2013 Massachusetts Conference for Women

I'd like to invite you to travel back in time with me. The 2014 Massachusetts Conference for Women is around the corner and while I might not be attending this year, my experience at last year's conference is definitely a story worth telling.

When I got an email from the Boston chapter of the Center for Women & Enterprise offering free tickets, I was on that opportunity like...well, like me on any opportunity to save $165. I stayed up way past my bedtime the night before, refreshing the event hashtag and accepting/sending out LinkedIn requests to attendees I'd see there, and arranged for a half day at work. I expected to feel inspired. I knew that being in a space dedicated to the success of women would be rife with possibility, so I was sure to eat my Wheaties that morning and pack more business cards than I thought humanly possible. 

I make my way to the Seaport district from Waltham, feeling (and looking, I'm sure) like a creature of the deep, but that was no matter. I was there - I had gotten my ticket, made the time, and soon fell into conversation with other attendees about their aspirations. I can't speak to any "innate" gender attributes (in fact, I lean away from them), but I will say this: people tend to rise in direct relationship to the care provided them, the opportunities afforded them, and the measure of hope they maintain in service of making a better life for themselves.

Blake Mycoskie / Robin Roberts and Kerry Washington / Leymah Gbowee

There I sat, emboldened and transfixed by the speakers, by the number of women in the space and thought to myself that so much was possible. I saw myself in Robin Roberts, in Kerry Washington, in Leymah Gbowee. Though Kerry and Robin couldn't make it in person, the technology gods made it so that we could feel the closeness despite thousands of miles. As I reflected, the questions pooled in my mind: 

What lie have you been living in that's never served you? What would you do if you weren't afraid? What stands between who you are and who you aspire to be?

At events that cater to this demographic (y'know, 51% of the global population), you'll hear the signal words of feminist drinking games: "Lean In!", "Be Bossy!" and the smugly appropriated "You Go, Girl!". And while we need to lionize the notions of power and authority as they relate to women outside the home, what was refreshing about #MassWomen 2013 was its focus on our humanity. There's a dynamic set of lessons in the ways we negotiate social circumstances and affect change (Gbowee); in the ways we come to terms with the stark cards a diagnosis can deal us and emerge with a renewed sense of vitality and personal truth (Roberts).

And really, what more could we ask for?

BarCamp Boston 9: Annual Geek UnConference

BarCamp Boston's most recent "unconference" was the first I'd ever attended. I was deep in a flurry of tweets when I stumbled upon their event announcement and call for volunteers. Planner that I am, I was intrigued by the gall it takes to put people in a space and rely on their interests and abilities to orchestrate a dynamic event. Once I read about that thrilling set up and their No Harassment policy, by Jove, I knew I needed to sign up.

I hearkened to the call and trudged out in the rain to Microsoft's NERD center in Cambridge. I made my way up to the registration desk to pick up my nifty badge and meet some of the other attendees. Once we got settled and filed into the common space for breakfast, we were greeted by Jay Neely, Digital Community Builder at the Boston Globe and organizer extraordinaire.

After Jay's rundown of the logistics, pastries, and coffee (that was just what I needed), the workshops were underway. Some of the more hilarious ones had names like "Immortality 101: How Steve Jobs Could Still Be Alive", followed by "Going from Perl to Go in Three Weeks". It seems that whether we're talking about the oft-referenced Jobs or the much missed Tupac Shakur, every subculture has its sorely missed bastion who was once larger than life. I'm still in the dark about what Perl is and whether Go is a place I'm interested in visiting. So it goes.

Attendees were encouraged to scribble topics they were interested in hearing about and affix them to the wall (after which other interested parties would place asterisks to "vote"). Once enough interest was garnered and a speaker stepped up to the plate, a space would be assigned. Jay Neely and Christopher Sherlin kept the #BCBos schedule updated so we were always in the loop. Christopher, a Front End Developer with the Boston Globe, was also kind enough to give yours truly a quick tutorial in the difference between UX and UI. I am forever in his debt.

I scampered to and fro, hitting up presentations like Steve Garfield's "Videoblogging with Hyperlapse and Snapchat", which included him regaling us with adorable stories about his parents. Mama Garfield has a blog of her own that is not to be missed. From there, I got a lesson in team building from Toy Pig Co's Robby Grodin. I rounded out my first BarCamp Boston experience with Amber P's presentation on podcasting and Albert Willis' informative (and entertaining) rundown on all things Bitcoin.

I weaved in and out of discussions, furiously scribbling notes in my Moleskine (like a liberal arts spy a la Carmen Sandiego). I took note of all the terms I was unfamiliar with a mind to google them all later. I gobbled snacks and took note of the tenor of each space - how sharp, how engaged, how (in the truest sense of the word) wonderful they were. I realized that though I've never written a line of code in my life, I was among my people. 

The passionate ones. The ones who lived to dream and construct. To clarify. To work and rework. And, my goodness, it was wonderful company.

Over the years, I've come to appreciate the art and passion present within tech subcultures. You see, I'm a Romantic-era art lovin', Homeric ode quotin', Shakespeare and Kierkegaard referencin' thinker through and through...and it's easy for people in my fields of choice (philosophy and literature) to operate as if we have a monopoly on beauty and the romance of everyday life. Tech is not without its issues (for example, I was in a position to have lunch with a majority of the event's Black attendees...at a table of four), but the truth remains:

For every dream, societies need those who can render the dream into existence. For every person who can pontificate about an idea, we need someone to lay the groundwork, providing us with a framework for its implementation. For as long as there shall exist* a need for innovation...there shall be a need for innovators.

I, for one, am certainly glad we have them.

*This line is a nod to a Victor Hugo quote

#GFSA14: MIT Global Founders' Skills Accelerator 2014

This blog is quickly becoming a love letter of sorts to Cambridge, and MIT's annual Skills Accelerator certainly does more than its fair share of making Cambridge such a lovable town. I'm always so inspired by the presenters and encouraged by their narratives. The daring enterprise of intrepid students coupled with a community home to some of our country's greatest success stories? Sign me up.

Last year's skills accelerator was my first and it didn't disappoint. While the wonderful folks over at Thyme Labs decided to not roll out their mobile app, they just made their Find Thyme API available to the open source development community. Some other friendly faces from last year's GFSA have been up to some amazing things as well. Check out some of their sites to read up on what they've got going on these days.

6Sensor Labs / AvaTech / grove / lallitara / narwhalEdu

NVBOTS / ALPrint / Task36 / Uniiv / SOMATech

Like last year, Bill Aulet (Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and Senior Lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management) greeted us warmly and got the festivities underway. Kyle Judah (Director of the GFSA and the Jackson W. Goss Fellows Program) hit the stage immediately after, doting on the amazing participants the entire time.

I was especially impressed by the special presentation by Mick Mountz and Pete Wurman, the co-founders of Kiva Systems. I imagined that creating robots capable of bringing materials in warehouses to human staff (drastically reducing packaging time) was involved, but I was completely thrown by how downright cool it was. Both MIT alums ('87), they decided the world was theirs for the building...while I was learning to walk.

I'm excited to introduce you to this year's presenters. Just click the name of the company to view the official footage of their presentation.

Miramix (www.miramix.co / megan@miramix.co): Developed a consumer electronics device that can create custom personalized vitamins and supplements for users to help be the very healthiest version of themselves. Represented by Megan Cox (MIT / Management, SB 2014).

OBaa (www.obaahealth.com / team@obaahealth.com): Built a mobile healthcare app to make maternal healthcare accessible to expecting mothers in rural Ghana and other developing nations. Represented by Kwabena "Cobby" Owusu-Amoah (Wartburg College / Economics, BA 2014).

Datasight (www.datasight.io / hello@datasight.io): Datasight's proprietary machine-learning algorithms help pharma and biotech companies more accurately select the sites for Phase III clinical trials to increase accuracy and reduce the time to market. Represented by William Drevo (MIT / Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, M. Eng. 2015, SB 2013).

Ashton Instruments (www.ashtoninstruments.com / james@ashtoninstruments.com): Created a new power meter for bicycles that is far cheaper and easier to install than anything on the market. Represented by James Schulmeister (MIT / Mechanical Engineering, PhD 2015, SM 2012).

Love Grain (www.lovegrain.co / hello@lovegrain.co): Creates delicious gluten-free foods for American consumers while helping thousands of Ethiopian farmers. Represented by Aleem Ahmed (MIT and Harvard Kennedy School of Government / MBA & MPA 2015).

Hemingly (www.hemingly.com / founders@hemingly.com): Created smart marketing for self-published authors, making it easier for them to save time and money when finding and engaging their audience, and driving sales. Represented by Charlie Feng (McGill University / Finance, B. Com 2014).

Cardinal Wind (www.cardinalwind.com / info@cardinalwind.com): Makes it easier than ever for investors to analyze and invest in wind power using CSAIL algorithms and advanced financial analysis. Represented by Teasha Feldman-Fitzthum (MIT / Physics, SB 2014).

Sonabos Technologies (www.sonabos.com / info@sonabos.com): Developing a connected platform that gives DJs and live performers the confidence they need to rekindle their creativity. Represented by Thomas Burrow (MIT / Mechanical Engineering, SB 2014).

FarmUp (www.farmup.mx / hola@farmup.mx): Creating an e-commerce platform to allow restaurants to buy directly from farmers in Mexico, removing middlemen and streamlining operations to improve product quality for restaurants and prices for farmers. Represented by Francisco de Asis del Villar Ortiz Mena (Instituto Technologico Autonomo de Mexico - ITAM / Economics, SB 2014).

Smarking (www.smarking,net / contact@smarking.net): Helping airports and parking management companies access predictive analytics and real-time tracking to optimize revenue and staffing, saving millions of dollars every year. Represented by Wen Sang (MIT / Mechanical Engineering, PhD 2014).

Inevio (www.inevio.com / founders@inevio.com): Takes our computers to the cloud - not just files, but apps as well, allowing users to work collaboratively from any device, anywhere, t any time. Represented by Roberto Gomez Vincente (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid / Computer Engineering, 2015)

Accion Systems (www.accion-systems.com / info@accion-systems.com): Developed a revolutionary propulsion system for satellites. Represented by Natalya Brikner (MIT / Aeronautics and Astronautics, PhD 2014)

Wise Systems (www.wisesystems.io / founders@wisesystems.io): Combines big data, design, and logistics to route businesses in developing countries more efficiently than ever, saving time and money. Represented by Chazz Sims (MIT / Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, M. Eng 2014, SB 2013)

Monograph (www.amonograph.com / hello@amonograph.com): Developers ahve GitHub. Designers have Dribble. The good folks at Monograpgh are building a web platform for makers to help catalyze the second Renaissance. Represented by Alex Dixon (MIT / M. Arch 2014)

Embr Labs (www.embrlabs.com / hello@embrlabs.com): Created a wearable device that can heat or cool the user depending on their personal temperature preference. Represented by Sam Shames (MIT / Materials Science and Engineering, SB 2014)

See, I told you. Heavy hitters, every single last one of 'em. I look forward to hearing about all the great things they'll continue to do. Oh, which was my favorite?

At this point, you know that I'm an absolute sucker for a personal approach...which is why OBaa took the cake. Kwabena painted a picture of what is so often considered a compulsory facet of cultures the world over: pregnancy and birth. We don't have sufficient conversations about how incredibly physically taxing the experience is, and most expecting mothers around the world lack access to systems that could increase the quality of their pregnancy experience and life. 

Much like my aim in including the Stephen Jay Gould quote in last year's GFSA post, I encourage you to think about what we all miss out on long term when people around the world don't have immediate access. In keeping with the theme of calling on the words of great humans, I offer you the following by Vaclav Havel:

"The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility."

The issues our world faces are many and they are complex, but they have quite the formidable foes.

Visit gfsa.mit.edu  or entrepreneurship.mit.edu to learn more about entrepreneurship at MIT. Company descriptions are drawn from the official event program by the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.