Boston Contracting Opportunity Fund: Do you need help with expanded rental space, equipment and/or inventory purchases, business bonding and insurance, or operating capital? The City of Boston wants to help small, local businesses build their operational capacity and level the playing field for historically disadvantaged businesses interested in City contracts. Apply now to see if your company is eligible for up to $15,000 in grant money. Application deadline is May 5. More information here.
The Robotics Summit & Expo – May 10-11, 2023: The world’s leading commercial robotics development event returns to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center with keynotes from industry leaders Martin Buehler, Howie Choset, Laura Major, Marc Raibert, Nicolaus Radford and more. The conference programming is designed to help engineers learn about the latest enabling technologies and development techniques to build the next generation of commercial robots. More information here.
EforAll South Coast Summer 2023 Accelerator: The Accelerator is a free, one-year program offered twice a year in EforAll communities. It provides immersive business training, mentorship and access to an extended professional network. Anyone with a dream to start or grow a business is encouraged to apply. Application deadline is May 11. More information here.
EforAll Lawrence Pitch Contest: EforAll’s Pitch Your Idea Contests are participatory two-hour events that offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a friendly audience and receive valuable feedback from experienced judges. Business ideas are promoted in a wide range of industries. A minimum of three cash prizes will be awarded. Deadline to submit an application: May 18, 2023 at 5 pm ET. 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.
The NAACP Power Forward Small Business Grant is available for Black-owned businesses with one to 25 employees located in New England (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and select areas of Connecticut (more details in the application). $25,000 in grants are available on a rolling basis. 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.
eForum Mentor Program— 2023 Open Application: The eForum Mentor Program Makes Better Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs may apply to the program at any stage of development. Individuals are accepted into the program based on the general acceptance criteria. Mentors must also apply to be a part of the program and are expected to take an interest in the success of the entrepreneur(s) they are matched with; and to get to know the Entrepreneur’s needs, including personal situations. More information here.