Boston in October == Networking Crack

In October, Boston becomes a networking and learning mecca for entrepreneurs and innovators.

As I prepare for a two and a half week whirlwind trip to Boston next month, I thought it would be useful for others to know why they should travel to Boston, if they don’t already live there, and what events to attend.

Business events I plan to attend include:

  • Mobile Monday
    Monday, Oct 17th, 6:30pm – 9:00pm
    Omni Parker Hotel – 60 School Street, Boston, MA 02108
    Network with others developing mobile apps (or wanting to) and learn which is better: native mobile apps or HTML 5 apps, outsourcing or developing in-house.
  • IDEAS Boston 2011
    Thurday, Oct 20th, 8:00am – 7:00pm
    University of Massachusetts Boston – Campus Center Ballroom, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA  02125
    Smart people talking about thought-provoking topics. Think TED, but in a different format.
  • The Boston Summit on Leadership: A Call for Action
    Saturday, Oct 22nd, 7:00am – 4:00pm
    Park Plaza Hotel & Towers – 50 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116
    Lessons and inspiration on leadership. As a participant of Leadership Asheville, I feel it’s useful to attend to gain additional knowledge on leadership.
  • Business of Software 2011
    Sunday, Oct 23rd, 7:00pm – Wednesday, Oct 26th, 2:30pm
    Seaport World Trade Center – 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA 02210
    Fantastic conference on how to launch, run and grow software companies. I attended last year. Highly recommended if you can afford the ticket price (if not, watch out for giveaways and discounts).
  • Boston Beta
    Tuesday, Oct 25th, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
    Microsoft NERD Center – 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
    A startup mixer started on the West Coast comes to Boston to network founders, VCs, developers and others.
  • Babson Rocket Pitch
    Thursday, Oct 27th, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
    Olin Hall – Babson College, 231 Forest Street Babson Park, MA 02457
    Student entrepreneurs pitch their ideas in three minutes with three slides.
  • Lean Startup Circle Boston Monthly Meetup 
    Thursday, Oct 27th, 6:30pm
    Microsoft NERD Center – 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
    Great event to learn more about the lean startup methodology and connect with others using it to launch and improve their businesses.
  • MassTLC 2011 Innovation unConference
    Friday, Oct 28th, 8:00am – 4:00pm
    Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02115
    Hundreds of entrepreneurs and thinkers gathering to talk about ideas and how to implement them. I attended last year and highly recommend this conference to everyone. Especially great if you’re flying in for Business of Software–stay an extra 2 days and go to this too.

If you are attending any of these events, look for me in the black fedora and come up and say hi.

Other events I plan to attend just for fun include:

  • The Halloween Party at the End of the Universe
    Friday, Oct 14th, 7:00pm – 12:00am
    Dilboy VFW Hall (Davis Square) – 371 Summer St, Somerville, MA 02144

    A Halloween party with a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy folks. Expecting great costumes and awkward dancing.
  • Science in the News (SITN): Are we programmed to age?
    Wednesday, Oct 19th, 6:30pm
    Armenise Ampitheatre, Harvard Medical School – 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
    A team of graduate students present the current science on aging.
  • Dave Balter Tech Prom
    Thursday, Oct 20th, 8:00pm – 1:30am
    Fairmont Copley Plaza – 138 St. James Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
    A prom specifically for geeks? Guaranteed to be an interesting night.

Events I wish I could attend, but can’t include:

  • Emtech
    Tuesday, Oct 18th, 8:00am – Wednesday, Oct 19th 5:45pm
    MIT Campus, Media Lab – 75 Amherst Street, Building E14, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA02142
    A showcase of emerging technologies that have the greatest potential for commercialization.
  • MassChallenge 2011 Awards Ceremony
    Monday, Oct 24, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
    Boston Convention & Exhibition Center – 415 Summer St, Boston, Massachusetts 02210

    Awards ceremony for the MassChallenge finalists. Fantastic networking with everyone involved in the Boston startup community (except for those, like me, that will be at Business of Software 2011 that night).

This list only includes events that piqued my interest. You can find dozens of more events at:

  • Greenhorn Connect
    Fantastic resource for all the entrepreneur events happening around Boston. Follow them on Twitter to get up-to-date info on events.
  • Boston Region Entrepreneurship Week (BREW)
    Boston’s entrepreneurship week grew so big, it’s now two weeks. Running from Oct 12th to Oct 28th, the first week focuses on events outside downtown, while the second week focuses on events downtown. Check out the site for the full list of events.

That’s it for now. I’ll update this post as I discover new events.

For those who want to connect with me, I’ll be in Boston from Friday, October 14th through Saturday, October 29th. Send me an e-mail or connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn if you’d like to meet up. I’m scheduling one-on-one meetings the first week and have a couple wildcard slots open.

For those traveling to Boston looking for cheap places to stay, check out Airbnb or search for short-term rentals. You can often find rooms in town for $40-80 versus paying $150-250 for a hotel room. If you know me personally, contact me. I’ve been developing a network of room rentals I may be able to refer you to.

See you in Boston!

What events will you be attending next month in Boston? Let me know below or tweet it to me and let’s meet up! 

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