ABOUT US
Startup Boston is where the startup community turns to stay informed about the latest developments and opportunities in the ecosystem.
Startup Boston is your ultimate guide to finding resources to help you both start and scale your startup or department.
We showcase the essential tools and connections you need to excel—whether you're building companies, investing in startups, mentoring founders, or innovating in your industry.
Supporting all industries, our goal is to make it simple for you to navigate the startup community throughout Boston, Massachusetts, and the broader New England area.
Our History
The vision began in 2017 with Startup Boston Week. Now we provide year-round programming and resources for the startup community.
2017
Back in September 2017, we launched our very first Startup Boston Week—and wow, what a week it was! We packed five days with an incredible lineup of 125 speakers, but the real magic happened when the doors opened, and people started pouring in. The energy was electric, and we knew we had something special. By the end of the week, we had welcomed 2.5k attendees and featured some of Boston's brightest entrepreneurial stars, like Brian Halligan (HubSpot), Jules Pieri (The Grommet), and Paul Liberman (DraftKings). Startup Boston was officially a hit!
2018
For our second annual Startup Boston Week, we set out to elevate everything—content, programming, and the overall experience. Taking feedback from year one to heart, we introduced fresh, sometimes experimental event formats that kept things exciting. We also worked tirelessly to bring in an all-star lineup of speakers, featuring industry leaders like Raj Aggarwal (Localytics), Donna Levin (Care.com), and Stefania Mallet (ezCater). It was a week to remember, filled with innovation, inspiration, and next-level energy!
2019
For our third Startup Boston Week, we focused on enhancing the attendee experience. We carefully labeled events by company department and stage—idea, early, growth, or late—making it easy for everyone to find the most relevant sessions. We also prioritized diversifying our speaker lineup, featuring fresh voices from startups, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who hadn’t had the chance to share their insights before. It was all about delivering the best experience for our community!
2020
This unprecedented year brought its challenges. Due to COVID-19, we pivoted Startup Boston Week to a fully virtual event, hosting 70 sessions, 261 speakers, and welcoming 3.4k attendees. Startup Boston also expanded beyond SBW, hosting a virtual happy hour in March and a free, one-day Marketing Bootcamp in May to support the community during these tough times.
2021
During 2021, Startup Boston Week was primarily virtual with an in-person Closing Party.
We’ve been using our blog to celebrate the startup community and highlight fresh voices and ideas. We also kicked off the year with The Inside Track, an invite-only series for startup tech CEOs, and hosted a free Sales Bootcamp in April to support the community.
2022
Startup Boston Week hosted its first-ever hybrid conference, giving attendees and speakers the option to join either virtually or in-person, depending on their comfort level. We also stepped up our efforts with the Dealflow Mixer and Cofounder Matching events, offering them quarterly to better serve the startup community.
2023
In Year Seven, our annual conference went fully hybrid, featuring both in-person and virtual speakers and attendees, all hosted at Suffolk University in the heart of Downtown Boston. We introduced two exciting new additions to SBW2023—The Podcast Stage and The Startup Crawl. Plus, our Dealflow Mixer and Cofounder Matching events continued their quarterly rhythm, supporting the startup community year-round.
2024
We returned to Suffolk University for SBW2024, hosting our biggest conference yet! We were honored to win the BostInno Fire Award for Ecosystem Builder. The Community Awards were back for their third year, and we started rolling out The Startup Directory, your go-to resource hub for the New England startup scene.
2025
It’s our ninth year! Stay in the know about everything happening in the startup community and get all the latest updates from Startup Boston by subscribing to our newsletter below.