Boston Startup Scene Guide - Fall 2013

Editor's Notes

• #2: Note that when I refer to Boston, I’m really referring to the Boston metro area, which includes all of MA and parts of New England.
• #5: MIT, in particular, has been a start-up company factory33,600 companies founded by MIT affiliates; 25,800 are currently activeEmploy 3.3M people and generate $2T in sales250-300 new companies started each year by students and alumniEnduring giants: Campbell Soup, Gillette, Bose, HP, Intel, TI, Genentech, Raytheon, Qualcomm, iRobot, AkamaiMIT Technology Licensing Office (TLO) 2011:305 patents filed, 199 issued20 companies started with VC or $50k of other funding$54M in revenues from royalties and equity
• #6: Harvard University and Harvard Business School have also been factories for innovation.
• #7: On a per capita basis, Massachusetts has a significant advantage over other leading technology states, with 76 engineering degrees awarded per 100,000 residents, compared to 51 in Virginia.
• #9: Education and university research leads to NIH funding – with over $2 billion in NIH funding pouring into basic research into the region.
• #15: VC Investments are very, very concentrated in the US. 70% of all VC $ flows into 3 states.Massachusetts has always been a strong #2 to California. But when you look at the numbers on a per capita basis (which is what entrepreneurs care more about – after all, it’s not very relevant how much capital is invested in China, what’s relevant is how concentrated that capital is)…California = 14,128.8M ; pg 14 on NVCA YearbookMass= 3,067.9M = $3BNew York = 1,856.8M = 1.8B
• #16: …you can see that Boston is the top region of the three major markets. Per capita is, after all, a proxy for how capital is available PER ENTREPRENEURCalifornia: 14.1B/38.3 M*= $368Massachusetts: 3.0B/6.6M = $454New York: 1.8B / 19.5M = $92*pulled population estimates from 2012 census
• #17: Every major life sciences company is expanding in Boston and Cambridge.The gene mapping happened at the Broad Institute, which has expanded to a multi-hundred million dollar budget world-class research institute.Highlights of the PwC 2007 Life Sciences Survey include: Ninety-nine percent of respondents with R&D in Massachusetts reported that they plan to maintain or increase their R&D activities in the state over the next two years.Almost half of respondents with manufacturing operations have these operations in Massachusetts, and over half of those expanded their manufacturing over the past year. Nearly six out of ten (59%) expect to increase manufacturing activities in Massachusetts over the next two years.Two-fifths of respondents said their intellectual property was developed at a Massachusetts academic institution.Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, a ten year, $1 billion package of investment resources designed to foster continued growth in the Massachusetts Life Sciences Supercluster signed in 2008.Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital doctor, Dr. Jack Szostak (SHAH'-stak), won Nobel Prize for 2009 for research into how chromosomes protect themselves from degrading when cells divide. Of the top 25 biotechnology research and development firms in Massachusetts, 14 are in Cambridge, and account for 2/3 or $1.175 billion--of R&D spending by the top 25 biotechnology firms.
• #18: Obama administration pledge $150B over next 10 years, says clean tech can generate 5 million new jobs.MA passed comprehensive energy bill in 2008 that placed it at forefront of clean energy in the US.Force utility companies to invest in home-grown energy that is cheaper in long-run.Encourage investment in renewable energy.Incentivizes businesses and individuals to invest in energy-saving products.NECEC – New England’s Clean Energy Economy, brought together Clean Energy Roundtable and piloted Fellowship Program to transition entrepreneurs from other industries into clean energyGreatPoint Energy, Mascoma, Evergreen Solar, Agrivida, MIT’s Ignite Clean Energy CompetitionEnerNOC was named 2007 Top IPO in New England by ACG and Mass High Tech, for its $99MM IPO.
• #19: There are more iPhone developers are using the Skyhook location API than in any other state, a rough proxy for all iPhone developers$100M+ exits in mobile:M-Qube, mobile billing company, acquired by VeriSign for $250MMMobile advertising company Enpocket bought by NokiaAOL acquired mobile advertising network Third Screen MediaStrong Boston mobile industry:10 VC-backed mobile companies in 2002 to 45 in 2008Quattro, Skyhook Wireless, Jumptap, vLingo
• #20: robotics: iRobot, Kiva Systems, Rethink Robotics, Robotics, Droid Workscloud computing: Netezza, Carbonite, Akamai, Nasuni,EMC, Akamionline video:  Brightcove, Blackwave, Scanscout, Visible Measuresgaming:  WorldWinner, Harmonix, Turbinee-commerce:  RueLaLa, CSN Stores, Shoebuy.com, TripAdvisor, Vista Print, Cartera Commerce, Zoom Info, KarmaLoop, DemandWaremarketing technology:  DataXu, HubSpot, Click Squared, Jingle, Constant Contact
• #21: A quick shuttle ride or Acela ride away, you have New York, the world’s advertising and media headquarters3 of world’s top 6 advertising agencies have digital teams headquartered in BostonPublicis/Digitas, Aegis/Isobar, Havas DigitalHistorical media strength and customersEasy flow of talent and capital between Boston and New YorkBzzAgent, DigitalArbor, DataXu, ScanScout, Brightcove and other marketing and digital production portfolio companies, have CEOs in NYC weekly and local sales teamsBoston VCs investing in NY media companies – Flybridge, Spark, General Catalyst
• #25: Cisco:$3.5B on nine acquisitions of Boston-based companiesNew 5000-employee New England Development CenterMicrosoft:Boston Concept Development Center: research unit incubating new Internet businesses within companyCapacity to double current 550 MA employees by 2010Google:Rapid expansion of employment to 50 in Boston, with plans to doubleBoston as data networking center: Ericsson and Siemens also have headquarters in the city; Nokia has a big presence
• #26: Events:Mobile Monday – Monthly meet-up of mobile and wireless startups, VCs, and tech execs.Open Coffee – Open meeting for entrepreneurs every Thursday at Andala Coffee House in Cambridge.WebInno –Venrock organized monthly meeting of 200 to 400 startup people, VCs, Angels and tech execs. Resources:BetaHouse Boston – Co-working office space for entrepreneurs. Cambridge Innovation Center - Flexible office facility for growing technology and life sciences companies.DogPatch Labs - Polaris Venture Partners’ creation to connect entrepreneurs and help founders conceive and launch startups. Organizations:TechStars - A startup boot camp that provides $25K in funding with lots of mentorship, advice, introductions, and access to investors.Stay in MA is funded by Flybridge Capital Partners and is committed to providing as many scholarships as possible, to Massachusetts college students, up to a total of $10,000 total per calendar year.
• #29: Named by 2ThinkNow as the #1 most innovative city in the world and “Under30CEO” as the #1 city for young businesspeople, Boston has a rich heritage of start-ups, and is poised to continue with that heritage well into the 21st century. It’s all here.