Last week, the MTLC team came together to celebrate the Tech Top 50. While there are many recognition programs out there, the Tech Top 50, and its predecessor the Mass Tech Leadership Awards have existed for more than 30 years. This is MA’s only regional awards program that is specific to the tech industry –an opportunity we embrace to stop and recognize the people, the innovations, and the companies that make Massachusetts the best tech hub in the world.
There has been a lot of attention given to biotech and clean tech as of late. And rightly so. These are not just two important economic industries for the state, they are industries critical to the health of our planet and its people. But these industries do not exist without the underlying tools and technology.
What makes Massachusetts so unique is that we have all of the critical components to be a thriving innovation economy. We are a small, interwoven state whose sum is truly greater than its parts. And with all of these parts comes density, which breeds innovation and growth. It is exciting that so many industries can prosper here. The opportunities to partner and work with companies in your backyard are far and wide.
But we can’t take individual parts for granted. The result of doing so could have a costly impact. If we stopped supporting our tech companies, then the amazing connections and ideas from the people inside of those companies would be lost as well. The startups created from conversations at meetups will be spun up elsewhere.
MTLC released its annual State of the Tech Economy Report in January. The data showed that Massachusetts remains strong. But it also showed that there are reasons to be cautious. I covered that in another blog.
So while there are very difficult and systemic challenges for that state of tech in Massachusetts, there are some very easy steps. Make noise and spotlight the tech companies and tech workers here. Celebrate them for their amazing work and accomplishments like we did at the Tech Top 50.
Keep creating events and opportunities for the tech sector to come together. MTLC has executive peer groups, the tech hot topic series, Tech Runs Boston for early career, and the Innovation unConference. There are other groups producing meetups for more cutting-edge technologies AI or AR/VR. There is the Venture Café and InnoCrew who have been a welcoming salve for hundreds of founders. Venture Capitalists such as Underscore have built programs to support tech companies at many stages. And these are just a small handful of the abundant programs.
I urge executives to not just attend these programs, but send your teams. Make sure to share these opportunities. Virtual is convenient, but as humans, we need to be together in person. The energy that ensues is central to a thriving community.
