When NextView Ventures Co-founder Rob Go first launched "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Boston Tech" in 2009, his "guide" was more a list of links he published every six months to keep the community, particularly those working in Web and mobile, informed.
In the years to follow, fellow VCs and academics started referencing The Hitchhiker's Guide as a resource for founders, newcomers and students to turn to; individuals in other cities latched on to the idea and started brainstorming guides of their own.
On Wednesday, however, The Hitchhiker's Guide is resurfacing as a different kind of resource.
"It captures much more of what's become a larger, more thriving ecosystem," described Go in an email to BostInno, pointing to the ways in which the community can now add to the platform and keep it up-to-date. "And outsiders who either move to Boston or move into the startup world from other fields in town can both witness how great the community is while also navigating it much more easily."
The Hitchhiker's Guide has historically featured the meetups to attend, newsletters to subscribe to, investors to follow, places to hang out, accelerators to set up shop in and local startups to watch that are on the cusp of something big. This year's edition is no different, except it's longer lasting, evolving and hosts deeper dives.
NextView Director Jay Acunzo shared he is most excited about the Contents and Updates page, which aggregates all the must-read or -watch content into one place. He explained:
The goal is to have a single page that features everything you need to subscribe to, read, watch or listen to — all from what Boston is creating and saying around the idea of growing businesses.
From fundraising tips to marketing and sales advice, the page is meant to put all the best content from the city's VCs, founders and executives all into one place.
"Boston tech's 'bench' is much deeper than before."
For Go, however, what's most rewarding to see is the list of pillar companies, which he expects will grow.
"It's a reminder of how great this ecosystem is and how many remarkable companies exist here," Go shared. "Some of these pillar companies barely existed when I first put the Hitchhiker's Guide together back in 2009."
And the hope is that, in another five years from now, that list of pillar companies will change and evolve, featuring far more than the players the community continues to regularly talk about today.
"It's definitely easy to identify the top founders, companies or events compared to some other cities where there's more noise," Acunzo explained, "but one thing that became obvious when I was doing research for this project was that Boston tech's 'bench' is much deeper than before."
The next step for members of Boston's tech community is to identify that "bench" and start reaching out to other experts and groups working in a similar space they're passionate about.
"As for the current tech community, in addition to using the resource, I hope [the Hitchhiker's Guide] is something we can all feel proud about while also realizing there's tons more to do in Boston tech," Go said. "There's a lot of information in the guide, but there could also be a lot more."
Think you have information to add? Head to the Hitchhiker's Guide and find out.
Image via The Hitchhiker's Guide to Boston Tech
