The Revolution is Now

Reports of the demise of entrepreneurship in Boston have been greatly exaggerated; it’s actually a great time to be an entrepreneur of any age in Boston. Boston has had to reinvent itself 9 times in its history and is likely in the process of a 10th renaissance. So much is changing for the better right before our eyes:

VC Firms: More and more firms are taking progressive approaches to investment. They’re creating more incubation programs, hosting open office hours to meet with anyone, moving closer to the new hub of innovation (Cambridge, not Waltham) and even reaching out to help young entrepreneurs in unique ways.

Competitions: There are numerous competitions now catalyzing innovation, from the always impressive (and expanding) MIT100K, to industry specific competitions, to the massive, new initiative by MassChallenge.

Academic Institutions: MIT and Harvard have long set the standard for institutional innovation, but now, many of the other schools in the area have launched initiatives to promote entrepreneurship. From Northeastern’s STE program and IDEA to BU’s ITEC program to UMass Boston’s Venture Development Center, it has never been easier to be an aspiring entrepreneur attending a local university.

Personal Initiatives: Many entrepreneurs, young and old, have made their own efforts to help Boston’s ecosystem in various ways. Bill Warner’s and MassTLC’s unConference, Scott Kirsner’s Future Forward LLC events and Innovation Economy, Tim Rowe’s Venture Café, Dan Bricklin & MassTLC’s Tech Tuesday, Cort Johnson and Jake Cacciapaglia’s DartBoston, MIT’s Startup Bootcamp and many more are helping change and improve the environment and better cultivate entrepreneurship for different people on different levels.

Consolidation: Organizations large and small are coming together to better serve the entrepreneurial community. Most recently, MassTLC merged with MassNetComms and the Renewable Energy Business Network merged with the Clean Economy Network Foundation. Both should be stronger for these mergers. It’s also sites bringing solutions to our resource and network issues, which is at the heart of Greenhorn Connect’s mission.

This was not an overnight success. At times, there may have been too much talk, but now what were once just ideas and suggestions are becoming realities. It has been the efforts of many people on the state, local and individual level that have brought this new wave of energy and opportunity to our community. I’m excited for this new wave of innovation and looking forward to Greenhorn Connect being an integral part of this new ecosystem.

The Revolution is Now. The rest of the world just doesn’t know it yet.