TiE Boston is accepting applications for female founders and co-founders for its upcoming Women’s Pitch Competition. Eight semifinalists will receive access to mentors and a free membership to all TiE Boston events for one year. There is also prize money of $5K for first place, $3K for second place and $1K for third place. The Boston regional winner will go on to pitch for $100K of equity-free prize money in Singapore later this year. Applications are due July 20. More information here.
EforAll Merrimack Valley Summer 2023 All Ideas Pitch Contest: EforAll Pitch Contests are lively two-hour events that offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a friendly audience and receive valuable feedback from experienced judges. Business ideas across a wide range of industries are encouraged! Application deadline is July 21. More information here.
Board-Ready Bootcamp: Apply now for the October cohort! While there are other board preparation programs, this award-winning bootcamp is geared toward leaders from underrepresented groups who are often excluded from board opportunities. The bootcamp provides both a high-impact curriculum on board fundamentals, strategy, and governance as well as valuable connections to help attendees advance their board journey. Application deadline is July 29. More Information here.
Emerging Brands Grants help growing CPG companies scale operations through investment in manufacturing and packaging. In 2023, one $50,000 grant will be awarded to assist the winning brand in the purchase of packaging or processing machinery. The Emerging Brands Grant program is funded by the Emerging Brands Alliance, a platform providing year-round education, community support, and growth opportunities to high-growth brands looking to scale their manufacturing operations. Application deadline is July 31. More information here.
IMPACT is a 12-week accelerator program that uses a unique 1:1 approach and is created to connect startups with resources needed for commercialization. Selected companies will have the opportunity to engage with corporate sponsors. For Cycle 6, they are seeking startups developing solutions in: Digital Health: Physician or patient products targeting chronic conditions to reduce hospital admission and/or re-admissions. Diagnostic Tools Collecting Patient Data: Physician or patient products targeting chronic conditions to reduce hospital admission and/or re-admissions. Applications are due July 31. More information here.
Annual Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge: Hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists and funded by the Seeding The Future Foundation, the Challenge is intended to support innovations that have the potential for significant impact at scale and over time, and benefit at least one or more of the following intersecting domains: nutritious food for a healthy diet; sustainably produced; and accessible, appealing, affordable, and trusted by consumers. Application deadline is August 1. More information here.
Go Make 2023 with Shell is enabling a circular, net-zero-carbon economy by accelerating the adoption of biogenic and nature-based solutions, alternatives for carbon-intensive commodities, and more. Greentown Labs and Shell are looking for startups at TRL 2-7 with innovations for carbon utilization and management across a variety of applications. Applications are due by August 4. More information here.
Go Build 2023 with Saint-Gobain is accelerating the commercialization of technologies to decarbonize the built environment, from conception to breaking ground, retrofitting, demolition, and recycling. Greentown Labs and Saint-Gobain are looking for startups at TRL 3 and above with innovations that extend product life cycles, develop alternative raw materials, revalorize waste, or act as other enabling technologies. Applications are due by August 31. More information here.
Tufts University and Nestlé Health Science are accepting applications for Innovate Forward: The Longevity Challenge. The partners are looking for startups developing solutions to improve health and wellness for an aging population. Applications are due September 1. More information here.
Startup Boston Week is back for its seventh annual conference on September 11-15. They will be connecting founders, startup employees, mentors, advisors, investors, students and startup curious folks – in short, everyone who plays a role in helping to both start and scale a company. Don’t miss out on five FREE days of content. They are creating 80+ sessions that will help you start your company, grow your department and kickoff your startup career. More information here.
Accelerate Your Impact: Massachusetts Small Business Coaching Program: Boston Impact Initiative (BII) and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) have partnered to offer entrepreneurs and small business owners coaching and resources to build sustainable and socially impactful businesses. More information here.
FinTech Sandbox is a nonprofit which enables financial technology entrepreneurs to build robust products by providing access to critical data, development tools and a curated network of customers, entirely for free. FinTech Sandbox is open to all startups innovating in financial services that can use financial data products we offer for product development and testing. The spirit of the program is to offer data to start-ups that could not otherwise afford it. More information here.
Venture Lane is piloting a new virtual membership called Venture Lane Connect. The membership will enable B2B startup founders based in Boston to tap into Venture Lane’s curated network, weekly programming focused on go-to-market strategy, $400K in perks like AWS and Microsoft Azure and other resources for early-stage growth. Interested B2B startup founders and their teams can sign up for the private beta here.
Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. As one of the largest pre-seed investors in the world, they funded over 3,200 companies that have gone on to have a market cap of $79B+. Each company receives up to $120,000 in funding, and access to the worldwide network of investors, hands-on mentorship, and over $4M of perks. Applications are open year-round and will be considered on a rolling basis. Your application will be valid for 12 months from the date of application. More information here.
Through its 2030 Fund, MassCEC invests at the earliest stages of company development across the climatetech landscape. With a focus on tough tech and underserved sectors, MassCEC investments aim to advance clean technology, fill funding gaps, create green jobs, and leverage private capital throughout the Commonwealth. More information here.
P&G Ventures is an early stage startup studio within Procter & Gamble that partners with entrepreneurs to accelerate billion dollar ideas that improve consumers’ lives. Focus areas include nontoxic home and garden, women’s health, anti-aging, daily wellness, and cleaning/sanitizing. More information here.
IFundWomen Boston is a crowdfunding ecosystem designed to help the women-led startups, small businesses, nonprofits, side hustles, and passion projects of Boston raise funds to launch and grow. Join iFundWomen if you are a Boston-area women-led startup to fundraise for your business and get your ideas launched. More information here.
Whole Foods Local Producer Loan Program (LPLP): Whole Foods Market is committed to supporting local suppliers. In addition to featuring local products in stores, they created the Local Producer Loan Program (LPLP) to provide fixed, low interest loans to farmers, food artisans, and emerging entrepreneurs in local communities. They are proud to support small producers through the LPLP program to help expand their businesses and deepen our commitment to local. More information here.
The Biz-M-Power crowdfunding matching grant program offers small businesses in Massachusetts financial assistance with their acquisition, expansion, improvement or lease of a facility, purchase or capital lease of equipment, or with meeting other capital needs for the business. Eligible applicants will be empowered to advance their business with an innovative approach to obtaining capital. Through crowdfunding campaigns, these businesses connect with their local residents and stakeholders to advance projects that support economic success and transformation for their business and in their communities. This program is funded by the Commonwealth’s Operating Budget appropriated $7,500,000 for this program. More information here.