Last night I had the pleasure of attending the 31st Mass Innovation Night, at the Trade Center 128 in Woburn. It was cool to see a handful of startups and their strategies for growth. I was surprised to see and 0ld friend, Alexander Tsepko of Grafpad doing a professional pitch when only months ago he was at the Venture Cafe testing the water. That in itself is a testament to the great resources in the area being made available to entrepreneurs. Speaking of resources…

ePowerhouse is a company trying to help entrepreneurs and investors. The accelerator program being created and the network around it will soon evolve into a hub for both investors and entrepreneurs. After all, who likes going to a million different places to do a million different things when trying to start a company? Surely there is an easier and more efficient way. From talent pools, comprehensive event calender,  incubators to capital acceleration programs, EPH will change the landscape for entrepreneurs, and not just locally. But yeah check it out at the link.

Finally, Hubspot has been providing some great resources on social media. I went to an event last week at Hubspot and as usual, learned a lot. Right when my arrogance kicks in and I think I know everything, I talk with some more knowledgeable people and realize some great concepts and ideas. That’s what networking is all about.

 

 

 This totally wasn’t a busy week or anything 😛

I spent the first few days volunteering to work at the International Symposium on Nanotechnology at the Westin Hotel and man was it cool. I got to sit in on presentations and discussions about nanotechnology on the cutting edge with some of the world’s leaders in the field. I bet I could school >95% of all business majors  on the topic now. I find it so fascinating sometimes I wish I had been a science major. To see gold nanoparticles buzzing around though a high powered microscope was incredible. It is certainly an uphill battle for scientists to catalog all of the new particles being created, especially given the fact that their properties change based on size, structure and relative disparity. The periodic table doesn’t work on the nano sale.

Speaking of awesomeness, I got invited to a Gala at Citizen Schools thanks to John Werner. It was great event filled with tons of people doing interesting things. I made some new friends and had some very interesting conversations about physics and even marketing. I was recommended to read the book Predictably Irrational by Dan Airely and after reading just the first chapter I would pass on that recommendation to anyone. MIT is great at assembling bright minds (Duh) and though it may not be possible, I’m seriously considering making a run at it for my Master’s degree. Sure my GPA isn’t so hot, but

I think they’re looking for things that cannot be quantified so easily. Being around bright minds is like  light to my eyes and I want to seek out the best from hereon in.

Speaking of the best, I’ve got to give a shoutout to Hubspot and Brian Halligan. They sent me a free pass to the Inbound Marketing Summit coming up this September which is epic considering it costs $700. I couldn’t thank you guys enough, but I will certainly try. Thanks to me being a student, I also get to attend the entire Future M (Future of Marketing) week for free. Hence my tweet about it with the hashtag #Winning. Sorry professors, but I will not be in class that week. Hopefully they will understand.

It was nice seeing some old friends at the Venture Cafe this week. I realized for my schedule I made months ago that it would overlap with VC’s this fall. Epic fail on my part and I’m doing my best to change it. I find the cafes to be some of the best networking events I’ve attended, and highly recommend it. Today I got to attend a Innovation Breakfast with an intimate group in Waltham. Chatting about social media is always a good time and since I don’t know it all, I like to learn. Like my twitter says, I’m a social media expert in training. I’ll surely be a lot closer after these next few month, but can anyone really be an expert in such a new field? I didn’t think so either…

 

Yesterday was my first time visiting the Venture Cafe in the Cambridge Innovation Center,  in you guessed- Cambridge. Someday I hope I can live either in or real close to that city- it’s nothing short of amazing. Everyone I talked to had something interesting going on. In the short few months I feel I’ve really developed myself as a marketer and have set a strong foundation for the future. Talking about what I do comes naturally now and people are interested in the work I’ve done and the ideas I have. I event got asked to speak at an upcoming event which I graciously and excitedly agreed to. I can’t wait to make it back hopefully next week! Every Thursday from 3-8 check it out! (if you need any more incentive, there’s free food, drinks and beer.)

Some of the highlights from the event were obviously the people. Chip Selley of Disruptive Apps blew me away with his simple, yet revolutionary idea that will make jukeboxes obsolete. Like I told him, in the tech world 95% of new apps are total garbage and it sucks to listen to people speak so passionately about them. This was not the case with him. In a nutshell, his app allows visitors to restaurants, bars and coffee shops to pick what songs are played over the speakers for a small fee. Similar to a jukebox, only the playlists are unlimited, easily controllable by the owner, and payment is as easy as pushing a button, rather than fishing for a dollar.The industry itself pulls in millions of dollar every year and he’s turning it on it’s head. He’s already talking with the major players in the industry, pun not intended, and I’m sure success on the horizon.

Another great connect was Gabriel Martin of Organism. Call him Gabe and he’ll cut your head off. But seriously, this guy is a social media guru. He once got 1,000 Twitter followers in one day! Needless to say, I got a few pointers and took them to heart. Quality beats quantity, but that name recognition is key and I’m trying to hit my next target of 500 followers. With his help I now have more arrows in my quiver and know that 500 will happen sooner rather than later.

 

 

 

See you next week VC!

Yesterday was a long, productive day for me. It started at a social networking breakfast all the beautiful All Steel Showroom at State Street, Boston. I got to network with individuals from furniture salesmen to marketers to CEOs. We discussed everything from the ongoing problems in Washington to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. I was happy to alert Bill Farrick from Wentworth Institute of Technology of the program because hes a co-op adviser for the school. The MLSC program offers hundreds of MA students full-time employment year-round at any life science company or service company paid by the state. It’s what got me this gig and I’ve been nothing but smiles because of it.

Terrafugia Flying Car

The Mass Technology Leadership Council was one of the most interesting events I’ve been to yet. Not to be outdone, the event was staged at the flawless Castile Ventures building in Waltham MA (pictured below). Many executives involved in the high-tech industry were there from Microsoft to Terrafugia. I had a great conversation with Richard Gersh of Terrafugia about their project involving a flying car (pictured above). Does it get any cooler? The MTLC announced the finalists for the 2011 Awards Gala which will be on October 6th, 2011 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston MA. I hope to attend the gala in the fall so I can continue getting to know the members and feed my hunger for technology.

 

Winter St, Waltham MA