A New Generation Marketer

Last night the 7th Annual MITX Awards were held at the Boston Copley Marriott Place. Between a great turnout, high energy and tons of well-qualified candidates, the event was a blast! Being on the younger side of people who were there (as I am a recent college grad) it was really inspiring to be in a room full of successful entrepreneurs in the tech industry.

It is evident that Massachusetts is becoming more and more innovative despite the condition of the economy. An indication was the large amount of people who entered to be considered for each category, the governor’s support of the Boston innovation hub, and the strong encouragement of the MA community as a whole for start-ups. Right now it is apparent that the Boston tech scene is thriving with continued innovation.

Boston played a large role in the start of the Internet itself and both Napster and Facebook were created here. This is a major epicenter of technology in the country today and the community allows it to thrive and succeed. As Bill Bulkely, Lifetime Achievement Award recipent and professional journalist stated, “Watching this space has never been more fun.” He entered the tech scene in Boston in 1978 and has seen it grow from tapes to iTunes and libraries to Google. He realized quickly that “no business model can survive by being flipped on its head”, having seen many businesses succeed and fail with the quick changing technology and the introduction of the Internet in the work place.

And what allows for a great company to succeed? As Matt Lauzon, founder of Gemvara (winner of the e-Commerce and Alternative Retail category) stated that it takes 1. Great advisors, 2. Great team, and 3. (well he forgot at first, but then tweeted that it was investors!) to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Across the board, award recipients last night stated that if it wasn’t for the undying support of the Boston community, they may not have survived. Jeremy Allaire, Innovation Hall of Fame Honoree at the event stated that Boston is considered the cradle of liberty because of its high rate of success for tech start ups. Most entrepreneurs also found that the fresh talent and great local resources also attributed to the great success.

Allaire went on to state five aspects that allow an entrepreneur to succeed:

1. Vision – a person must have a deep intution about a transformation in the economy. They must be able to see not only the larger picture but also the small incremental steps to get there.

2. Passion – they must have a deep conviction channeled into motivation to allow them to succeed.

3. Tenacity – they must be willing to do something disruptive and innovative. This is hard to do, but if they have passion, it is possible.

4. Patience – any company takes awhile to disrupt and innovate in the economy, so an entrepreneur must be ready to take a lot of time and effort in order for it to succeed.

5. Execution – many people have ideas and theories, but 90% of them fail. Execution, as Allaire stated, “is about surrounding yourself with incredible people who share your vision.” This allows the ideas to turn into actionable items.

The MITX Tech Awards were definitely a must-attend event this summer. It was a time to celebrate our peers’ achievements and those of ourselves and also an opportunity to find inspiration for our own business pursuits.