1. business and industrial

MASSCHALLENGE
IMPACT REPORT 2014
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MISSION: TO CATALYZE A GLOBAL STARTUP RENAISSANCE.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE TEAM
ALUMNI FUNDING & GROWTH
COMMUNITY & MENTORSHIP
ACCELORATOR PROGRAMMING & EVENTS
GLOBAL EXPANSION
BOARD OF ADVISORS & SPONSORS
VISION
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Five years ago, we issued a challenge to the startup
community to help us identify, strengthen and promote the
world’s highest-impact startups. The metrics gathered on
the 617 startups we’ve accelerated over the last five years
prove beyond all doubt that the community has delivered.
With over 1,650 startup applicants from 50 countries and
40 U.S. states, the 2014 MassChallenge Accelerator was the
most competitive yet, adding additional inspiration for us
to expand and improve our support for the world’s highestimpact startups.
With the help of Jamestown and the City of Boston, we
created a new office space in the Innovation and Design
Building, where entrepreneurs and the startup community
can grow and collaborate.
In 2014, we continued to form new international
partnerships and announced our intention to launch our
first European accelerator with an office in London while
continuing to pursue other opportunities around the world.
Established global partners -- Colombia, Mexico, Russia,
Switzerland, Germany -- expanded their engagement with
MassChallenge in 2014, and several have expressed strong
interest to launch a MassChallenge locally, setting the stage
for significant expansion in the coming years.
Our 2014 growth in Boston has been fueled by an
expanding network of partners. New supporters that joined
our Boston Program this year include: Thomson Reuters,
Henkel, Bose, Hult International Business School, Brandeis,
Boehringer Ingelheim, Smith & Nephew, and the Robert
Bosch Venture Group. With all of this excitement, existing
collaborators have also expanded and refined their already
bold commitments, including the Boston Foundation,
Microsoft and WGBH.
Every year we refer to the current startup accelerator as
“our best yet”. Our ability to continue saying that without a
hint of controversy is a testament to the increasing quality
and engagement of our community.
We’re incredibly grateful to the hundreds of expert
mentors and judges who collaborate within the innovation
community to provide the magnanimous and intensive
support to help our entrepreneurs grow and succeed.
MassChallenge could not exist or thrive without the
support of our partner and mentor community.
We are humbled by the support of our friends, family and
supporters.
Thank you for your time, engagement, and contributions.
You are amazing.
Sincerely,
The MassChallenge Executive Team
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ALUMNI FUNDING
& GROWTH
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By taking advantage of MassChallenge resources and mentorship, I was able to build
a stronger foundation for 99Degrees Custom, widen our reach, and expand my own
thinking to better position the company for growth and scale. The MassChallenge
network and resources that helped us a year ago, continue to have an impact. I’m
in regular contact with my mentor team and our seed round is largely attributed to
connections made during MassChallenge.”
BRENNA NAN SCHNEIDER
99Degrees Custom,
2013 MassChallenge Winner
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ALUMNI FUNDING RAISED
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ACTIVE COMPANIES
COmpany status
4% ACQUIRED
ACTIVE
528
86%
ACTIVE
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65
10% ACTIVE
NO LONGER
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$2.5+Billion
Total Current Valuation
of MassChallenge
Alumni.
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ALUMNI REVENUE GENERATED
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4,802
Jobs Created
Worldwide
A vibrant innovation economy thrives on entrepreneurs creating
economic opportunity for individuals across diverse backgrounds.
MassChallenge works with organizations such as the Boston
Foundation to connect entrepreneurs working in underserved
communities in the inner city with top resources like mentorship
and education.
MassChallenge also launched a jobs board this year to in order to
best connect startups with innovative talent.
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ALUMNI JOBS CREATED
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COMMUNITY
& MENTORSHIP
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MassChallenge entrepreneurs are supported by
the most experienced Experts in the innovation
community.
These Mentors come from all disciplines and
industries to accommodate the wide range of
startups and founder backgrounds. Mentors are
seasoned entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists,
lawyers, and senior executives from corporations.
Complementary to the formal Mentorship Program
are informal office hours, where startups gain
invaluable insight from top Experts.
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1,366
Office Hours
appointments hosted at
MassChallenge by the
expert community
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“Connecting with the MassChallenge mentor network felt like tapping into a well of
expertise and knowledge. Our mentors connected us to their extended networks, which
helped us establish and de-risk our Made in USA supply chain. These MassChallenge
connections enabled us to scale our production and produce thousands of bags for
customers all over the world.”
BETSY NUNEZ
Sword & Plough,
2013 MassChallenge Winner
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“VerbalCare’s core advisory team formed at
MassChallenge, our first investment was a direct result of
our involvement with the accelerator, and as alumni of the
healthcare concentration we have been given fantastic and
exclusive opportunities like the chance to collaborate with
the Healthcare Transformation Lab at the Massachusetts
General Hospital Heart Center.”
NICK DOUGHERTY
VerbalCare,
2013 MassChallenge Finalist
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On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend MassChalleng
NET PROMOTER
SCORE
another
early-stage startup?
PROMOTERS
(9 - 10)
On a scale of 0-10,
how likely are you
to reccommend
MassChallenge
to another early
stage startup?
70.7%
NET PROMOTER
SCORE
NEUTRAL (7 - 8)
DETRACTORS (<7)
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The exceptional 2014 MassChallenge NPS score places the
accelerator among the highest-rated brands in the world in
terms of user satisfaction, ahead of brands such as Amazon,
Netflix, and Trader Joe’s.
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“The community at MassChallenge has an immense diversity of
interests and age, and I love seeing this demographic spread
mobilize together to execute their ideas.”
SARAH HAIG
Silverside Detectors,
2013 MassChallenge Winner
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ACCELERATOR
PROGRAMMING & EVENTS
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The MassChallenge Accelerator program is tailored to provide entrepreneurs with a range of
strategic and tactical insights from sales to hiring, from legal to financing, and from product
design to manufacturing.
Fidelity Investments is heavily involved in supporting entrepreneurs through education. During
the MassChallenge Boot Camp, a week-long workshop designed to equip startups with the
knowledge they need to run their businesses, startups spent a day at The Fidelity Center for
Applied Technology (FCAT) where they learned key sales and fundraising strategies. Additionally,
throughout the four month accelerator, dozens of Fidelity associates mentored MassChallenge
teams and fostered connections to other strategic thought leaders.
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MassChallenge events are a breeding ground for meaningful relationships. Events like the
Women in MassChallenge Showcase and MassChallenge International Night gather the
startup community to make connections and share ideas.
Jamestown provides over 26,000 square feet of office space in Boston’s Innovation and
Design Building to help cultivate growing communities for entrepreneurs to work, play,
learn, and thrive.
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Workshops held
during the
Accelerator
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13,293
Event attendees
175
Events hosted
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GLOBAL
EXPANSION
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Shared access to global resources is critical to entrepreneurs. With
MassChallenge Israel and MassChallenge UK, MassChallenge’s
international efforts enable access to global resources and markets
by connecting top-tier global startups with the very best people and
organizations around the world.
As the first sponsor to all three MassChallenge programs, EMC has
provided critical insight in MassChallenge’s efforts in global expansion.
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“MassChallenge took us from being a local services company
in Colombia, to a product-based tech startup playing in a
global market. As an alumni, MC has been our passport to build
partnerships with major tech companies, recruit the best talent
and attract new customers.”
AGUSTÍN PALAEZ
Ubidots
2013 MassChallenge Finalist
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APPLICANT GEOGRAPHY
2010-2014
4,188
938
45 states
74 Countries
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50
Countries
41
States
1,657
2014 Startup applicants
35%
Increase over 2013
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BOARD OF ADVISORS
& SPONSORS
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BOARD OF ADVISORS
JON ABBOTT
PRESIDENT & CEO, WGBH
DESH DESHPANDE
SAM BASTIA
TRUSTEE, DESHPANDE FOUNDATION,
SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR, AVID MENTOR
VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY AND
INNOVATION, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS
LINDA PIZZUTI HENRY
SEAN BELKA
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR
OF FIDELITY CENTER FOR APPLIED
TECHNOLOGY (FCAT)
JAMES BERYLSON
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER,
BERYLSON CAPITAL PARTNERS
GREG BIALECKI
MASSACHUSETTS SECRETARY OF HOUSING
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
JOSHUA BOGER
FOUNDER AND FORMER CEO OF VERTEX
PHARMACEUTICAL
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MANAGING DIRECTOR, BOSTON GLOBE
MARY JO MEISNER
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS,
COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND PUBLIC
AFFAIRS, THE BOSTON FOUNDATION
DUANE RATLIFF
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER & NASA
LIAISON, CASIS
CATHY WISSINK
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT, MICROSOFT NEW ENGLAND
SPONSORS
DIAMOND
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
Jamestown
American Airlines
Altus Dental
Amazon Web Services
Commonwealth Of Massachusetts
Boehinger Ingelheim
Autodesk
Babson College
Fidelity Investments
Bose
EMC
Boston University
Deshpande Foundation
Henkel
Foley & Lardner LLP
Brandeis University
Richard & Susan
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
IBM
CORT
Massachusetts Tech Collaborative
Joshua Boger
Duane Morris LLP
The Boston Foundation
Microsoft
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
First Republic Bank
Verizon
Pfizer
Robert Bosch Venture Capital
Fish & Richardson P.C.
CASIS
Smith & Nephew
Sanofi
Foley Hoag LLP
Innpulsa Colombia
Thomson Reuters
School Of Management Fribourg
Goodwin Procter LLP
Skolkovo Foundation
Turnstone
Softlayer
Hult International Business School
WGBH
The John W. Henry Family Foundation
MassIT
Smith Family Foundation
Zapopan
Northeastern University
Perkins
The Kraft Group
UPS
WPI
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Entrepreneurs can provide efficient
solutions to critical challenges facing
urban spaces. The Microsoft Prize for Civic
Engagement & Leadership helps identify
and curate the startups that innovate and
apply technology to address civic needs.
In 2014, startups also had the opportunity
to work with the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts through the MassIT
Government Innovation Competition
$50K Prize. This new prize was created
to accelerate the Commonwealth’s use
of innovative technology solutions and
to harness the wealth of entrepreneurial
expertise available.
With the support of Microsoft and MassIT,
MassChallenge startups are helping cities
and state government fully embrace the
digital era. These prizes demonstrate the
value that entrepreneurial teams from
the private sector can bring to the public
sector.
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MASSCHALLENGE
VISION
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The Road Ahead
Since day one, our mission has been to
catalyze a global startup renaissance.
The startup renaissance is a rebirth of the
creative and inspired society that challenges
old conventions and strives primarily to
create new value, instead of obsessing
over extracting from what already exists.
It’s a world in which everyone recognizes
that he or she can define the future, and is
empowered to maximize impact.
Modern entrepreneurship is a global
endeavor and this renaissance spans
geographical and cultural boundaries. In
order to maximize impact and accelerate
the renaissance, we’ve committed to launch
MassChallenge accelerators in 10 new cities
by 2019 -- bringing the MassChallenge
model to every populated continent. Our
offices in London and Tel Aviv are just the
first steps toward reaching and empowering
entrepreneurs all over the world.
Visit masschallenge.org to find out how you
can catalyze the startup renaissance.
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