Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Oakley said:
A big part is that is where the capital and connections are. Venture capitalists and investors tend to be involved in their investments, so they want them nearby. Boston, I think, has gotten much better in this regard. You're even seeing SV-based VC firms open satellite offices in the Boston/Cambridge area.
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Oak -- In point of fact -- more Boston VC money starts companies outside of the area than others VC money starts companies here

part of it comes from the kinds of funds raised by the Boston VC's -- few if any are in the business of funding consumer electronics type companies -- they just have minimal experience with such investments

The typical Boston VC funds companies similar to those with which they personally have been involved -- thus we have gotten and still get lots of investment in:
medical devices, bio/pharma, business / financial software, telecom / networking, specialized semiconductors, manufacturing technology, defense technology

generally if your ideas don't fit the profile of:
EMC, Lotus, DEC, Biogen, Boston Scientific, Wellfleet, Akamai, Cascade, Analog Devices, Analogic, EG&G, Raytheon, Genzyme, Vertex

then don't bother asking a Boston VC

Note there are a few exceptions -- which do focus on a consumer, but somewhat specialized market such as:

Vistaprint -- "HQ" Lexington -- a very successful printer of business cards and seller of other personalized / printable things for small business -- founded in Paris in 1995 - moved to the Boston area in 2000 and went public in 2005 -- now it its US HQ and center of technology is in Lexington, its overall HQ is in the Netherlands, and the CEO lives in Paris -- most of the workers are in Canada (North American printing), Netherlands (European printing0, Australia (Asian printing)

Constant Contact --- HQ Waltham -- from the wikipedia: "an online marketing company offering email marketing, social media marketing, online survey, and event marketing tools, primarily to small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and membership associations. It claims approximately 392,000 email marketing customers at June 30, 2010 .... ranked 134th in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 in 2010 ... up from 153rd in 2009.... founded as Roving Software in 1995, taking its present name in 1998 ... headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with additional offices in San Francisco; Loveland, Colorado, and Delray Beach, Florida.... Constant Contact recently released other social media features, such as Social Stats... which lets users see how often their emails or events have been shared on social media platforms.... On February 16, 2011, Constant Contact acquired social CRM start-up Bantam Live."

Carbonite -- HQ Boston -- from the wikipedia: "Carbonite is an online backup service, available to Windows and Mac users, that backs up documents, e-mails, music, photos, and settings..... It was the first such service to offer unlimited backup space for a fixed price ... Carbonite offers two separate lines of products: Carbonite Home and Home Office for individuals, families and 1-2 person businesses; and Carbonite Small Business... named 'Labs Winner' by PC Pro,....Hottest Boston Company by Lead411,... In 2006, it secured $2.5 million in series A financing from 3i and CommonAngels; in 2007 it completed $15 million series B financing led by Menlo Ventures. in 2008 it secured additional $5 million in series B-2 funding, and completed C round financing with approximately $20 million of new capital, led by Performance Equity of Stamford, Connecticut; in 2010 it closed a mezzanine round of funding with the total financing raised to $67 million.[39] Carbonite announced its IPO in August 2011, raising $62.5 million in its offering... In May 2011, Carbonite filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering....On June 6, 2011, Carbonite acquired Phanfare. -- HQ at the Christian Science complex in Boston"
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

It would be great if Constant Contact moves out of its current location in Waltham. If you ever went to the building, it looks like a empty mall arcade. The offices within are modern however, a complete contrast. They are seeking to expand quickly and I think a move closer to the city would give them better exposure.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

FYI, less we forget the most important factor in this whole picture of innovation/start-ups/VC seed money, etc. Metro Boston has something that no other area of the country and possibly the world have and that's the 8 Research Universities that are located in the immediate area, Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, Northeastern, Brandeis, Tufts, UMass/Boston! These 8 powerhouses alone bring in billions of research dollars not to mention employing tens of thousands of people along with spewing out thousands of highly educated people, many of whom remain in the area! And this is continuous, every year, YEAR AFTER YEAR, the money rolls in from the Feds, from students and parents who spend millions during their stay,from ongoing construction projects, etc. which in turn employs tens of thousands! This is the amazing economic engine of Boston, more important, in my opinion, than any google, microsoft, amazon, etc locating here. And this doesn't count the many other colleges and universities that are in the area or the companies that are here for the simple fact that these universities are here or were founded by the university's staff and graduates! Phew!
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

atlantaden said:
FYI, less we forget the most important factor in this whole picture of innovation/start-ups/VC seed money, etc. Metro Boston has something that no other area of the country and possibly the world have and that's the 8 Research Universities that are located in the immediate area, Harvard, MIT, BC, BU, Northeastern, Brandeis, Tufts, UMass/Boston! These 8 powerhouses alone bring in billions of research dollars not to mention employing tens of thousands of people along with spewing out thousands of highly educated people, many of whom remain in the area! And this is continuous, every year, YEAR AFTER YEAR, the money rolls in from the Feds, from students and parents who spend millions during their stay,from ongoing construction projects, etc. which in turn employs tens of thousands! This is the amazing economic engine of Boston, more important, in my opinion, than any google, microsoft, amazon, etc locating here. And this doesn't count the many other colleges and universities that are in the area or the companies that are here for the simple fact that these universities are here or were founded by the university's staff and graduates! Phew!
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Very solid points. Boston's economy is great--and will continue to thrive--for all the reasons you just mentioned. However, in regards to it being more important than Google, Microsoft, etc. being located here, I think the thing that makes it tough to swallow is that two of the most popular tech companies in the world got their start here and went elsewhere.

In the end, I do agree with you...but in this case "Greed is Good". For Boston to be constantly pushing and expecting more will only result positive results.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

whighlander said:
Oak -- In point of fact -- more Boston VC money starts companies outside of the area than others VC money starts companies here

part of it comes from the kinds of funds raised by the Boston VC's -- few if any are in the business of funding consumer electronics type companies -- they just have minimal experience with such investments

The typical Boston VC funds companies similar to those with which they personally have been involved -- thus we have gotten and still get lots of investment in:
medical devices, bio/pharma, business / financial software, telecom / networking, specialized semiconductors, manufacturing technology, defense technology

generally if your ideas don't fit the profile of:
EMC, Lotus, DEC, Biogen, Boston Scientific, Wellfleet, Akamai, Cascade, Analog Devices, Analogic, EG&G, Raytheon, Genzyme, Vertex

then don't bother asking a Boston VC

Note there are a few exceptions -- which do focus on a consumer, but somewhat specialized market such as:

Vistaprint -- "HQ" Lexington -- a very successful printer of business cards and seller of other personalized / printable things for small business -- founded in Paris in 1995 - moved to the Boston area in 2000 and went public in 2005 -- now it its US HQ and center of technology is in Lexington, its overall HQ is in the Netherlands, and the CEO lives in Paris -- most of the workers are in Canada (North American printing), Netherlands (European printing0, Australia (Asian printing)

Constant Contact --- HQ Waltham -- from the wikipedia: "an online marketing company offering email marketing, social media marketing, online survey, and event marketing tools, primarily to small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and membership associations. It claims approximately 392,000 email marketing customers at June 30, 2010 .... ranked 134th in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 in 2010 ... up from 153rd in 2009.... founded as Roving Software in 1995, taking its present name in 1998 ... headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with additional offices in San Francisco; Loveland, Colorado, and Delray Beach, Florida.... Constant Contact recently released other social media features, such as Social Stats... which lets users see how often their emails or events have been shared on social media platforms.... On February 16, 2011, Constant Contact acquired social CRM start-up Bantam Live."

Carbonite -- HQ Boston -- from the wikipedia: "Carbonite is an online backup service, available to Windows and Mac users, that backs up documents, e-mails, music, photos, and settings..... It was the first such service to offer unlimited backup space for a fixed price ... Carbonite offers two separate lines of products: Carbonite Home and Home Office for individuals, families and 1-2 person businesses; and Carbonite Small Business... named 'Labs Winner' by PC Pro,....Hottest Boston Company by Lead411,... In 2006, it secured $2.5 million in series A financing from 3i and CommonAngels; in 2007 it completed $15 million series B financing led by Menlo Ventures. in 2008 it secured additional $5 million in series B-2 funding, and completed C round financing with approximately $20 million of new capital, led by Performance Equity of Stamford, Connecticut; in 2010 it closed a mezzanine round of funding with the total financing raised to $67 million.[39] Carbonite announced its IPO in August 2011, raising $62.5 million in its offering... In May 2011, Carbonite filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering....On June 6, 2011, Carbonite acquired Phanfare. -- HQ at the Christian Science complex in Boston"
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No disagreements with on the lack of experience, from an investment standpoint, for consumer-facing businesses.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

whighlander said:
Apage -- you have a parochial perspective for a junior member

Despite the high reputation of MA schools -- the vast majority of the students who attend the MIT, HU, and a few others are not kids from the city, the state or even the immediate region. MIT and HU and a few of the others have their choice of the best and brightest on the entire planet.

In fact for a smallish state in population the Greater Boston region has a disproportionate share of R&D dollars from the US and a disproportionate share of start-up $ from the private sector

What this place lacks is an economic climate supportive of small companies trying to grow -- mostly due to offensive levels of bureaucracy and red-tape.

specifically:

1) it takes a long time to get licenses and permits for nearly anything
2) housing costs for the lower / mid- level technical and business talent are high
3) taxes are very high
4) energy costs are high
5) raw material costs are high mostly due to transportation costs
6) union work rules
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Being a Junior Member on a message board now equates to having a parochial perspective?

Your missing the overall point. San Fran and NYC have some of the highest taxes in the country. The cost of doing business in those cities is, for the most part, higher than in MA and the unions have a stranglehold on those cities. And the vast majority of people that have startups in Silicon Valley, and a lesser extent NYC, didn't grow up there. I know this because I've done business in all 3 states.

As you mentioned, part of the problem is the VCs in Boston. Their investment outlook is much different than those in San Fran. But we can encourage entrepreneurs to stay here by having more startup incubators like the one that Harvard is launching this year.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

KentXie said:
It would be great if Constant Contact moves out of its current location in Waltham. If you ever went to the building, it looks like a empty mall arcade. The offices within are modern however, a complete contrast. They are seeking to expand quickly and I think a move closer to the city would give them better exposure.
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They just bought CardStar.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Constant Contact is a pain to use...they need to cut down on the basic steps
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

apage8 said:
Being a Junior Member on a message board now equates to having a parochial perspective?

Your missing the overall point. San Fran and NYC have some of the highest taxes in the country. The cost of doing business in those cities is, for the most part, higher than in MA and the unions have a stranglehold on those cities. And the vast majority of people that have startups in Silicon Valley, and a lesser extent NYC, didn't grow up there. I know this because I've done business in all 3 states.

As you mentioned, part of the problem is the VCs in Boston. Their investment outlook is much different than those in San Fran. But we can encourage entrepreneurs to stay here by having more startup incubators like the one that Harvard is launching this year.
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I didn't know Harvard is launching an incubator.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

The Harvard incubator (i-Lab) seems to me to be slightly half-assed. It's located in a concrete bunker along Western Ave, somewhat within the B-school campus but also quite removed: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=125+W...llston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts+02134&t=m&z=18

Image means a lot for these operations, and I would imagine that this would be higher profile if launched in Kendall, FiDi or Seaport... as opposed to Harvard's now-and-always "future campus"...
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Shepard said:
The Harvard incubator (i-Lab) seems to me to be slightly half-assed. It's located in a concrete bunker along Western Ave, somewhat within the B-school campus but also quite removed: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=125+W...llston,+Suffolk,+Massachusetts+02134&t=m&z=18

Image means a lot for these operations, and I would imagine that this would be higher profile if launched in Kendall, FiDi or Seaport... as opposed to Harvard's now-and-always "future campus"...
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Most incubators are rather crappy and a waste. The ones that do it right, are really great.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

While I was looking for some renders and other stuff related to 75 Ames St. Cambridge I came across the following focused on Cambridge but all encompassing in the local Bio/Science Lab market

It makes fascinating reading about the state of the Bio/Pharma/Science Lab market in the Boston Area

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...bvnvJCTdXEVLmJYvg&sig2=daAA5G2Oh-Rw6RJFQRaAxg

" Vacancy remained a scant 2.8 percent, after a two-quarter period ended September 30, 2011 yielded a negligible 4,000 sf of positive absorption. Vacancy, already at nearly nonexistent levels, is set to drop below one percent, as leased space at the Center for Life Sciences Boston becomes occupied. For availability, tenants only have an 8,000 sf premium top-floor suite at the Center for Life Sciences, or 25,000 sf of Class B space in Charlestown. A total lack of ability to accommodate users of most sizes and with most quality preferences is an obvious hindrance to growth, as users remained similarly
constrained across the river in Cambridge. The city is automatically set to attract 1.2 million sf of absorption, along with inventory, by the end of 2013, as Vertex takes occupancy of its 1.1 million sf campus in the Seaport District, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary moves into its 100,000 sf new facility in the Longwood Medical Area.

The City of Boston has been successful in its marketing of the self-titled “Innovation District” – concurrent with the area known as the Seaport District. The success of marketing the area to a diverse array
of technology and generally creative organizations, along with the widely heralded decision for Vertex to pursue a purpose-built campus, has accelerated interest in the District as a potential destination for life
sciences companies of all sizes. With the availability of quality space in East Cambridge limited, and a near absence of any existing availability in the Longwood Medical Area, the Seaport District may see an influx of life sciences groups in 2012 and 2013, though companies would require space to be converted from other space formats. "

MARKET STATISTICS

Sub Market sq.ft.x1000 % vacant Under Construction
Cambridge Lab 8,260 16.2% 204
Boston Lab 3,125 2.8% 1,042
Suburban Lab 5,002 14.5% 172

Note the Boston construction is almost all Vertex

The report concludes with the following questions?
• WILL THE LARGE EVENT phenomenon continue to drive absorption?
• WILL ANY MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS’ growth needs spur further development?
• WILL VERTEX spur additional bio demand in the Seaport?
• WHEN WILL VERTEX current Cambridge space begin to lease up?
• WILL THE IPO market prove receptive to bios in registration?
• WILL A SPECULATIVE project break ground by next bioSTATus?
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Not sure if there's a Tea Party Museum thread under ArchBoston's New Construction.

*******

Owners say Fla. woes won’t sink Tea Party Museum

The owners of a taxpayer-funded Tea Party Museum in Fort Point Channel are facing foreclosure on a luxury condo project in Key West after borrowing approximately $30 million to fund the project — but its CEO denies his Florida failure will impact his bobbing tribute to America’s first...
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Sicilian said:
Not sure if there's a Tea Party Museum thread under ArchBoston's New Construction.

*******

Owners say Fla. woes won’t sink Tea Party Museum

The owners of a taxpayer-funded Tea Party Museum in Fort Point Channel are facing foreclosure on a luxury condo project in Key West after borrowing approximately $30 million to fund the project — but its CEO denies his Florida failure will impact his bobbing tribute to America’s first...
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Ugh. Am I the only one angered/saddened by a bunch of numb-nuts who managed to co-opt an historical and legitimate movement into a catch-phrase for general, corrupt, transparent, fuckupery that's completely transparent to all but the illiterate sheeple?

/civics rant ended
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

bbfen said:
Ugh. Am I the only one angered/saddened by a bunch of numb-nuts who managed to co-opt an historical and legitimate movement into a catch-phrase for general, corrupt, transparent, fuckupery that's completely transparent to all but the illiterate sheeple?

/civics rant ended
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Every time I hear updates on the construction of the "Tea Party Museum," I hear the name "Sarah Palin" over and over in my head. Very sad.
 
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