For Bill Aulet, managing director of MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, it’s time to do as Biggie Smalls said and “turn a negative into a positive.” Aulet is a preacher of what he calls anti-fragility, the notion that business going forward will focus not on the nuances of managerial techniques—although those will still be
Boston Startup Community News & Content
Worcester entrepreneur pivots restaurant app amid COVID-19 crisis
Massachusetts startup paerpay from Worcester entrepreneur Derek Canton has made a shift during the coronavirus pandemic from developing a restaurant app for dining rooms to one offering a safer and more secure method for takeout and delivery, he said during an interview on the WBJ Podcast. “Our core product was focused on on-premise dining, and
TripAdvisor cuts 900 jobs as it reduces workforce by 25 percent, closes Boston office
Needham-based TripAdvisor Inc. will cut 900 jobs worldwide and close its satellite offices in Boston and San Francisco as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc with the travel industry. The company said Tuesday that it is eliminating 600 jobs in the United States and Canada and 300 more in other countries as part of a
Investors are making tough decisions on startups
For companies backed by venture capital and private equity, the pandemic has proven to be a particularly tough time to raise cash — even as many firms need a quick infusion of funds more than ever. Investors have considered as an option the federal Paycheck Protection Program, the newly created small business assistance fund that
How Boston Companies Are Supporting Employees During Coronavirus
Karyopharm Therapeutics, an oncology-focused pharmaceutical company based in Newton, is no stranger to how illness can take a toll on families. When coronavirus began to tighten its grip on Massachusetts about two months ago, Karyopharm was one of scores of Boston companies that sent their employees to work from home. Karyopharm’s team went a step
Telehealth Startup Goodpath Launches With $4M in Seed Funding
While Bill Gianoukos and Carl Nehme were heading up their last startup, a photo messaging platform called TrumpIt, Gianoukos mother was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. The outlook was grim: Her doctor estimated she would only live another eight weeks. But Gianoukos’ wife, a doctor herself specializing in pain management, had another idea. If they
Digits launches a free expense monitoring dashboard for small businesses, closes on $22M Series B
Digits, a fintech startup hailing from the same team that built and sold Crashlytics to Twitter, is officially launching today after two years of development. It’s also announcing a $22 million Series B round of funding led by GV, as it makes its public debut. While the company had been fairly quiet about product details
Boston-Based App Helps Shoppers Find Essential Coronavirus Items
A Boston-based startup is making it easier for people to find essential items during the coronavirus crisis. Thesupplyfinder.com is powered by Popcart, an app that compares online product prices. The site alerts users about where and when things like toilet paper, cleaning supplies and pantry staples are in stock, and how much they cost.
Announcing NextView’s Everyday Economy Accelerator
We at NextView Ventures are sensitive to the challenges which all startups face during these times brought upon us by the current Coronavirus crisis. As we have discussed elsewhere, the world of early stage investing is shifting from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) to FOLD (Fear Of Looking Dumb). Even though some of the most transformative tech companies are built during difficult economic
Algorand launches $42 million grant program for dapp developers
Alogrand Foundation, the nonprofit behind the Algorand blockchain, wants developers to build dapps and middleware for its network. To fuel the growth of a thriving developer community, it’s giving away 250 million ALGO—currently worth about $42 million—in the form of grants. For the uninitiated, Algorand is the brainchild of Silvio Micali, a Turing Award-winning cryptographer