Starting Up in Boston, discusses 1. startups as a career, 2. resources in Boston, and 3. three simple steps to get started

1. R. Sean Lindsay
@rseanlindsay

2. 1. Startups as a career
2. Resources in Boston
3. Getting started

4. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng

5. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)

6. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)

7. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect

8. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect
• 2001 – Upromise – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)

9. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect
• 2001 – Upromise – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2002 – BEA – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)

10. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect
• 2001 – Upromise – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2002 – BEA – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2004 – PanGo – Chief Architect (acquired)

11. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect
• 2001 – Upromise – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2002 – BEA – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2004 – PanGo – Chief Architect (acquired)
• 2007 – Flybridge – Technical Advisor

12. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect
• 2001 – Upromise – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2002 – BEA – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2004 – PanGo – Chief Architect (acquired)
• 2007 – Flybridge – Technical Advisor
• 2007 – Viximo – Co-Founder & CTO

13. • 1997 – Boston University – BS/MS in Computer Eng
• 1997 – C|bridge – Senior Consultant (eventual IPO)
• 1998 – Novera – Senior Engineer (acquired)
• 2000 – Epesi – Chief Architect
• 2001 – Upromise – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2002 – BEA – Tech Lead (eventually acquired)
• 2004 – PanGo – Chief Architect (acquired)
• 2007 – Flybridge – Technical Advisor
• 2007 – Viximo – Co-Founder & CTO
• Founder Mentors, TechStars, MassChallenge
Advisor to StarStreet, Boundless, HelpScout, Nimbit, etc.

15.  13 high tech companies raised $$$

16.  13 high tech companies raised $$$
 10 high tech companies acquired

17.  13 high tech companies raised $$$
 10 high tech companies acquired
 2 investment funds opened

18.  13 high tech companies raised $$$
 10 high tech companies acquired
 2 investment funds opened
 2 high tech company completed IPOs

19.  13 high tech companies raised $$$
 10 high tech companies acquired
 2 investment funds opened
 2 high tech company completed IPOs
… in the last 30 days
* From VentureFizz VC Funding & M&A Activity, March 2012

20.  19 high tech companies raised $$$
 11 high tech companies acquired
 2 high tech companies filed for IPOs
 1 high tech company completed IPO
… in the last 30 days
* From VentureFizz VC Funding & M&A Activity, September 2011

24. Is your region a great place to start a company?
Boston
New York
San Francisco
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
* From Mark Peter Davis survey summary 2010

25. Is finding early stage capital appropriately easy in your
region?
Boston
New York
San Francisco
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
* From Mark Peter Davis survey summary 2010

26. Is your region an affordable place to start a company?
Boston
New York
San Francisco
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
* From Mark Peter Davis survey summary 2010

27. Average positive replies over 7 key questions
Boston
New York
San Francisco
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
* From Mark Peter Davis survey summary 2010

28. I’m about to start doing some shameless name dropping

29. News & Information Organizations
• Boston Innovation • MIT Entrepreneurship Ctr
• Scott Kirsner, Globe • Dart Boston
• Greenhorn Connect • StayInMA
• VentureFizz • NCIAA
• MassHighTech / BBJ • MITX
• Xconomy • MIT Enterprise Forum
• Startup Digest • Boston World Partnership
• Mass Innovation
… and countless others …

30. Events Co-working Spaces
• WebInno • DogPatch Labs (Kendall Square)
• Intrepid Labs (Kendall Square)
• Dart Family Dinners
• Cambridge Co-working Center
• Open Coffee (Kendall Square)
• Founder Dialogues • MassChallenge (South Boston)
• WorkBar (Boston)
• Startup Weekend
• Geek Offices (Inman Square)
• Lean Startup Challenge
• Companies sharing space:
• Mobile Monday • Viximo (Davis Square)
• Backupify (Central Square)
• Countless developer
• Bocoup Loft (South Boston)
groups, peer • BzzAgent (Boston)
groups, conferences, presen • Grasshopper (Needham)
tations
… and countless others …

31. Bloggers, Twitter Accelerators, Mentors
• Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot • TechStars
• David Skok, Matrix
• Fred Destin, Atlas • MassChallenge
• Jeff Bussgang, Flybridge • Startup School
• Bijan Sabet, Spark
• Lee Hower, NextView • MIT Enterprise Forum
• Rob Go, NextView • MIT Venture Mentoring
• Micah Rosenbloom, Novophage Service
• Tom Eismann, Harvard
• Brian Balfour, Boundless • Founder Mentors
• Matt Douglas, Punchbowl • TiE Boston
• Ty Danco, Angel
• MITX
… and countless others …

32. Super Connectors Investors
• VC Associates/Principals • Angels
• Dayna Grayson, Northbridge • John Landry
• Matt Witheiler, Flybridge • Joe Caruso
• Dustin Dolginow, Atlas • Dharmesh Shah
• Victoria Song, Flybridge • Seed Funds
• Startup Vets • NextView
• David Cancel, Hubspot • Founder Collective
• Nabeel Hyatt, Zynga Boston • Common Angels
• Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot • Project 11
• Dave Balter, BzzAgent • Quick Start VC Investments
• Karl Büttner, MassChallenge • Spark
• Katie Rae, TechStars • General Catalyst
• Power Networkers • Charles River
• Cort Johnson, Dart Boston • Loads of VCs
• Paul Hlatky, Greenhorn Connect • Matrix, Highland, Flybridge, Spark, North
• Brian Balfour, Boundless bridge, Atlas, Greylock, Polaris, General
• Matt Lauzon, Gemvara Catalyst, Sigma, Prism, etc.
• Josh Bob, Textaraunt
… and countless others …

33. Take a long view

34. Don’t worry about failing …

35. Don’t worry about failing …
Don’t pre-optimize for success …

36. Don’t worry about failing …
Don’t pre-optimize for success …
It’s okay to work for someone else …

37. Don’t worry about failing …
Don’t pre-optimize for success …
It’s okay to work for someone else …
People you work with are critical …

38. Don’t worry about failing …
Don’t pre-optimize for success …
It’s okay to work for someone else …
People you work with are critical …
Gather highest quality mentors …

39. Don’t worry about failing … Focus on LEARNING
Don’t pre-optimize for success … Optimize for LEARNING
It’s okay to work for someone else … Lots to be LEARNED
People you work with are critical … Share their LEARNING
Gather highest quality mentors … Accelerate your LEARNING

40. 1. Sign Up 2. Read Up 3. Get Out
(5 minutes) (2 hours) (6 hours)
OnStartups Dart Family Dinner
GreenhornConnect
David Skok
WebInno
VentureFizz Lee Hower
Founder Dialgoues
Jeff Bussgang
BostInno
Rob Go Co-working Space

41. 1. Startups as a career
2. Resources in Boston
3. Getting started

42. Sean Lindsay
@rseanlindsay
http://seanlindsay.com
Bitly Bundle of Links: http://bitly.com/rrEJaR
h/t Jay Neely, Don Dodge, Rob Go, Jon O’Shaughnessy