Epic #MIN39 on the North Shore

Mass Innovation Nights visited the North Shore for the epic MIN39 event. OK, all MIN events are epic, but meeting in a giant former shoe factory/historic landmark is pretty darn epic . The Cummings Center in Beverly welcomed us with a well-appointed conference room, speedy wi-fi, and pizza. Hosts who provide pizza are awesome!

With the humid weather and the hot conference room, the APURE Air Purifier and Fan from Gulls Nest was attracting lots of traffic to their table. Cool in every sense of the word.

High-tech Fans from Gull's Nest Selling Like Hot Cakes

The four presenters showed us textiles, toys, video sharing, and good health. That's quite a range of products.

Crowd Tweeting the Presentations

The guys from Ministry of Supply looked cool and comfortable in their high performance business clothing despite the humidity. This is the kind of startup that wouldn't get off the ground in Silicon Valley because nobody wears business attire, but judging from the MIN39 attendees there's a definite niche for comfortable and practical dress shirts in Massachusetts. I hereby award the official MIN39 best costume award to Ministry of Supply.

Ministry of Supply -- Best Costume

I loved TheO™ from Physical Apps, a foam ball that combines your smart device with custom apps for fun physical games and activities. A smart ball for your smart device. Imagine bowling with your friends around the web with a real ball. 

TheO Ball

Bonfire Health is a multi-media health education company that changes lives by changing lifestyles. In case that sounds boring, the lemon flavored fish oil samples they were handing out were pretty exciting and didn't taste half bad.

Bonfire is Enthusiastic about Your Health

 Burst did a demo of their Mobile Video Solution designed for families. I was amazed at how fast and how simple it is. Way easier than and more private than Facebook.

The Burst Team

Theresa gave me a demo of  Strappy the Holder,  a polypropylene belt attached to a stretchy ring. It's extraordinarily well-designed.  The belt is worn as a bottle carrier and by adjusting the size of the ring a person can attach various size water bottles. Your water bottle moves with you instead of banging against your leg. Ingenious. You can add some decorative  "Bling for your Bottle" too.

Theresa Demonstrating Strappy

Bling for Your Bottle
And Theresa Got Her Parents to Watch the Table for Her

Why hasn't somebody invented such a massively useful thing as Zipboard before? It's a portable, retractable whiteboard that becomes a rigid whiteboard when you extend it. It even comes with a dry erase marker and eraser that store right inside the unit. Work in an open plan office? Teaching a class on the beach? Imagine having an easy to carry whiteboard right where you need it. Want to diagram plays for your soccer team right there on the sidelines? It comes in comes in 8 different sport specific versions.

Zipboard

Analytics is one of today's major buzzwords and a good source Social Media Analytics is much sought after. Klurig Analytics offers services to help social media marketers and social media agencies to calculate the Social Media ROI of their campaigns.

Klurig Analytics

By the time I got to the Demand Limiting Controller (DLC) from Save Energy Systems I was pretty tired and sweaty but anything having to do with HVAC always piques my interest, so I listened to the pitch for their simple, networked system to optimize HVAC units and reduce peak demand as well as energy costs with interest. So much interest, I forgot to take a photo of them.

This month's Experts Corner was up on a platform at the far end of the room behind the presentation screen. It was kind of fun to see the experts elevated. For the traditional Expert Looking Expert shot, I caught  Christina coaching on Ed using Pinterest for marketing.

Expert Looking Expert

epic search for batteries

Insights into the Massachusetts startup scene, urban density and design of cities, bicycle safety, entrepreneurship and batteries all lurk between two stops on the Red Line.

Boston in the Rain -- As Seen from Cambridge

I'm always excited to attend Mass Innovation Nights wherever it is in a given month. This month we met at Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, known for, among other things, its spectacular views of Boston. Surrounded by photo-ops before I even entered the building, I whipped out my trusty Nikon L110 to capture the scenic clouds and rain over the Boston skyline. One of the features of the L110 that I don't like, is that it gives no visual indication of battery life until it's so low that it's only good for one or two shots. Oops. Thus began what turned out to be an epic quest for AA lithium batteries.

I figured I'd just walk up to the Coop, grab some new batteries, and maybe photograph the Entrepreneur Walk of Fame before heading to #MIN38. The Coop has only alkaline batteries. The Marriott lobby shop has only alkaline batteries. "The 7-11 four blocks away has them," they assure me. OK, it's only 4 blocks, can't be that bad.

Thomas Edison's Star on the Entrepreneur Walk of Fame

Several intersections later, still not at 7-11. What's a block anyway? Cyclists who are not wearing helmets are all over the place, not stopping for walk lights.  So many MIT-educated noggins at risk! Two helmet-less people on bikes pass me on the sidewalk as I trudge on toward 7-11.

Steve Jobs' Star

7-11 has only alkaline batteries. They suggest CVS, 4 blocks away. Someone else there suggests Micro Center "if you're really in need." Micro Center? All I need is 4 AA lithium batteries, not a PC. Several intersections later and well past the giant hole of the future of biotech, I am still nowhere near CVS, but am in Central Square.

Economy Hardware is open again. Surely a hardware store has lithium batteries. Nope. Alkaline batteries only. Economy sends me to Radio Shack, which, oddly enough, is not 4 blocks away. Radio Shack seems to have batteries, but they're behind the counter and a customer ahead of me is buying a new phone and signing up for a new plan. Much personal data is being exchanged. I wait.

Bill Gates' Star

Waiting gives me time to contemplate Central Square vs. Kendall Square. Kendall Square has taller buildings. Central Square has more restaurants, shops, and street life. There aren't really any visual cues to tell you that Kendall Square supposedly "hosts nearly five times more startups per square mile than any other place on the planet." Both areas seem to offer plenty of burritos and coffee, both things that Silicon Valley entrepreneurs claim are missing in the Boston startup scene. Cambridge isn't Boston, I know, but from Silicon Valley you can't see the Charles River. Anyway, right now, my startup scene would be well-served by more availability of AA lithium batteries.

At last, the Radio Shack guy gets a break from the complicated phone purchase while the phone customer makes decisions.  Yes! We have lithium batteries! O frabjous day!

On the walk back, the same two helmet-less sidewalk cyclists pass me, then circle around and pass me again. They circle pedestrians for some time without colliding with any of us. A group of teenage girls line up on the steam vent in the sidewalk and do some kind of line dance as they revel in the steam. I stop to photograph a few of the stars on the walk of fame and ponder how on earth MIT could honor tech entrepreneurs and not include Ken Olsen, without whom neither Steve Jobs nor Bill Gates would have been able to earn that honor. A rabbit emerges from a flower bed onto the sidewalk.

I think the Red Line is under there somewhere.

Just as I arrive at NERD, an MBTA bus pulls over and the driver asks me for directions. Yeah, I know this place. I have known it for a very long time.

Me on Memorial Drive a Way Wicked Long Time Ago in a Tech Scene Far Away

#MIN38 at NERD in the rain

Whoa, #MIN38 already? Weren't we just at #MIN37? A little rain couldn't dampen the entrepreneurial spirits of the presenters and attendees. Besides that, Boston looks great from the Cambridge side even in rain and fog.

Rain and Fog and Citgo Sign -- Ah, Boston, You're My Home

I didn't get to talk to all of the companies because I was busy having an epic adventure trying to buy camera batteries. Maybe I'll make that a separate blog post :-) Anyway, I did get to talk to some cool people about some cool products.

Aimed at college students, of which there are an awful lot in Boston, Jebbit shows you websites and products you like, and pays you to explore them. "Discover, Answer and Get Paid" is their motto.  It's a new take on online advertising, much more engaged, that benefits consumers as well as the advertisers. Yup, you can really earn money by answering questions. Open to all college students, all you have to do is go to jebbit.com, login with Facebook, and answer a few questions.

Jebbit Team -- Best Costume of #MIN38

The Jebbit team were friendly and engaging to talk to and easily recognizable with their matching t-shirts.

Want to sign up for a Hip-Hop class, organize a laser tag session, or find something new to do with your friends? Savique helps you discover fun things to do in Boston and environs, and seamlessly make plans to go with the people you care about. Raoul gave an enthusiastic pitch and he's definitely onto something with Savique. It needs to become a mobile app too, though.

Raoul Pitching Savique to Suzanne and Susan, both from Lowell

I enjoyed talking with Michael from Massinvestor about the VC News Daily app for Android and iPhone. It's the only mobile app providing round the clock access to news about venture capital and private equity financing. It's the source for updates on the latest transactions and industry news in the startup world.

VC Daily News Team

The VCs who fund startups and scientists who invent new technologies sometimes need a little something else to come up with a product that serves a real world need. Crowd sourcing is a brilliant way to come up with those insights.  That's where Allied Mindstorm comes in. It's an open innovation website that invites the public to brainstorm new commercial applications around exciting university technologies in order to advance research and form new companies.

David from AlliedMindstorm

It's not just a good idea for the investors, it pays you for your insight too. If your specific application of the technology results in a new startup you will receive $25,000. There are also smaller prizes for best in class suggestions. Everybody wins.

GaggleAMP, old friends dating back to at least #MIN26, were there too showing off their latest enhancements and posing with MIN's fastest and most prolific tweeter, Eric Andersen.

Eric with the GaggleAMP Guys

Alas, I didn't get much chance to talk to  Photo Oral about their BlueLight mouth sanitizing innovation, to High Impact Designer  about their Email Design Builder, or to Dailyfeats about their goal setting iPhone app. I did get a nice action shot of DailyFeats.

DailyFeats

Things were buzzing in the Experts Corner as always. Conversations seemed to be going on nonstop. Great to see folks taking advantage of all that expertise.

Experts Looking Expert

Conifers Around the World Slideshow

Here's one of the things I've been working on for IDRI: a slideshow of photos from Conifers Around the World to put on YouTube.

#MIN37 in Lowell

The Fashion Truck on Jackson Street

Mass Innovation Nights celebrated its third birthday in Lowell at Appleton Mills. #MIN37 showcased local innovation out here in the Merrimack Valley, the edge of the universe to many Bostonians and Cantabrigians but home to many of us. It was great to have only a 10 minute drive to the event!

One of the four chosen presenters was parked outside on Jackson Street next to the Hamilton Canal, the Fashion Truck. Emily Benson was just opening up her boutique on wheels and was already attracting fashion lovers.

The Fashion Truck Ready for Business

Fashionistas Inside the Truck

I managed to tear myself away from the Fashion Truck and head on into the Appleton Mills to check out the other products.

The space looked great with lots of light and art on the walls. Last time I was at Appleton Mills was for the book launch of Young Angel Midnight. This was a different but equally creative and enthusiastic crowd.

Christine Sierra was ably handling the sign-in table while Bobbie and Tim rounded up the innovators.

Christine Sierra

The sponsors for the evening were:

• The City of Lowell -- great hosts
• The Deshpande Foundation -- awesome support for innovation
• The Merrimack Valley Sandbox -- who also provided business development, marketing, and strategy expertise in the Experts Corner
• The Appleton Mills -- a great space
• Comcast -- who generously provided free Wi-Fi and expertise in the Experts Corner

I was thrilled to meet Desh Deshpande, a force for good in the Merrimack Valley and an inspiring entrepreneur.

Our Sponsors from the Deshpande Foundation and the City of Lowell

The crowd started to build shortly after 6:00PM with a mix of people from the local area and Mass Innovation regulars who hadn't visited Lowell before.

The Crowd

I particularly wanted to talk to the guys from TourLawrence.org who were presenting their award-winning interactive tour about Lawrence: The Path. It uses cool beehive shape signs and online videos to tell the tale of two sisters who were caught in the largest industrial disaster in Massachusetts history - the fall of the Pemberton Mill. I've done the tour 3 times now and have added it to the Lawrence attractions in our New England Day Trips At-Hand app. I enjoyed being able to tell Nick how much I enjoyed the tour.

Nick from TourLawrence.org

The team from Bizulu made a big impression with their different take on the online auction and with their matching T-shirts. I awarded them best costume of MIN37. Their Competitive Entertainment Shopping lightning fast auction technology is definitely innovative. I got to chat with them some more at the after party -- great team and cool product.

Team Bizulu

Jenne Rayburn is a Boston based handcrafted jewelry and apparel design company. Her jewelry is gorgeous and her philosophy is inspiring.

Jenne Rayburn

Just Scentsational!  offers innovative organic products designed to rid your yard and garden of unwanted pests the natural way. He assured me this would keep the skunks out of my yard without irritating me. If I'm plagued with skunks again this year, I may well give Just Scentsational! a call.

Just Scentsational!

Encapsulator is a disposable web browser. It's a cool way to protect against malware attacks. Instead of leaving behind a trail of login information and stuff that could be copied from your browser, you visit Encapsulator.com, surf the web the way you do now, and throw away your web browser when you're done. Jay walked us through a demo that showed what kind of information could be snarfed up by malware when we're browsing unprotected. He showed the same session using Encapsulator and none of the information was stored. Cool techie stuff is always my favorite part of MIN and this was definitely cool and techie.

Jay Demoing Encapsulator for Fiona

Akken showed off their web-based business software suite for staffing and recruiting companies.

Akken

The student entrepreneurs from Five Senses have an intriguing concept and loads of enthusiasm. Their electronic system simulates relaxing environments that appeal to all five senses. Imagine being able to bring a full sensory experience of the beach or the forest to folks in nursing homes who need the stimulation but can't necessarily get out into their desired environment. It was a pleasure to talk with these guys.

Five Senses Team

Turkey Shore Distilleries introduced their Old Ipswich Tavern Rum aged in oak barrels. They get the best prop award for the oak barrel and the cool copper tubing. The after party at Garcia Brogan's featured a rum tasting with small shots of straight rum and rumenade, which is rum mixed with lemonade.

Rum

Rum Tasting at Garcia Brogan's

I had a lot of fun with the experts from the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, trying for just the right "Experts Looking Expert" shot. I also got to meet Sovanna Pouv, whose name I see all the time and who seems to have his hand in all things Lowell. Oh, and there was indeed birthday cake for MIN's 3rd birthday. What a great night for innovation and for Lowell. I look forward to more involvement with the local innovation scene.

Merrimack Valley Sandbox Experts Looking Expert

Looking Expert and Entrepreneurial and Having Fun!

#MIN36 Was Wonderful

Our Host for #MIN36
Space with a Soul

Waiting for the Presentations

Ready to Tweet

The lights were on in the Innovation District for Mass Innovation Night at Space With A Soul. The space was fantastic -- one of those wonderful old buildings in the former Leather District with a great view of Fort Point Channel and environs. The place was buzzing early and still buzzing after the presentations. The four presenters you all picked were SMAK (@onsmak), Me Two You Gifts (@MeTwoYouGifts), mosaicHUB (@mosaicHUB), and Splashscore (@splashscore). All were impressive.




Ever notice that too much information can be just as bad as none? Want to turn your social media clutter into real conversations? SMAK gives you one place to view, sort, group and manage your relationships across all your networks. That's right, no more Alt-Tab. SMAK lets you put all your social media in one place and sort it so you can prioritize your day.

SMAK

Gamification is hot these days and it made a splash at MIN36.  Splashscore (@splashscore) gamifies your Facebook activity.  It identifies social influencers by measuring the Likes and Comments ripple effect and  gives them rewards.

Splashscore Had the Best Stickers

Imagine the Mass Innovation Nights Experts Corner but online and with even more excellent experts. That's the idea behind mosaicHUB (@mosaicHub): supporting entrepreneurs. An online community built on trust connects you with service providers and mentors as well as other entrepreneurs. Community members share recommendations, advice and experience and find expert help, answers and resources, all in one place. It's like having the Experts Corner at your fingertips all the time! And they were giving away free t-shirts if you signed up that night. The team looked good in their matching t-shirts and the funky lighting.

mosaicHUB

Me Two You (@metwoyougifts) makes the softest baby blankets ever! They're made in Massachusetts. Who says we don't still have a textile industry? Best of all with each baby blanket purchased, Me Two You gives a baby blanket to an orphaned child. I know what baby gift I'm getting for my cousin's expected baby :-) (Stephan and Lisa, you are not reading this :-))

Me Two You

Tote Bag from
Upcycled T-shirts
by Project Repat

Ben's Bicycle Bling from LifeCycle

Upcycling emerged as an important theme at #MIN36 too, with Project Repat and LifeCycle featuring creative reuse. Time to upcycle my T-shirt collection with @ProjectRepat and upgrade my wardrobe with some bicycle chain bling from @thinklifecycle.  Oh, and it was a tough choice but LifeCycle totally wins best costume with Ben's bracelet and ring. LifeCycle reminded me of how my Dad used to recycle broken bikes -- assembling working bikes from pieces of junk bikes. He'd have figured out how to make an entire bike out of the chains!

cuppow!

Checking out Schedit

Speaking of reuse and creativity, I've always wanted something like cuppow for spill-free sipping from a canning jar.  Think about it, travel mug from a canning jar is the perfect reuse. All you need is a lid. Now you've got one. Can't wait to use mine.

 Lots of folks were checking out  Sched.it (@SCHEDITBoston), a hyper social event listings calendar. Which events are trending? Male/female ratio? Who's going? All things you want to know about an event. It adds a social layer to the Boston.com events listings.

Nexly in Action

Strides Against Stigma

Nexly has a cool tool to add a review bar to your website so your customers can add reviews and share with their networks.

Families for Depression Awareness was there to launch its inaugural event, Strides Against Stigma, a walk-a-thon dedicated to building a community to erase the stigma of depression.

Experts Couches

Disco Ball in Action

The Crowd Building

 I successfully talked to each of the 10 participating companies and had a blast trying to figure out how to expose for the interesting light. The crowd was lively and awesome and really enjoying the space. The buzz was incredible. The disco ball and the colored lighting added to the fun atmosphere.  The Experts Corner had couches for cozier consultations and Space with a Soul provided free WiFi for attendees. I saw lots of tweeting going on with all kinds of devices from tablets to smart phones to ordinary cellphones and laptops.


As always, the experts looked very expert.  Eileen and Julia from KCSA Strategic Communications posed for the traditional Experts Looking Expert photo.

Experts Looking Expert