an extensive network of partners and supporters that want to help entrepreneurs win and succeed.

Yes. We expect active, consistent engagement in the accelerator program. This requires regular, physical presence  from at least one team founder in the MassChallenge Boston office from June 25 through October 26. Concerns about engagement should be directed to Apply@MassChallenge.org.