On Thursday, MassChallenge awarded over $1M in prizes to 12 outstanding startups in Boston and Rhode Island. We at Aerospec Technologies are proud to be MassChallenge finalists, one of the top 26 out of nearly 2,000 startups! We are part of the Summer 2019 cohort, and have plans to continue working with MassChallenge as an alumni startup!
Competing for these awards were 125 teams from Boston and Rhode Island, and our CEO and founder, Lance Li, had a chance to speak to a massive audience, including representatives from Boeing and JP Morgan. Sharing the stage were leaders of the MassChallenge program, like Director of the Rhode Island Program, Hope Hopkins, and Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker.
Keynote speaker Nathan Blecharcyzk, co-founder of Airbnb, spoke at length about his experiences trying to get Airbnb off the ground, including amusing anecdotes about Obama Os cereal, and encouraged all of the startups in attendance and at MassChallenge to continue innovating.
“Behind any successful company are years of hard work, lessons learned, tenacity, and most importantly, individuals and organizations who recognize and support their vision. I know all too well from Airbnb how crucial resources like tonight’s awards are to startups, helping to turn their inspiring ideas into game-changing businesses,” said Blecharczyk. “As a Boston native, I am so proud of the innovation demonstrated by award recipients, and I am grateful to MassChallenge for continuing to support this region’s thriving tech ecosystem.”
This event marks MassChallenge’s tenth year in operation, providing mentorship, office space, professional guidance, and access to investors for over 400 startups across the globe annually. When asked about his experience with the accelerator, Lance Li said, “MassChallenge has created a startup ecosystem that helped us stabilize our operations while we can focus on growing our business. As Alumni in Residence (AiR) in the upcoming year, we look forward to contribute to the community as mentors and continue to grow our team.”
