Eating local is encouraged; shopping local, supported. But, do you know where the apps on your smartphone come from?
In offices, co-working spaces, accelerators and hallway-sized apartments throughout the city, entrepreneurs are huddled around desks, striving to build "the next big thing." They've seen the Facebooks and Dropboxes of the world get their start here. The problem, however, is that those companies have headed West, and city officials don't want to let another Zuckerberg get away.
Neither does Tom O'Keefe, the man behind the Twitter handle @BostonTweet.
Last week, Renee Hirschberg, the founder of Boston Brunchers, asked O'Keefe on Twitter what he thought some of the coolest companies born in Boston were. After responding with fitness app RunKeeper, among seven others, another user chimed in, telling O'Keefe she didn't know RunKeeper was from Boston, but that she loves the app.
Her comment struck O'Keefe. Every day, in neighborhoods around the city, Bostonians were likely using apps they didn't know had been built in their own backyard. Or, they were unknowingly downloading services born outside the city, when there were local alternatives that were far superior.
"People that aren't part of the everyday startup community," O'Keefe said, "they don't know what's local."
So, O'Keefe launched #DownloadBoston to try and solve the daily dilemma.
The website currently features nearly a dozen startups born in Boston that locals can integrate into their everyday lives, like RunKeeper. "Ones I think are really cool that represent Boston very well," O'Keefe added.
Take Drizly, for example. Residents can now have alcohol delivered to their doorstep in 60 minutes or less. And then there's Timbre, an app helping music lovers find a concert nearby, or TicketZen, a separate startup taking the hassle out of paying for parking tickets.
O'Keefe's grassroots effort to get startups more exposure represents a larger city issue, however. With a new mayor at the helm, the tech community will be paying close attention. Although optimistic, they have big plans for newly-appointed Mayor Marty Walsh and want to see him help nurture budding businesses and continue cultivating the town's rich tradition of technology. With a 29-year-old chief of staff at Walsh's side, the future looks promising.
"Entrepreneurs are really the bread and butter of the City of Boston," said Rafael Carbonell, deputy director of the City's Office of Business Development, in a recent interview. "The key focus is helping neighborhood businesses start and grow here."
Brian Goodman, the OBD's innovation and systems manager, echoed Carbonell's statement, adding, "Boston's entrepreneurs are a critical bedrock of growth."
Everyone in the city can help fuel that growth. The more Bostonians are downloading the apps startups are building here, the more financing they'll receive. And the more financing they receive, the more employees startups can hire.
"When [a startup] becomes a Facebook or a Twitter, it's a huge stimulus for our local economy," O'Keefe explained.
He referenced the food industry, pointing out how good of a job we've done promoting our local restaurants. "Look at Kendall Square," O'Keefe said. "There wasn't a scene there two to three years ago."
Now, the neighborhood is teeming with up-and-coming restaurants — a prime example being Commonwealth. The neighborhood's newest "farm to table" spot took to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise funds, and secured more than $59,000. Now, they're serving up eats that utilize goods provided by New England farmers, cheesemongers and fishermen.
If we, as a city, are willing to support restaurants founded on this entrepreneurial edge, it's time we start supporting the entrepreneurs, as well.
Looking to local print publications, O'Keefe urges, "It's time we put startup people on the cover, too."
