Boston is a hub for many start-ups and entrepreneurs. We all know that – if you didn’t, you do now! Boston World Partnership brought startups, incubators and facilitating organizations together. On the T for a change, called the Innovation Express.
On Thursday October the 27th about 50 people gathered on the platform of JFK/UMass around 1.00 pm. Start-up companies or entrepreneurs-to-be could join the Innovation Express by hopping on the last car of the Red train. Speakers, among others, from Workbar Boston (Bill Jacobsen), New Urban Mechanics (Nigel Jacob), Masschallenge (Scott Balley) and Tim Rowe (Cambridge Innovation Center), pitched their organizations to entrepreneurs travelling from JFK/UMass to Davis and back to Kendall Square.
Moving location
Needless to say this unusual location also made the event different from all other networking events I’ve been to. Speakers were challenged to address all participants with a bullhorn, plus random passengers who were surprised by the Innovation Express once entering the car. And networking on the T, while holding on to straps every time the car stopped, appeared to be less difficult than expected. It even created an informal, bizarre but fun atmosphere among the participants.
Because of its mobile venue, the event created a lot of buzz and became newsworthy. The Boston Herald wrote a story about it a few days before the event and the Boston Globe covered the event as well. Being on the T and networking with start-up facilitators made some entrepreneurs even more curious about the event and might possibly have led to a bigger turnout.
Networking and video pitches
Back at Kendall Square, everybody was invited to gather on the 4th Floor of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), where the Venture Café – held every Thursday from 3 pm – was just about to start. A smart way to integrate these two events into one.
Partner of the Innovation Express, Pixability, gave participants the opportunity to record their own 60-90 seconds video pitch for free. An initiative that was very much appreciated by the entrepreneurs and led to several tweets about Pixability as well.
More information:
- Organizers: Boston World Partnerships (BWP)
- Hosts: Yoon J. Lee and Paola Mesadieu
- Social: On Twitter, follow ThinkingBoston, Hashtag: #InnoExpress
- Registration: Eventbrite.com
- Sponsors: Boston.com / Boston Globe
- Partner: Pixability
- Venue: the Red Line, MBTA
Also read the review about the BWP Leaders Networking Reception
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