Success Story: Mike Larhette, Chairman of Masschallenge

Masschallenge, the most start-up-friendly accelerator on the planet

"In 2008, my partner John Harthorne and I received a grant from the State of Massachusetts to create jobs. Fifteen years earlier, we had founded a platform to help start-ups, and our aim was to rethink and relaunch it. And so Masschallenge was born, right in the heart of the new Seaport district, a veritable magnet for energy and talent, in a former port warehouse. The problem in 2008 was that everyone wanted a piece of the pie. So we decided to create more cake. Today, 75 % of our funding comes from private companies whose aim is to 'source' their new talent and find start-up solutions for them. What does our work involve? Advising start-ups and welcoming them to our premises with the aim of 'accelerating' them. The rest of the time, we select new ones. And that's a tough job: only 128 were accepted last year out of 2,400 applicants. Since its creation, Masschallenge, the most start-up-friendly accelerator on the planet, has helped 800 companies. Our aim now is to expand elsewhere. We launched London in 2015, Jerusalem, Geneva, Zurich and Mexico this spring, and we hope to have 12 global branches by 2020."

Site : masschallenge.org