A few years back when my MBA friend-neighbor talked about all the great incubators in the Boston area, the first image that would flash in my brain is the one you see above.
That, my friends, was the extent of my knowledge of accelerators, also known as "incubators." Every time she talked about this incubator or that incubator, she conjured images for me of little heat boxes speeding up the development of eggs.
Well. Duh! I learned not so long ago that a startup accelerator works the same way, except instead of hatching eggs, they speed up the development of novel concepts, by blasting them with collaborators, mentors and access to resources, such as legal advice and public relations, thereby giving them a competitive advantage and better chances for survival. Yes, the MassChallenge wants its baby chicks to make it.
The space we moved into this week feels a lot like being at camp. There's a strong sense of community, with several startups working alongside each other. Some are here for the second time, a benefit of being selected a finalist-finalist winner at the end of the summer, and others are like us, the new startup on the block.
As you can see in the picture, below, there are minimal walls. It was a bit of a shock to my system the first day, since I've mostly only worked in traditional and structured office environments. Kinda of cool and loft-like, wouldn't you say? Those cables hanging from the ceiling plug into power strips on tables for our power cords. :-)
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| View from our MassChallenge Green Community. |
This ... I like. :-)
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| Temporary Home: I like the word "FLEX." |
My surroundings are anything but boring. Aside from the distractions around me, being able to look out the window, at any time, to watch construction underway, men working on rooftops (wondering what the heck is taking them so long), planes taking off from Boston Logan and traffic and people going about their business makes for some really awesome daydreaming.
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| View from the 14th floor. |
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| I could stare out the window all day! |
Things here will get cooking next week when the MassChallenge Boot Camp kicks-off on Monday with five full days of training. We'll get to hear presentations on everything from sales, marketing, financials and funding, to business models, from industry leaders. I'll be sure to share the most salient points. I'll also be on a mission to learn more about the organization's community focus.
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| Classroom Area |
I was bad and drove in two days, so Monday will start my public transportation commute (15 minutes by car, 40 minutes by train, 10 minutes by foot). I have such respect for my all my friends in NY. For this girl from California, the traveling will make for some interesting stories, if not pictures.
Hoping you all had a great week and that you get to enjoy some of the nice weather this weekend (without the heatstroke).
I worked in two incubators and I love the environment. Everyone is buzzing with energy and creativity. Definitely a place to thrive as long as you focus.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Whatever happened with the companies? Were they long engagements? I'm really excited, Letty, for this opportunity and know that I'll be exposed to a lot of great ideas and interesting personalities. Now, to FOCUS. :-)
DeleteNo, we dealt with beginning stages: business plan, structure, investors and bringing in leadership.
DeleteI found it to be so much fun.
This sounds like an awesome environment! I honestly wish more of the corporate/business world worked this way. They'd get a lot future by nurturing creativity, rather than building an iron clad business plan and model.
ReplyDeleteLove to hear about the collaboration and thanks for showing us around! ;)
It's interesting you made that comment about iron clad business plans and models because one thing I've learned in business is that it's important to stay flexible and to not be afraid to deviate from the "plan." It's not good to be dogmatic. I'm definitely feeling blessed.
DeleteI love getting this view of your work! I never knew what an incubator was before now (except for the kind used to raise baby chicks!) The view out the window would distract me, or inspire me--not sure which! I am so glad that you are enjoying this job! I remember how worried you were about finding a new job not too long ago, so it is FANTASTIC that you found one that you enjoy. The commute will give you lots of inspiration to write about and lots of photographic opportunities, I bet :)
ReplyDeleteJen, yes, the view is both distracting and inspiring. We have the entire 14th floor of this building and have floor-to-ceiling windows all the way around. Today we watched cranes lifting beams of steel, three at a time. It was kind of scary, actually. Definitely feeling blessed with the opportunities coming my way. I'm open and embracing change. :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting I would have thought the same had you mentioned incubator lol cook baby cook! I'm so excited for you this sounds like an amazing space with lots of knowledge floating around for the week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving me a different "incubator" picture to occupy my mind. The 1st image that came to mind was definitely the chic incubator... LOL
ReplyDeleteVery cool enviroment. I'm celosa!