MassChallenge

MassChallenge

MassChallenge occupies the 6th floor of 21 Dry Dock Avenue (Boston Design Center) in the rear of the image
Type	501(c)(3)
Location	Boston, Jerusalem, London, Geneva, Mexico City
Website	masschallenge.org

MassChallenge is a global non-profit startup accelerator and competition with a focus on high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs. MassChallenge was created by founders John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam with the intent to promote innovation, and takes no equity from its startups. To date, MassChallenge has accelerated 1,211 startups, which together have raised $1.8 billion in funding, generated over $700 million in revenue and created over 60,000 direct and indirect jobs across the world.

Each year, MassChallenge admits over 300 finalists to its three- to four-month accelerator program across its five locations: Boston, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, and the UK. These accelerators provide startups with free office space, mentorship and more. At the end of the program, the most promising startups are awarded equity-free cash prizes.

In addition to the original Boston location, MassChallenge runs accelerator programs in London, Lausanne, Jerusalem and Mexico City. The organization's funding comes primarily from sponsorships from large corporations including Fidelity Investments, Verizon, Oracle, AmericanAirlines and Microsoft, and from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Launched in April 2010, MassChallenge began in earnest in May 2009 when co-founders John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam quit their jobs as consultants at Bain & Company to pursue their idea for a startup competition. In the midst of financial crisis, the two decided that their talents would be better served by helping entrepreneurs than by advising big multinationals.

MassChallenge garnered early support from successful entrepreneurs, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and large corporations. The earliest supporters of MassChallenge included Desh Deshpande, founder of Sycamore Networks, Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, Greg Bialecki, the Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Microsoft and Joe Fallon, a local real estate developer who donated the fourteenth floor of ONE Marina Park Drive, However, the MassChallenge offices recently relocated to the 21 DryDock Avenue in Boston's Design Center. The space is 26,000 sq. ft. taking up a large portion of the 6th floor and was donated courtesy of Jamestown, a real estate investment firm.