A few weeks ago, I attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the
new MassChallenge accelerator space. There were hundreds of people
there, including the founders of TechSandBox, an accelerator in
Hopkinton, MA, and Smarter in the City, an "inner city"
accelerator in Roxbury. Foley & Lardner is, of course, deeply
involved with many accelerators in Boston and elsewhere, including
MassChallenge, LabCentral, Techstars and Plug and Play. We also
work with companies at many other accelerators, including the
PayPal Start Tank, the Canadian Technology Accelerator, the Hult
International Business School accelerator, and so on. Many of these
new accelerators focus on a particular niche, whether a specific
industry, a specific location, or a particular business or
financial model. Some take equity from each company, while others,
such as MassChallenge, do not. Some offer space, connections and
mentorships, while others also provide price money or seed capital.
Of course, some of
