Just as its residents resolve to lay off fast food and turn off Netflix, Boston itself is making some changes of its own.
In his State of the City address on Jan. 13, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced he would be hiring a full-time “start-up czar” to manage Boston’s StartHub, a program that provides a way for local start-up entrepreneurs to interact with the city.
“Boston is a city of revolutionary innovation,” Walsh said in his address. “But in Boston, we know that a revolution only succeeds when it galvanizes the whole community. We need to support our local talent and spread opportunity widely.”
According to the City’s official website, StartHub will “unify and bolster start-ups, support entrepreneurs growing businesses in Boston and market Boston’s start-up scene to the world.”
StartHub would be a one-stop resource to help local entrepreneurs find mentors, permits, and other necessities, and several local start-up entrepreneurs are thrilled to see the city working hand-in-hand with their innovation.
“Any focus on growing the start-up community in Boston is wonderful,” said Todd Myers, founder and CEO of Tally, a social application that lets users explore what is good and bad about restaurants in the Boston area.
Ann Chao is the co-founder and CEO of Sonation, the creator of Cadenza, an intelligent rehearsal app for orchestra instrumentalists. From launching her own start-up, she said, she’s seen how difficult those beginning stages can be.
“A lot of times [starting a company] is in a lot of bureaucracy. You don’t really know how to get about in a quick and efficient way,” she said. “Interfaces with the government can make things happen a lot smoother and have innovation happen a lot quicker.”
Josh Pearlstein, a second-year graduate student in Boston University’s School of Management, shares Chao’s enthusiasm. “You’ll have a knowledge transfer,” he said. “People that have experience will be able to share with first-time entrepreneurs.”
Pearlstein, who also serves as president of BU’s Graduate Entrepreneurship Club, recognizes how crucial a little bit of assistance can be for new companies buried beneath paperwork and registration woes.
“I know it varies based on what you’re trying to do,” he said. “Like if it was something like TicketZen [an app that allows users to remotely pay parking tickets], you need a little bit more cooperation from the city. It gets a little bit more intricate.”
At the same time, Pearlstein said the program can act as an incubator, where start-ups can work together, ultimately helping the Boston start-up community at large to grow even stronger.
“It’s incredibly exciting,” he said. “It’ll be phenomenal for Boston.”
Both Chao and Myers are already pleased with the start-up community’s progress.
“One of the best things about the Boston start-up scene is that everybody is willing to help,” Myers said. “It’s a very collaborative mindset … It makes us all successful.”
Myers said he also credits Boston’s success to the growing presence of large tech companies in the area. Myers himself came to Boston originally to work for Google, but stayed and founded Tally. With the city’s extra attention towards companies like his, he expects a bright future to come.
“They act to pull and retain talent in Boston, some of which goes on to found new local start-ups,” he said. “They’re [the city is] really kind of doubling down on it,” he said. “It’s an exciting place to be now.”
Anyone interested in learning more about Boston’s start-up scene is welcome to join the BU Entrepreneurship Club on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m in SMG Room 221 for a live panel including Walsh’s chief of staff, Daniel Koh, and Rob Biederman, the CEO of HourlyNerd. For more information and to register, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/entrepreneurship-panel-tickets-15272153422.
