Mayor Walsh Hosts Startups at City Hall
Today Mayor Martin J. Walsh hosted more than a dozen representatives from Boston’s startup community at City Hall as part of Boston’s local celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Attendees included company owners and managers of small business incubators, and members of the Mayor’s staff focused on tech and innovation. The discussion centered on how the Walsh administration can be more supportive of the startup community, and the innovation sector’s important and ongoing contribution to Boston’s economy. Prior to the meeting, Mayor Walsh toured the new location of the Cambridge Innovation Center, a coworking facility providing office space for startups, small companies, and nonprofits, at 50 Milk Street in Boston’s Financial District.
“The Innovation District is thriving, and it’s because Boston has the entrepreneurs and investors committed to Boston and our startup economy,” said Mayor Walsh. “Innovation knows no boundaries, and this active community has grown far beyond Downtown, taking root across our neighborhoods and in the very spirit of our City."
Mayor Walsh was joined by representatives of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) Boston, Highland Capital, MassChallenge, District Hall, WeWork, HourlyNerd, Coalition Boston, Smarter in the City, Workbar, Localytics, and Streetwise Media. A number of Walsh Administration leaders -- including representatives from the Mayor's Office, Department of Innovation Technology, the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Economic Development cabinet, Onein3, and others -- also participated in this dialogue.
On Wednesday, the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics collaborated with Orange Barrel Media on a celebration of PitchBoston winners at District Hall in the Innovation District. Six local startups debuted their 20 second videos highlighting their local company in the City of Boston. The videos will be featured on the large electronic billboard at District Hall for the next six months.
The winning companies of PitchBoston include:
The Awesome Foundation - funding creative people doing creative things.
CoachUp, Inc. - connecting athletes with private coaches to change lives through sports.
Greycork - a local furniture designer and manufacturing company.
Grove Labs - providing aquaponic food systems for the home.
Kinvey - helping enterprises, agencies, and developers launch more successful and engaging apps.
Ovuline - a pregnancy tracker that helps couples conceive faster and maintain healthier pregnancies.
The six companies were selected from a pool of 30 applicants. Representatives of the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, Economic Development, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Orange Barrel Media, and District Hall chose the winning entries.
