Author Archives: batsonjay

The Boston Tech Line

I’ve recently been struck by the the office locations at which I’ve found Boston area startups taking root. And a pattern emerged for me: the center of gravity is along the MBTA Red Line.  And there are so many companies it now significantly outweighs the historically-named “128 Corridor.” This shift in the Boston tech scene is so significant that IContinue reading “The Boston Tech Line”

Minimize use of CxO titles at early company stages

I’m about 10 months into helping a bunch of startups through organizations like TechStars, MassChallenge, and others.  And I’ve seen an emerging trend among startups that I want to discourage: The over – and inappropriate – use of “Chief (fill-in-the-blank)” titles. “What’s the problem,” you ask?  “Why not give people CxO roles?” There are a bunch ofContinue reading “Minimize use of CxO titles at early company stages”

Families – not age – affects startups

On February 17, 2013, Scott Kirsner of the Boston Globe wrote an article Exploring the Age Divide in Boston Start-Ups. It infuritated me for two reasons: 1) It’s probably true, but 2) for different reasons than Scott asserted. Scott’s premise is that start-ups are only the domain of young, 20-somethings. He concludes “older people” (over 30?)Continue reading “Families – not age – affects startups”

Culture matters even at the start

A few days ago, Todd McKinnon asserted in a WSJ blog article that “long term success is not predicated on creating a world-class company culture.” He also states “Forget about cultural fit and instead get people in the door that can create a beautiful product and bring passion to the problems your company is out to solve.” My friend BobContinue reading “Culture matters even at the start”