Jodi Goldstein, managing director of the Harvard iLab, looked like a proud momma as she gave me a personal tour of the school’s Allston-based space. And rightfully so.
The iLab - once started as a tentative trial - is now coming up on its fourth anniversary. Its unexpected success has been so resounding that it's spun off into an additional Launch Lab, which expanded its space a couple of weeks ago to accommodate growing demand.
"We were an experiment,” Goldstein told me. "No one knew this was going to succeed.”
Well, this supposed underdog proved everyone wrong and, in Goldstein’s opinion, will reshape where the next biggest Boston tech hotspot will be established.
Doubtful beginnings
Initially, there were a couple of understandable quibbles with how the iLab would pan out. The biggest doubt came from its Allston location, which wasn’t appealing. Harvard administration told Goldstein that students simply wouldn’t come. People didn’t like leaving the Cambridge campus as it was, and that’s when they had to for class. There was no way they’d voluntarily trek across the bridge.
That preconception was instantly turned upside down. Goldstein explained that, “Since Day One, students across the university - no matter their school - came to the iLab and collected. The students don’t care about other people’s schools. They just want to find and be around other like-minded people.”
Even though an entrepreneurial mindset is a common denominator students share, their backgrounds are anything but similar.
“Our secret sauce is our marketplace of resources, our access to advisors, mentors, investors and other students,” Goldstein started. "But we also benefit from the diversity of ideas, which we can’t take credit for. Our students’ interests and educational backgrounds have made it possible.”
With students coming from the law, medical, business schools - and all others in between - the iLab has created a broad pool of brainpower. Some students have told Goldstein that they would have never even conceived of their projects without having met their co-founders, peers who follow a different discipline.
"We have a diversity of ventures coming out of Harvard and if we give them reason to stay here, they’ll decide to set up shop in Allston."
Bringing together people who wouldn’t have otherwise met in their school-specific circle is only the foundation of the lab’s success. The facility also stays true to their educational affiliation rather than getting too bogged down in a business focus.
“For us, it’s not just about turning out ventures; it’s about the educational process,” Goldstein said. "We want to emphasize experiential learning and encourage structured entrepreneurship. The goal isn’t to convert everyone to a success. We want them to put their ideas to use, to take their ideas as far as they can go.”
“Harvard is good at teaching people how to think; we are good at teaching them how to do,” she added. "I think the next generation of students needs both.”
Is Allston the next innovative hub?
Four years in with the iLab, and Harvard is rushing to keep up with startup demand. The addition and now expansion of the Launch Lab is not only a promising sign for the school, but also an indication of where the tech community may be migrating next. Pricey Fort Point and Cambridge better watch out: Allston could soon be gaining on them.
“We’re influencing how the Boston ecosystem is built,” Goldstein explained. "I truly believe that Allston will be the next node for startups. We have a diversity of ventures coming out of Harvard and if we give them reason to stay here, they’ll decide to set up shop in Allston. It would create an amazing ecosystem all of its own.”
“Kendall is so awesome, but it’s more oriented to life science,” she continued. "Allston could be that, but more diverse.”
You’re not convinced? People have doubted Goldstein’s initiatives before and look how that turned out. She maintains Harvard itself is reason enough for entrepreneurs to settle in this developing portion of town.
“What could be better proof than the Launch Lab?” Goldstein emphasized. "There are companies there that have money in the bank. They could get offices anywhere, but they don’t. They chose to come here - where there are no restaurants or shops - so they can be in close proximity to Harvard and the iLab."
