The city’s startup and innovation community gathers tonight to celebrate the 2022 BostInno Fire Awards honorees. The selected companies were chosen based on nominations sent in by readers. They have demonstrated their success in raising funds, launching new products, bringing in new customers, growing their Boston footprint and supporting the local community and innovation ecosystem. Honorees were chosen across nine categories.
Today, let’s get to know the honorees in the ecosystem supporters category. Putting together a list of impressive startups for the Fire Awards would be impossible without the group’s supporting their success.
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BioConnects New England
This organization, born out of the Biopharmaceutical Analysis Training Lab at Northeastern University, aims to create a biomanufacturing cluster that includes low- and moderate-income communities throughout Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island that have been historically left behind during previous economic recoveries. At the end of 2021, BioConnects New England was named a Phase 1 finalist of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. It has since announced partnerships with more than 20 organizations.
Harvard Innovation Labs
As the Harvard Innovation Labs enters its second decade, the organization saw a 33% increase in the total number of ventures (more than 900!) it supported in the 2021-2022 academic year compared to the year before. To support these ventures, the university innovation center said it hosted virtual and in-person programming, set up mentorship meetings with hundreds of advisors and industry experts and held a wide range of workshops on topics such as building an MVP and understanding your customers.
Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern
In April 2022, Northeastern University’s Institute of Experiential AI announced its plan to bring a focus on AI to the university. With over 90 faculty members, the institute will focus on developing applied, responsible AI solutions to real-world problems and shaping the next generation of AI talent. Its goal is to make Boston and the New England region the driver of global innovation and thought leadership for experiential AI and AI ethics.
Mendoza Ventures
Senofer Mendoza and her husband, Adrian, founded venture capital firm Mendoza Ventures about six years ago. The firm invests in early- and growth-stage fintech, AI and cybersecurity companies, especially those led by immigrants, people of color and women. Mendoza Ventures is in the process of raising its third fund — a $100 million fund focused on Series A to C funding rounds. Senofer was just appointed on the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (NACIE) for the Biden administration to support and build on the US innovation economy. Mendoza Ventures also just expanded its Boston headquarters and opened a San Francisco office.
The Leadership Consortium
This Cambridge-based organization brings top talent from companies together in a virtual development program that helps diverse leaders overcome barriers to advancement. More than 3,500 participants have completed the program since its founding in 2018. The organization said it hired four new people in the last year to scale programming, which doubled the size of its team. The organization was founded by Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei, Thinkers50 honoree Anne Morriss and tech executive Cara Shortsleeve.
