Here is a one-stop guide for everything you need to know about moving to Boston. Looking for a city to work with some of the most exciting startups or want to set up your own venture? Look no further as we have the answer for you and it is Boston!, the city known for its rich history and baked beans. With a population of 4.7 million people and a GDP of ?$382 billion, this city is a promising place for setting up a startup and for those who want to learn and grow in a startup environment, there are many Boston startups offering jobs from time to time.
Why is Boston the Best city for Startups?
Ranked as the top city in America for startups by U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation in 2017 for the second consecutive time, the city is home to startups from diverse fields.? The city witnesses a sea of students and professionals moving into the city from time to time for fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams. Here are some of the highlights of the city’s entrepreneurial culture that make Boston a great city for moving in.
Boston is a Melting Pot of Entrepreneurial Talent
When we talk about talent for Boston startups, you cannot miss the fact that the city is located in proximity to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT is a hotbed for tech startup professionals with some of the most innovative ideas.? Another world class institute in proximity to the state capital is Harvard University. The city attracts the best talent from the 50 plus odd educational institutes in its vicinity. Startups in Boston can get a lot of business and tech talent from these institutions whose courses are some of the best ones not just in the country but also globally.
The city has a good mix of millennial professionals and the experienced professionals creating a culturally and professionally diverse population that can propel the startup culture forward.
Boston gets an Impressive Amount of Funding
Apart from the vital human capital resource the city has to offer, it is also one of the top cities when it comes to venture capital investments. The city is home to startups from some of the dynamically growing sectors and gets venture capital investments of over $3000 billion which accounts for a whopping 7.5 % of global venture capital investment. These popular sectors are mostly B2B companies with a good back up of investors. This is why a lot of startups are concentrated in Boston creating several startups jobs in Boston. A mature funding ecosytem makes entrepreneurs move to Boston and give wings to their startup dreams.
Find the Right Infrastructure for Startups in Boston
The right infrastructure is imperative for the steady growth of businesses and Boston has everything a startup needs to help grow at an impressive rate. There are several business hubs where many events for entrepreneurs take place. There are over 500 startups located in the central area of the city and Kendall Square, one of the significant startup hubs of Boston. Not just that the Cambridge Innovation Center is in Boston as well as offering some of the best real estate services for entrepreneurs in the city. Coshared offices in Boston are easy to find and are well equipped to help startups reduce the cost of setting up an office. There are plenty of business incubator and other support organizations in Boston who are eager to help out startups in early stages to hit the runway, giving many entrepreneurs a big reason to move to Boston.
Boston has Excellent Connectivity!
One of the crucial factors that make a city a viable option for living and especially for running a business is how well connected it is. While the city has excellent connectivity within the city and from the rest of the country but it is also quite close to Europe. One can get in from Amsterdam to Boston in Under 9 hours and the time difference too is not vast, making it easier to meet or communicate with potential clients and investors.
Boston has all the Right Connections
The government has played an enormous role in bringing Boston’s startup scene to the place it is at right now. It helps bridge the gap in funding by delivering the right connections and investors to the right sectors and help everyone grow.? Boston houses two digital health innovation labs and tie up with IBM that aims to create the right tools and platforms for the startup community to interact, connect, and grow.
Soaring? Startup Sectors in Boston
The city is home to some diverse sectors, but the one niche that has stood out with its exceptional growth and success is the tech sector. Some of the sub-sectors that have outdone the others within the large tech sector are as follows:
Biotech Startups in Boston
Dubbed as the global biotech powerhouse, Boston over 1000 biotech companies. The city is also home to several biotech, academic research centres and life science centres.? One of the notable success stories of the niche from the city is of Moderna Therapeutics. The company offers production of human proteins for antibodies inside the patient cells. This Bostonian startup is valued at $7.5 billion and received $500 million in Series G funding. The city of Boston has been the top city to obtain the maximum funding from the National Institute of Health than any other American city according to their official website. The city has maintained this status for 21 consecutive years. So if you are an entrepreneur or a job seeker in the BioTech sector, you should actively consider moving to Boston.
AI, Big Data and Analytics Startups in Boston
AI, Big Data and analytics are a popular sub-sector for tech niches not just in Boston but in tech ecosystems across the U.S. 17% of total venture capital funding between 2012 and 2017 was to this sub-sector owing to the innovative products and services the AI, Big Data and analytics firms had to offer. One of the growing startup brands in the Boston region in this subsector is Affectiva. It is a spinoff of the MIT Media Lab and is a disruptive AI company offering AI that can recognize emotions by analyzing around 5.7? million human facial expressions.
The tech honcho IBM announced in 2017 its decision to invest $ 240 million for the setting up of a new Watson AI lab in collaboration with MIT. This purpose of this investment is to pioneer research in AI and to act as a catalyst for other startups in the AI, Big Data and analytic sub-sector in Boston. Watson AI lab in Boston is making many entrepreneurs hire new members in Boston or? they are moving to Boston, so that they can leverage the power of IBM Watson and be at the fore front of AI technology.
Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Startups in Boston
Boston has a robust advanced manufacturing and robotics sub-sector. This can be owed to the several labs and robotics establishments in the city. There are more than 30 robotics research educational institutions and shared workspaces like the Cambridge Innovation Center and MassRobotics to propel the growth of startups in this niche. Some of the top-notch brands that have catapulted the advanced manufacturing and robotics scenario in Boston are Amazon Robotics,? Boston Dynamics, and iRobot among the others. Two of the recent success stories is that of 6 River Systems and? Locus Robotics. These are both robotic warehouse companies and have raised an impressive amount of funding in 2017. Locus Robotics raised $25 million, and 6 River Systems got a funding of $15 million.
All these subsectors and other niches have grown thanks to the powerful ecosystem partners the city has to offer. These partners that provide their support for entrepreneurial? culture in Boston include:
4GenNow
Cambridge Innovation Center
Capitalnetwork
Carlton PR Marketing
New England VC Association
Workbar
Greentownlabs
Cybersecurity Factory
City of Boston
Boston new Technology
LearnLaunch
Org
Health Innovators
Mass Challenge
DCU Fintech Innovation
So pack your bags and move to Boston so that you do not miss out the startup energy and community that the city has to offer. Right from a stunning infrastructure to excellent connectivity to leadership, the city has it all that rightly enough makes it the most conducive place for startups.