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!