On the evening of September 19, 2011, a small group of young entrepreneurs gathered in the law offices of EAPD in the center of Boston. Many had never met before that day and had no idea what to expect from the other individuals that would be present. Conversation started tentatively as some introduced themselves and others reconnected with unexpected friends, but it didn’t take long to get the conversation flowing. And then the beer arrived. Yes, I am talking about the Boston Startup Leadership Program (SLP) Kickoff event.
The first meeting was a chance for everyone to meet one another and share a little personal history. We were each given a directive to tell our ‘Entrepreneur Journey’ using ~9 slides and 3 minutes or less. The ≤3 minutes thing didn’t work out so well, but the slides were entertaining and quite informative at a high level. It was exciting to see who my brothers and sisters in the Boston chapter are going to be, and I am quite thrilled to be part of such an awe-inspiring class. We even had a special drop in visit by a classmate from the Bombay chapter!
Our chapter is made up of VCs, former consultants, biologists, chemists, electrical engineers, event planners, education experts and marketing gurus (I think that covers everyone!). Industries represented range from healthcare IT to clean energy, biotech to jewelry. It is quite an esoteric bunch, and no doubt by clever design on the part of our predecessors who know firsthand what kind of odd mixes have worked well in the past. Congratulations fellow fellows! I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you more intimately over the next six months. After all, that’s why we’re here right?
