Successful startups often trace their origins to the time they identified that problem others hadn’t resolved, or that opportunity others had overlooked. For Matt Crane, that moment came when he moved back to Boston and found that, despite the area’s vibrant startup community, up-and-coming executives in the space didn’t have the support networks and platforms they needed to stand out and thrive professionally.
That’s why, after spending a decade at startups in California’s Bay Area, Matt decided to create the MGMT Boston Operators Club, which is a media project and membership organization that brings together Team Leads, Directors and first-time VPs to create the kind of networking and growth opportunities that are often reserved for industry veterans.
“There are a lot of resources out there for founders, executives and investors, but the ‘up-and-comers’ – or however you want to label the people inside of startups doing the work – are predominantly serviced today through B2B channels via their employers,” he told Startup Boston. And whereas managers do offer mentorship opportunities, anyone who’s worked at a startup knows that the rate of change is fast, and bosses come and go.
“So it's useful to have external resources available to you to help bridge any gaps,” Matt said. “We're facilitating a community space, peer interactions, monthly events, content that helps you with your role and more, while continuing to grow the offering as requested by the community. And we’re keeping it casual too!”
The Operators Club, which includes a $250 annual membership fee, opened its doors in June. And the weekly newsletter, which features profiles of Boston-based startups and mid-career operators, is helping to spread the word while offering members insight into the startup ecosystem, including the job market and industry trends. Stories have included profiles of Michele Choi, head of Business Development and Marketing at group coaching platform Medley, as well as Kayla Dowd, Senior Customer Success Manager at Hi Marley, a comms service for the insurance industry.
And as part of his reporting, Matt (who does all the writing) has already tapped into a phenomenon that he’s calling the Endeca Effect, after the Cambridge-based software company that sold to Oracle for $1.1 billion in 2011.
“The first startup I featured was Jellyfish, who's Founders came from Endeca,” Matt said. “When I began to pull back the curtain on the Boston startup ecosystem, the Endeca name came up repeatedly and as I researched that story it helped emphasize the importance of finding a high horsepower, collaborative group of people you can grow your career with in the same ecosystem.”
Who can join the MGMT Boston Operators Club?
This club was created specifically with these folks in mind:
Greater Boston Area up and coming startup and technology leaders
Team Lead
Senior Directors
1st Time Vice Presidents
This club is industry agnostic and is perfect for local startup leaders who are looking to make connections with those who will push them to grow beyond their day-to-day.
What are the benefits of joining the Operators Club?
Membership costs $250/year and includes:
Slack Group
Monthly Events (both virtually and in-person)
Weekly Boston startup ecosystem insights
1:1 peer connections
They even provide you with a template you can use to ask work to pay for the membership fee!
Learn more about the MGMT Boston Operators Club
Click the links below to learn more - and stay in the loop - on how you can get invovled:
About the Author - Randall Woods is a former editor at Bloomberg News and currently is a Senior Vice President atSBS Comms, a PR agency for technology companies and startups.
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