The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is best known for its sharp-witted, satirical political commentary. Around 80 percent of viewers, aged 18 to 49, relates to the show's snarky yet informed and often self-deprecating voice, and tune in regularly to hear Stewart's (hilarious) take on the latest national news.
But wouldn't it be great if there was such a voice covering, and subsequently poking fun at, the innovation economy?
Well, great news: Members of Boston's business and tech community will have the chance to get a taste of the show's genius–applied to the Boston startup scene–when The Daily Show's Senior Correspondent Aasif Mandvi takes the mic at MassChallenge's Awards Ceremony on October 30th.
Throughout the course of the evening, Mandvi will provide pithy commentary for the event's chockfull schedule. The Awards Ceremony will showcase 128 companies, with 26 of them providing pitches, as well as feature George T. Whitesides, CEO and President of Virgin Galactic, as the keynote speaker.
In addition to his work with The Daily Show, Mandvi is a renowned theater actor, and has starred in the critically acclaimed production of Ayad Akhtar’s play Disgraced at Lincoln Center. He also starred in this summer's film The Internship, alongside Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, and is currently involved in the making of Million Dollar Arm with John Hamm. And, as it turns out, Mandvi is also good friends with the founders of one of the accelerator's finalist companies, THINX, and a general supporter of entrepreneurship.
"We are so excited for the startup community in Boston to have such an outstanding and talented emcee at this year's awards ceremony," said Scott Bailey, MassChallenge's senior director of partnerships, to BostInno. "[Mandvi] will be a tremendous addition to the event."
Serving as the event's speaker, Whitesides will offer his unique insights into Virgin Galactic and the Center for the Advancement of Science in
Space's (CASIS) innovations. As part of the Awards Ceremony, MassChallenge and CASIS will give $400,000 to a few lucky startups to send entrepreneurial research into space via the CASIS Prize for Technology in Space. In addition to the $400,000 prize and MassChallenge's $1 million, CASIS will provide the opportunity to use the International Space Station National Laboratory, arguably the ultimate research or technology development platform.
"We're thrilled to have both Aasif and George, because they are two vastly different individuals representing a dynamic blend of traditional and futuristic entertainment: film, stage, and television, and tourism in space. It doesn't get more innovative than that," said MassChallenge's Brand Manager, Veronica del Rosario. "They're both at the forefront of modern entertainment, which both amuses and informs/educates its audience; one is combining news and comedy while the other is working to make it possible to honeymoon on the moon."
Mandvi and Whitesides are just two of the bevy of big names that will snag a seat at the annual event. Top business leaders, politicians and philanthropists, including Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Thomas Menino, The Henrys, The Krafts, Josh Boger, Desh Deshpande, as well as representatives from KAYAK, Constant Contact, Wayfair, Oracle, Fidelity, Verizon and UPS will also be in attendance.
"Our 2013 Awards Ceremony is shaping up to be the most entertaining and inspiring event MassChallenge has ever thrown," the accelerator's founder and CEO John Harthorne said. "Aasif is hilarious and George is an innovator—that combination of creativity and vision is what runs through the blood of entrepreneurs everywhere."
Check out last year's event, and grab your tickets to the 2013 Awards Ceremony here.
