5
BOSTON and CAMBRIDGE
From the ups and downs of the once booming Route 128, the greater Boston area has performed a successful resurgence, roughly paralleling the career of noted Boston Super Bowl superstar and phone assassin Tom Brady. Now it’s all about Kendall Square, where companies are benefiting from world-class talent at the many universities in the area along with the helpful, tight-knit tech community, which hosts everything from Mobile Mondays to the Boston Startups Twitter (@BOSstartups). Though it took far too long for Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg to finally start a Facebook office in Boston, having decided to build his company in the Valley instead, the Boston area boasts an impressive healthcare and biotech company record, and is far more practical and sane than the Valley will ever be.
AGGREGATE VENTURE ACTIVITY Q4’15 - Q3’16
VC FUNDING: $6.5B
DEALS: 453
EXITS: 86
5 YEAR YoY FUNDING GROWTH: 13.9%
5 YEAR YoY DEAL GROWTH: 6.8%
Source: CB Insights
BOSTON DO’S AND DON’TS
KNOW YOUR SPORTS Boston takes pride in their sports teams. It’s fine if you don’t love the Celtics or the Red Sox, but know about them, because if you don’t, you’ll have absolutely nothing to talk about with any person you meet in Boston. And remember, rumor has it the Boston Massacre began with a publicly worn Yankees hat.
USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION Parking spaces in Boston are as common as Windows Phones in Silicon Valley. The word “subway” refers to infamous subpar sandwich franchises, whereas the transportation system is called “the T” by any true Bostonian.
FAKE A BOSTON ACCENT Locals love their “lobstah” and “chowdah,” but the missing r’s and elongated a’s are an art, with imitators being given the same look as Bill Bellichek’s perpetually disgusted resting face.
BE TOO FRIENDLY Sure, you want to get to know people, but smiling all the time and asking questions isn’t the Boston way. Bostonians would help a blind man cross the street, but wouldn’t want to be friends with him afterward.
THE TOP
ANGELS
Art Papas
Bill Sahlman
Chris Keller
Dharmesh Shah
Jen Lum
Jere Doyle
Joe Caruso
Lars Albright
Peter McKay
TJ Mahony
VCs
Atlas Venture
Bain Capital
Battery
Bessemer
CRV
General Catalyst
Highland Capital
Nextview
North Bridge
OpenView
Polaris
Spark Capital
ACCELERATORS
Bolt
Education Program
HealthBox
LearnLaunchX
MassChallenge
Techstars
The Capital Network: Accelerated
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EVENTS
BostInno 50 on Fire
BUILD Entrepreneur Games
FutureM
Greenhorn Connect
HBS Cyberposium
Tech Gives Back
WebInno
BIG SUCCESS STORIES
Acquia
Actifio
Brightcove
Care.com
DataGravity
Demandware
DraftKings
Endeca
Hubspot
Kayak
Kiva
Quattro
Rapid7
Starent
TripAdvisor
Trusteer
VistaPrint
VMTurbo
Wayfair
Zipcar
Q4’15 - Q3’16 TOP FUNDING ROUNDS
Moderna Therapeutics—$600M
DraftKings—$153M
Indigo—$100M
Ginkgo Bioworks—$100M
Society of Grownups—$100M
BOSTON AT A GLANCE
Power Breakfast
Henrietta’s Table
Paramount
Tatte
The Friendly Toast
Zaftigs Delicatessen
Coffee Shops to Start Up In
Pavement Coffeehouse
Render Coffee
Thinking Cup
Local Beers
Batch Whiskey
Harpoon
Narragansett
PBR
Sam Adams
Trillium
Best Bars
Commonwealth
Gather
Legal Rooftop
Meadhall (Kendall Square)
The Sevens
Venture Cafe
WeWork Parties
Startup Districts
Back Bay
Cambridge
Financial/Leather District
Fort Point (up-and-coming)
Red Line (Alewife to Dtwn. Crossing)
Seaport/Innovation District
Boston Networking Tips
• Namedropping shows you’re a poser
• Wear Bonobos, sponsor of many of the podcasts you gave up on
“Must Be At” Local Events
Boston Marathon
Chowderfest
St. Patrick’s Day
