Whether you’re applying for a job, attempting to get admitted into the school, or trying out for a team, in most cases, it isn’t about what you can do, but rather what you could do. Colleges weren't satisfied with your record of past achievement, so they created a new system of assessment - the SAT. Standardized testing was created in order to understand what your aptitude or potential was. It isn’t that bad of an idea; after all, our skills are rarely translated 1:1 between multiple settings. In theory, it makes sense to identify how successful someone could be in any setting rather than just seeing how good someone is at one particular thing. What isn’t as clear, however, is how to accurately measure aptitude or potential for success.

The SAT, for example, has not been found to be very predictive of long-term success. Recent statistics show that the test outcomes are correlated so strongly towards those of higher economic status (probably because they are in a better position to pay for prep courses), that you might as well just use SES rather than have people take the SAT. In other words, it really doesn’t tell you much. Among aptitude tests and Socio-Economic Status, there are many other factors that could be related to successful outcomes, including IQ, geographic location, what your parents do for a living, or even sheer luck and circumstance! Out of all these, what if I told you that a metric called “Grit” might be the single most predictive quality?

On Being “Gritty”

The term “Grit”, coined by Angela Duckworth in 2013, is the “quality of being able to sustain your passions, and also work really hard at them, over really disappointingly long periods of time.” Grit is about more than just being a hardworking person; it's about being able to move forward to finish that 100 question math test when you’re only halfway through with less than 10 minutes left on the clock, because to you this failure is a step towards achievement. Gritty individuals don’t abandon projects halfway, in fact, they work tirelessly for goals that they set for themselves at very early stages of their lives. They understand that their expectations may not translate to realities, and through that misalignment, they continue to keep their eye on the prize and move forward. Grit differs from resilience in that the latter relates more to your ability to brush yourself off after a failure with an optimism for the future, whereas Grit refers to the motivational drivers behind your actions to keep going.

Are Grit Assessments the Future of Employment Testing?

Grit as a path to achievement makes sense if we look at it through the lens of the old adage “practice makes perfect.” Gritty individuals stay focused and committed to long-term goals, which provides the space for them to repeatedly master key tasks and have their actions all aligned towards one unified goal; this increases their chances of achieving conventional success. Even the most talented individuals run into problems when their focus is constantly shifting, or they are simply unequipped to manage the hardships that varied environments present. Duckworth used Grit to predict successful outcomes for performance on the spelling bee, and also among cadets in the US Military Academy showing that Grit played a higher role in success than intelligence, physical fitness or even leadership ability.

Duckworth and her colleagues developed the “Grit Scale”  which measure areas anywhere from “determination” to “curiosity to resolve”. Although the test is entirely based on self-reported data, the findings are fairly accurate in predicting long-term outcomes. This begs the question of whether it makes sense to measure grit over IQ and intellectual aptitude when determining a future employee or student’s success likelihood.

However, it may require more research to see if Grit is more relevant in certain industries or settings. For example, Duckworth found that Grit is much more relevant in attaining an associates degree than attaining a bachelor's degree. While this may seem surprising at first given that a bachelor's degree requires twice as long to complete, the data shows that those pursuing associates degrees are typically first-generation college students who are juggling a lot more than just school, and therefore tend to be more gritty individuals.  In the workplace, Grit may be particularly relevant, as a lot of the skills that we focus on in an academic setting are rarely used in our day to day jobs. Working is a lot more about learning how to navigate the daily grind among the many competing responsibilities and priorities we have such as our families, our health, and our personal interests and hobbies.

Developing Grit Within Yourself and Your Employees

The good news is, while there is a large genetic foundation for grit, there is a lot that we can do to nurture and grow the trait both within ourselves and also within our employees. First, it is helpful to set piecemeal goals that enable you to stay on track with your final vision and purpose while also giving you the ability to track progress and celebrate small wins. This also ties into reflection and being able to think about each step of your process, identify what works and what doesn't, and remember the importance of the learning that occurs throughout your journey. While gritty individuals certainly maintain their focus, don’t forget to be flexible every now and then. It important not to lose sight of being strategic and adapting your problem solving for an ever-changing landscape.

When managing other people, think about providing feedback that supports and celebrates gritty qualities. Rather than solely complimenting someone on a good job, consider showing support of their perseverance and focus to ultimately get the job done. Growing a culture of Grit within your organization through the feedback you provide, the people you hire, and the values you preach may ultimately be what leads to an extremely results-driven, conscientious team.

“I realized I wanted to be in customer success after I realized the impact customer success can have on relationships, both internally and externally. It’s interesting just how powerful relationships can be - it leads to customer expansion and transforms how a company views its customers,” said Jennifer Hogan Mahoney, Vice President of Customer Success at SmartBear.

Jennifer grew up in the tight-knit community of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. After graduating high school, Jennifer went to Assumption College and pursued a degree in communication and education.

“Halfway through college, I changed my direction and thought I wanted to be a teacher. Although I was uncertain where my life would lead me, upon graduation I decided to take a teaching opportunity. This was a great experience, but ultimately I realized I wanted to be in a traditional business environment.”

She moved on to start her career as a sales support person for a private healthcare system in Waltham. Moving on from sales support, she became an account manager at Tufts Healthplans where she first got to experience the impact of relationship management. Once she spent several years in the space, she decided to switch things up.

Ultimately her career in Customer Success truly started when she was recruited to Picis, a high acuity software used in operating rooms. She was their Client Service Director and the main relationship point of contact for the customer.

She went from managing a single software platform at a 600 person start-up vendor to managing multiple platforms and technologies across an 80K person corporation when the company was acquired by Optum. Jennifer’s role expanded into managing larger customers at an executive level. She learned how customer success can benefit an organization by allowing for expansion and growth opportunities.

“I managed the Boston market. I love Boston so it was great because I spent a lot of time in the city working at a lot of hospital systems such as Partners, Boston Medical Center, Hallmark Health, Stewart, Cape Cod Healthcare—all the major health systems. Additionally, I was also part of the pilot program evangelizing one point of contact for the customer, across all products and technologies. This gave me an incredible amount of insight into the importance of continuity for the customer, and continues to drive my strategy today.”

Again, Jennifer’s role expanded when Optum divested their clinical applications to Harris Computer, a Canadian company owned by Constellation Software. Looking to put various healthcare companies together with a set strategy, they asked Jennifer to develop a customer success platform and program that was built with scale in mind.

“I started with the Picis business unit and rolled out a customer success platform that included customer success managers that were located in North America and Europe. I managed the strategy from net promoter program to leads, sales pipeline, and managing customer relationships. Once I had the program solidified for Picis as part of Harris, that program was presented to more of Harris’ businesses as a proven method not only to retain but also to improve customer adoption.”

After almost three years with Harris, Jennifer joined SmartBear, where she is currently the Vice President of Customer Success.

“I took the opportunity to come into SmartBear and develop the customer success organization, which is growing in scale and scope internationally. After just under a year, we have global customer programs in support of our strong customer-first strategy.”

“Our customer success teams engage with every functional area of the company. They are the champions of the customer internally, working with support, product management, leadership, and development. We’re able to operate with a feedback loop, being the voice of the customer for feature requests, product enhancements, and overall customer requirements. We also work with sales and marketing, having developed strong relationships with our customers to showcase our product portfolio and support the brand.”

Jennifer is known for having mantras that she instills in her team, a few favorites are “bad news doesn’t get better with time,” “come with solutions not problems,” and “do something amazing.”

SmartBear is currently 375 employees and growing. They have a fast-paced collaborative culture and seven offices worldwide. Their global HQ is located in Somerville at Assembly Row with beautiful views of the river.

Rapid Fire Questions

BS: How do you manage stress?

JHM: I have an acoustic mix on Spotify that I listen to. When facing a stressful situation, I put my headphones on, take a step back before addressing the situation at hand.

BS: How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?

JHM: I do a double shot of espresso and that’s it!

BS: What do you like to do in your free time?

JHM: Spend time with my two boys. As you can imagine they have very busy schedules with school, sports, and friends; so if we have any free time I just like to snuggle and watch a movie or take a walk around the pond.

BS: Where is your favorite spot in Boston?

JHM: Anything Back Bay, sign me up! From the architecture to the local coffee shops, even just a stroll by the river is enjoyable.

BS: If you had to choose one thing, what would you say is your greatest accomplishment?

JHM: My greatest accomplishment is being a mom! I am lucky to have two amazing boys and a supportive husband who enables me to balance it all.

BS: Ten years ago, is this where you would have seen yourself?

JHM: Surprisingly, yes. Ten years ago I was well into my career in Customer Success and had the vision of running the team.

BS: What one piece of advice would you give to a recent college graduate?

JHM: Stay focused, keep an open mind and take all opportunities that come your way.

Brianne Shelley is a Contributor to VentureFizz and an Account Representative at BlueGrace Logistics. Follow Brianne on Twitter: @MuddleandMix.

Images courtesy of SmartBear.

We are really excited about the launch of our podcast on VentureFizz, called Career Inspiration. You can learn more about the goals of our new show by reading my story last Friday.

For our first episode, we are thrilled to have Christina Luconi – Rapid7's Chief People Officer – join us!

You probably recognize Christina's name, as she is a very active member of the Boston tech scene, and she also writes a thought leadership column for us every Thursday. 

In this episode we discuss:

• Christina's background
• How to get a job at Rapid7
• How the company established its core values
• What Rapid7 is doing in relation to building a diverse and inclusive workforce
• What it was like going public
• ...and lots more!

You can listen to the podcast in the player below. To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing a 5-star review - it will definitely help us get the word out there!

Keith Cline is the Founder of VentureFizz.  Follow him on Twitter: @kcline6.

“I came through Boston with the intent of either working with or starting my own startup,” says CareAcademy Co-Founder, President, and CEO Helen Adeosun.

Prior to joining the Boston tech scene, Adeosun had a varied career in several fields, including education, policy, and home care. She also holds a Master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As is the case with anyone working in a particular field long enough, Adeosun began noticing problems within the home care space. For one, she saw a problem in the way home caregivers were being trained.

“The whole training experience is trial-by-fire,” she said. “A lot of home care agencies will hire caregivers without the proper training, or they may not learn about the repercussions.”

Like many first-time entrepreneurs looking to solve a problem, Adeosun started to do some research about the industry she was looking to disrupt. She found that, while there was an abundance of home care agencies, training is only a small, “niche,” portion of the market.

The home care market is a rapidly growing industry, increasing nearly 15% YOY as baby boomers become older.

“There is a demographic out there that wants to have care from home,” Adeosun said. “Having the proper training on hand is key.”

Adeosun partnered up with Dr. Madhuri Reddy, who also noticed the same issues within home care, to find a company that would create a training platform for home caregivers. Reddy became CareAcademy's Chief Medical Officer.

The company was founded with the intent of providing would-be caregivers the chance to receive a step-by-step process through digital video content.

“We are here to uplift caregivers and give them the training they need,” said Adeosun. “Both Madhuri and I have education experience, so we know how to engage caregivers with training.”

CareAcademy provides home care agencies, and caregivers going through independent training, video-based curriculum. The videos, which are produced and filmed in Boston, are scenario-driven and provide insight for any particular situation a home caregiver might find themselves in. The founder's experience in education, home care, and healthcare has given them an "edge," so to speak, in giving users the content they need.

The company has designed an easy-to-navigate dashboard where users can select a video without having to go through pages of content. The platform is available for both computers and smartphones.

“We interviewed agencies and observed them. We wanted to know what the ideal experience in managing training for caregivers is,” said CareAcademy CTO Yvan Castilloux. “We have obtained strong traction with customers with a design-first mentality in order to keep it simple. Our strong team optimized for the right amount of front-end work vs. back-end automation in order to realize the ideal experience.”

Castilloux, who joined the company earlier this year, has extensive experience working as a CTO and helped round out the development team at CareAcademy.

Currently, the company utilizes a B2B model and has provided curriculum to 40 smaller-scale homecare agencies across the country, one of them is Carelinx which holds 25,000 home caregivers across the country. In addition to those numbers, the company has also reached 15,000 caregivers. 

“We are a growing company, and I think we are a great compliment to what Boston does,” she said.

CareAcademy left the Techstars Boston program earlier this year, and they stood out from other companies in the program.

“We were the only one that was home care-related,” Adeosun said. “One of the reasons why we chose Techstars was because of the environment they provide startups. There are very few places that are both hubs of capital and health care. There’s a lot of exciting stuff happening in Boston.”

Earlier this year, the company raised $1.7 million in funding. Anyone with an aging parent will see the benefit of a company like CareAcademy. Combined with their experience teaching students, as well as their knowledge of the homecare field, Reddy and Adeosun are making sure that the next generation of home caregivers have the training they need.

Colin Barry is a contributor to VentureFizz. Follow him on Twitter @ColinKrash.

When it comes to Halloween, the Boston tech community doesn't mess around. This is our third year publishing this slideshow and each year the costumes keep getting better and better.

This year, you'll see a lot of Ghostbusters, retro '80's, Star Wars, Minions... but you'll see some incredibly elaborate costumes like Orange Man and the homemade costumes from the team at Formlabs.  

All in all... very impressive!  Enjoy the slideshow below!

Writer’s note: This blog contains potentially sensitive perspectives that may trigger victims of sexual assault. I also want to acknowledge that this blog is in no way designed to normalize the inappropriate actions of any one person toward another. The blog specifically discusses male-to-female sexual harassment, but can be effectively applied in regard to harassment toward any other gender.

I began writing a few years ago, blogging personally every single day for a year in an open-journal of sorts. Bold for certain, and perhaps a little stupid. That said, I found that “experiment” opened me up to a deeper understanding of not just myself, but of the people who connected with me offline on whatever the topic of the day was that had resonated with them.  When I completed my year of daily posts, I was pretty sick of talking about myself, so I turned my energies to more of a business focus. Today, however, marks my 100th post in this blog series. I’ve decided to make this one personal on a topic that is making headlines everywhere. It’s very personal.

When I was fourteen years old, I landed my first job at a local ice cream shop. There were very few places for kids under the age of sixteen to work in my hometown, so I was thrilled to score this job, despite the scratchy polyester uniform and incredibly low pay. I quickly made friends with the other teens there, and connected with the regulars. I learned early lessons about the importance of customer service, and the benefits of a strong work ethic. I was feeling great about my ability to balance my job with my school work, and proud I could make spending money from my efforts. All that changed on Saturday afternoon a few months into my start.

There was a counter directly across from the length of the ice cream cooler. Regulars would perch at the counter every day for their coffee, and chat with the waitstaff, the manager, and each other. It was mostly men, on a break from their jobs. Some were a little flirty, but the majority were just nice people looking to share a friendly exchange. That one Saturday, however, I was leaning over scooping ice cream into a dish. Though I couldn’t see their faces, I could hear the male manager make an insanely inappropriate comment about me to the patron. They chuckled. I turned around in defiance.  

I’m not sure what made me stand up for myself in that moment, but I just knew what they had said wasn’t ok. Candidly, I’m not sure I even truly knew what the words meant, but I had enough knowledge to know it was filthy. I also knew no one should be saying that about me at fourteen or frankly, about any woman of any age. Unsure of what to do, I untied my apron, tossed it on the floor and ran across the street to the nearest payphone (yeah, no cells way back then). I called my dad, explained what I had overheard, and he told me to stay put. In what felt like two minutes, he pulled up in front of the restaurant, with me following closely behind him. He stormed up to the manager, essentially threw him up against the wall, and chewed him out. I had never seen him so angry. I was secretly happy to know I hadn’t overreacted.  

He drove me home, and I felt somewhat vindicated that someone cared enough to stand up for me. I also felt really lousy that I no longer had a job. And looking back, it took me storming out and calling my dad to make a difference. I realize that not everyone in this situation is as fortunate as I was to have someone willing to help and support me. In short, even that many years ago, some adult who had overheard that conversation should have taken a stand. No one did. That still happens today. Unacceptable.  

I sat in our kitchen, listening as my father called the chain of command who owned the restaurant. As it turns out, our complaint was not the first of sexual harassment against the manager. It was the fourth, all against young women who previously worked there. Finally, the company was now ready to take action. He was ultimately terminated.

I share this story because it was just my first in a series of varying harassments over the years. These stories have become all too prevalent in the world. Unfortunately, almost every woman I know has some version of it. It needs to stop.

I love that women are finding the courage to bond together and say enough. Stories like that of Harvey Weinstein’s antics are beyond egregious, and in my humble opinion, he deserves everything he’s got coming to him.

As you may suspect, my role and years of experience mean that I have heard first-hand many stories of sexual harassment. What you may not think, however, is that many of these stories start with, “I’m not sure how to handle this,” or include phrases like “I didn’t know how to stand up for myself.”

So, I want to take some time in this post to do two things: 1) offer a few categories that I bucket different types of harassment into (that may help answer that first question above); and 2) share a few phrases for anyone who feels they’re being harassed to use to make it clear that this type of behavior isn’t welcome. While there are certainly more Weinsteins in the world than anyone would like to admit, that is not the story most of us face -- or at least the majority of stories I’ve been witness to.

Let’s explore a couple different levels of escalating behavior at work. Please note, this is not an exhaustive list defining harassment in its many forms, but rather a high level look at this topic.

1. Good Intent...Most of the Time. One of the benefits of working with smart, interesting people is that it’s potentially a wonderful place to meet both friends and romantic interests, as well as colleagues. When people get along, it’s no wonder someone might strike up the courage to ask you out. Is that harassment? I’d argue no. A simple but polite “no thank you” should do the trick. Asking you out isn’t harassment. But, failure to stop asking you out after you’ve provided a definitive “no” is trending that way and in many cases that is the beginning of a sexual harassment case. Being asked out on a date might be annoying, but it’s not harmful. If he doesn’t stop, or if your “no” turns your interactions with him in the workplace sour or uncomfortable, then take action.  

2. True Harassment - Playing with Power. This isn’t just a friendly guy at the water cooler trying to gain your attention. This is when someone, often more senior than you, exhibits inappropriate behavior that makes you incredibly uncomfortable and leaves you feeling as though your job is vulnerable or that you will benefit from a more intimate relationship professionally. It can come in the form of excessive flirting, special treatment, promises of raises or promotions. It can leave you feeling powerless, worthless or pressured into a situation you would not otherwise pursue. No matter what form it takes, it isn’t ok, ever.  

3. Sexual Assault. When the overly suggestive behavior ramps up to inappropriate touching, or in the most severe cases, violent aggressive acts. Very scary and just plain horrific. And by all means, this reprehensible behavior should always be reported.

In most situations where I’ve felt like something might be going on in a direction that I’m not comfortable with, I’ve found a simple, “No thanks” typically does the trick. On a few occasions, I’ve needed to bust out the “Are you f***ing kidding me?” That seems to be incredibly effective.  

I also realize not every woman is comfortable, in every situation, to speak up and stand up for herself. However, I would suggest that we need to enable women with the tools they need to be comfortable clearly expressing their boundaries. Of course, sometimes there are horrible men who go overboard, and we should take appropriate action to address them. I do think it’s worth acknowledging, however, not every overly friendly guy is a Harvey Weinstein in the making. By letting them know we are uncomfortable, we’re creating a clear boundary and hopefully helping other women by making that person think twice the next time. Here are a few simple yet often effective responses to get you started.

• Attack the behavior, not the person.  “Do not touch me again. It makes me uncomfortable.”

• State what’s making you uncomfortable. “It’s great that our team shares contact information to keep each other updated, but I would like to request you only text me with work related content.”

• Vocalize your boundaries.”You are a nice guy, but I have no interest in dating anyone in the office.”

• Don’t take the bait. If the person in question sends too many or bordering-on-inappropriate texts, Slacks, etc. just simply do not respond.  

If they fail to recognize your boundaries once they’ve been established, that’s when further action must be taken.

Managers, executives, and members of your people strategy team are there to help you if/when you are facing a harassment issue. It is both part of their job and moral responsibility to help address these issues, and make sure that every person is working in a safe, harassment-free environment. No company wants an environment where any woman - or anyone, for that matter - is made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Having a record and highlights of the interaction(s) in question often aids in that conversation.

Let’s work to help everyone understand what behavior is ok and what’s not. We must encourage each other to find our voices, band together and share our stories, and to educate and reform as well. Together, let’s make the workplace the incredibly collaborative, diverse place where we can all thrive.

For those of us who choose the startup/hypergrowth path, we often find ourselves asking for a lot of help. We ask friends and family to invest financially and/or emotionally in helping us to grow, or to reach deep into their networks asking to be introduced to people who can aid us in whatever it is we might need help with. If we are successful, we are rewarded for creating what people want. And yet, with all that well-intentioned taking, how many of us take the time to pause and give back?

Sure, as companies progress, perhaps they add a matching gift element to donations their employees make or choose to sponsor a charity or two. All wonderful, but does it go far enough? Consider why in our personal lives so many give their time and money to causes. Is it because it is the right thing to do? Or because it makes us feel good? Sure, but often there is a deeper motivation: we thrive on the feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves.  

Now, map that feeling back to work. Don’t we want our people to be just as inspired? While your company might have an exceptional mission, sometimes stepping away from every day can significantly shift perspective for the better. Aligning teams around contributing back to their community can have an incredible effect, which maps directly back to performance and buy-in at work. Think I’m crazy? Let’s explore two big benefits that may come from giving back...

EMPLOYEES RESPECT LEADERS AND COMPANIES WHO DO WELL

When you are running full steam ahead trying to grow your business, it’s easy to forget the importance of engaging and inspiring your team. Even if incredibly well intended, a fair number of leaders scramble to accomplish must-do work, without considering how to truly win their employees’ hearts and minds. News flash: default perks like free food and ping pong tables won’t achieve this.

By finding ways to aid your team in spending a portion of their time working with their colleague and community members to give back, you are ultimately encouraging better cross-functional relationships. This helps to break down team barriers, enhance morale, and provide new opportunities to connect. You get to see the best in your teammates: selfless acts focused on positive impact. You are showing your employees that your company has a bit more soul than just chasing profit. Very small investment to make for some exceptional lasting results.

RESPECT AND REPUTATION

Intrigued? Now it’s about selecting the right causes to partner with. Start by understanding what is important to your employees and to your customers. Often, you’ll see companies support big, high profile projects that have little to do with their business. While that work is certainly valued, if the people closest to you don’t see a correlation, you may not maximize the good that can come. By understanding and executing what those closest to your organization find valuable and worthwhile, you are deepening connections, affiliations, and ultimate buy-in. Bonus: when you contribute back in the community in areas your biggest constituents find meaningful, you build up the “goodwill” points. That means that when you do good by them, you’ve built the credibility for them to have your back in the future.   

IT JUST FEELS GOOD

Rather than getting over my head on the science of serotonin, I’ll just share what our team recently accomplished...  

Last week Rapid7 participated in a global day of service. Each office selected projects meaningful to them, and the entire day was organized by volunteers within the company. Over 800 people participated in 20 projects around the globe. About 3,200 hours of service provided in a period of one day. And the best part? It wasn’t just the organizations our teams supported that benefitted. Our people walked returned to work energized, inspired, and just plain feeling good. Pictures were shared throughout the day via social media, and one talented person created a summary video of the day from all the pictures submitted. People were thrilled not because they had a day away from their normal jobs; they were just happy to do meaningful work and make new friendships.

They came back to work ready to take on the world.

The MIT Media Lab is located in a classically modern building. At night, its glossy white walls, floors, and ceilings shine through its glass perimeter to cast a futuristic glow onto the surrounding streets.

But the part of the building that best reflects the Media Lab’s forward-thinking spirit is actually a picture of the past. Dominating the hallway of the Amherst Street entrance is a towering, three-part portrait showing the eccentric Brookline living room of legendary MIT staffer Marvin Minsky.

Many people consider Minsky, who passed away last year, the father of artificial intelligence. His influence spans from his 1951 invention of the first neural net machine at Harvard to the pioneering work currently being done at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (which Minsky co-founded).

For most of Minsky’s career, however, progress in AI was limited to research papers and experimental, one-off prototypes. Today, the hype surrounding AI’s commercial applications has many people insisting it will be the driver of the next big tech wave, creating systems that aid (or replace) workers in every sector of the economy.

“I think machine intelligence represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for entrepreneurs,” said Vivjan Myrto, Co-Founder of AI-focused VC firm Hyperplane Venture Capital. “It also represents a massive opportunity to invest in technologies that are solving really large-scale problems.”

Boston has long been known for its hard tech contributions, but that hasn’t always translated into the creation of market-leading tech giants. Even more discouragingly, in several cases, some of the city’s most promising startups have moved to California as they’ve scaled.

Rob May, Founder of AI-driven virtual assistant company Talla, believes Boston tech companies have had a more conservative approach to the market in the past, a mindset that has sometimes taken its toll. But May thinks AI’s emergence will play out differently than previous tech waves, and he’s not alone.

In fact, people within the Boston tech community are almost uniformly optimistic that Boston is as well-positioned as anywhere to produce the next great companies built around AI solutions.

A History of Intelligence

The colorful portrait of Minsky’s room serves as a vibrant reminder that the city of Boston is the birthplace of much of humanity’s knowledge of AI.

As progress in the field has quickened, many local and state governments have pledged support for AI research and implementation. But in Boston, AI isn’t the latest fad, it’s a long-standing tech frontier we’ve been involved with since its inception.

“We’ve been doing this since way before it was the next big thing in software, since way before it was cool,” said Catherine Havasi, a longtime member of MIT’s Media Lab who founded text analytics spinoff Luminoso in 2010.

Boston’s experience with AI gives local companies several advantages when developing AI solutions that can actually add value in a business environment, which is more difficult than many people think.

Machine learning techniques, for example, use data to train systems to complete a range of tasks including object recognition and detecting credit card fraud. Although these systems don’t need to be painstakingly programmed for each task, they’re often only as effective as the datasets going into them, thus requiring companies to maintain collections of clean, well-labeled data to optimize a system’s performance.

Deep learning, a subset of machine learning that has exploded in popularity over the last five years, typically requires even more expertise to work effectively. Deep learning systems rely on layers of connected processing units to extract insights from data. Getting a successful output from a deep learning system requires users to adjust the weights between units in a technique that’s often more of an art than a science.

That means trying to use deep learning systems in a new space can be next to impossible if you don’t have a mathematical understanding of how they work.

“Whenever there are algorithms or datasets being used, the people who created those things are going to know how to use them the best because they understand things at a deeper level,” Havasi said. “If you run into a problem, you have to go under the hood and make changes, and the people who truly understand these things are always going to have an advantage.”

That advantage is a big reason why Myrto describes Hyperplane as a very “founder-centric” VC firm.

“In AI, you have to be very team-focused and vision-focused,” Myrto says. “The technical teams are absolutely crucial. You need to have a team that understands the technology in a way that others don’t. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re investing in, really outstanding engineers.”

If building successful AI companies requires intellectual capital, then Boston should feel pretty good about its prospects. In their 2015 pitch to bring General Electric to the area, Boston officials described the city as “the world’s most sustainable source of exceptional talent.’’

There are more than 50 colleges and universities in the greater Boston area. According to the state’s 2017 Budget and Policy Center report, Massachusetts has the highest percentage of workers holding bachelor’s degrees of any state in the country.

When it comes to AI, MIT is unquestionably one of the leading research entities in the world, but other schools in the area such as Harvard, Northeastern, Boston University, Tufts and UMass Amherst also have AI-related programs and research labs that have produced a host of intriguing spinoffs.

“Boston really has an incredible heritage of engineers that are focused on these heavy-lifting technologies,” Myrto said. “Boston has always been on the forefront of solving the biggest problems in the world with frontier technologies.”

An Improving Tech Ecosystem

All that brainpower provides only fleeting benefits to Boston, however, if entrepreneurs feel the need to relocate before applying their research and ideas to the private sector. Strong tech ecosystems also require ample support structures for entrepreneurs, and it’s recent improvements in that area in particular that have people bullish on Boston’s future.

Habib Haddad, the president and managing director of MIT’s new investment group the E14 Fund, is one of those people. Haddad said as recently as five or ten years ago, there were several factors that made places like New York and San Francisco more appealing to entrepreneurs than Boston, and they had nothing to do with the demoralizing effects of the snow.

“Great companies like Facebook and Dropbox moved quickly to the other coast because some key elements just weren’t here,” said Haddad. “Now city officials, the startup community, investors, and universities are all saying, ‘We’re not going to miss out on the AI revolution the way we missed out on the consumer revolution.’”

There’s an old-fashioned mindset that academic research should focus on long-term, fundamental breakthroughs at the expense of more commercially applicable advances. In the past, that kind of thinking was certainly more pervasive in Cambridge than in Palo Alto.

Now the proliferation of university-based incubators in Boston is sending a clear message that schools support entrepreneurship. The emergence of university-linked venture capital funds such as UMass Amherst’s Maroon Venture Partners Fund, Boston College’s SSP Venture Partners, and MIT’s E14 Fund further blur the lines between the education and business sectors.

The number of accelerators in the city has also grown over the last ten years, led by groups like Techstars, which has helped local companies raise more than $750 million since it came to Boston, and MassChallenge, which has supported more than 1,200 companies since it launched with money from local officials in 2010.

And many research labs in the area now have corporate partnerships that allow researchers to consider real-world problems instead of the high-level work encouraged by more traditional funding sources like the National Science Foundation. Those partnerships offer a huge advantage in overcoming two of the biggest hurdles of starting an AI company: Determining product-market fit and securing access to large amounts of data.

“With AI, you see people building really cool technologies without identifying a problem, so they’re always trying to find a beachhead,” Myrto said. “But the research labs are interacting way more with investors, and that shift has happened in the last three to five years. They’re interested in building companies from this research. So we’ve seen a shift in mindset, and it’s accelerating big time now.”

Tech Giants Take Notice

One way of looking at this shift is that Boston universities are finally opening their doors to the private sector. The other way to interpret it is that the private sector finally beat their doors down.

GE’s decision to move its world headquarters to the Seaport District is just the latest example of an industrial giant establishing a connection to the city. All around Boston, companies are competing to gain access to the city’s cutting-edge research and talent pool, often elbowing out space for themselves in the process.

This summer Amazon announced a new office along Fort Port Channel, literally next to the space GE has claimed for its flashy new headquarters. Google and IBM have also expanded their local offices in the last three years. Other tech behemoths such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter have made Kendall Square one of the most densely packed tech hubs in the country.

Many of these companies’ local branches are focused on AI. Amazon’s Cambridge office has been deeply involved with the company’s intelligent voice assistant Alexa. IBM has a local lab which seems to focus exclusively on AI, and last month the company announced a 10-year, $240 million investment in the new MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.

“When you talk about industrial technologies and industrial AI, the race is ours to lose for sure,” Myrto said. “Soon that’ll spread to every industry. GE, Siemens already know this, that’s why they’ve been here. Boston’s background in industrial knowledge is really deep.”

These big companies are also competing for attention, forming partnerships with local tech groups, hosting events and creating their own events in an effort to position themselves as thought leaders. Such events give Boston’s growing tech community a way to keep its small-town feel and provide newcomers with a way to connect with peers over free drinks.

“We’re seeing enormous amounts of growth if you look at the number of events that are happening in Boston, especially around AI,” May said. “The support we’re getting is great.”

But partnerships and free drinks, of course, aren’t all it takes to be successful.

Follow the Money

CB Insights has tracked a rise in Boston VC funding over the last five years (and early 2017 results follow that trend), addressing a weakness that had major implications for area startups in the past. If advances in AI methodologies and computational resources had aligned fifteen years ago, Boston entrepreneurs looking to start companies would’ve had a much more difficult time than today.

Havasi, for instance, said Luminoso had some trouble securing seed funding in Boston in 2010.

“There were certainly funding gaps,” Havasi said. “There wasn’t as much early-stage venture capital or AI venture capital in Boston when we started. That has changed tremendously both across the country and in Boston. Now there are a lot of funds that are very savvy about AI, and that’s fantastic.”

Indeed, when the folks at NextView Ventures sat down to update their excellent Hitchhiker's Guide to Boston Tech last year, they had a lot of additions to make to the investor section. AI companies seeking their first round of funding have been helped by a number of angel groups that have recently institutionalized, including Converge Venture Partners and Half Court Ventures, which May started with Todd Earwood last year.

Myrto said the founders of Hyperplane saw a gap in early-stage AI investing in the area when they launched their VC firm two years ago.

“We saw an opportunity with big data and machine learning in Boston seed investing,” Myrto said. “The thesis of Hyperplane from the very beginning was about machine intelligence and systems intelligence, and we believe Boston is one of the best places in the world to invest in enterprise systems intelligence.”

New firms in the area such as Pillar and Underscore.vc have invested in companies offering AI-driven solutions, with others such as Glasswing Ventures (founded in 2016) and Hyperplane (founded in 2015), focusing almost exclusively on AI.

The growing number of Boston VC firms comes as every firm scrambles to adopt an AI investing strategy. More established VC firms in the area including NextView Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, and Flybridge Capital Partners have also counted AI-driven local companies among their recent investments.

And, perhaps most importantly, we’re seeing investment strategies increasingly veer from the conservative reputation Boston earned in the past. May described west coast investors as more aggressive, helping companies raise large rounds in order to achieve heavy market share, then using their balance sheets as strategic weapons.

“There are pros and cons to that strategy, but it also leads to really big companies at the end of the day,” May said. “I think Boston VCs think less that way typically, and our culture always needs more people thinking big. But you’re seeing some companies raise a lot of money now, and there are some investors that are very west coast-minded.”

Boston’s shortcomings in this area have been talked about a lot. Often they’re referenced as a mistake not to be repeated. Boston investors heading new firms such as Pillar'sJaime Goldstein and Jeff Fagnan from Accomplice (which split from Atlas Venture a few years ago) are among those who have talked about the importance of building large, sustainable companies in the area.

Myrto, who describes Hyperplane as very “west coast-minded,” said he’s seen a change in investor mindsets as well.

“The new generation of venture capital is certainly more inclusive and risk-taking, and those two ingredients are important to having a sustainable ecosystem here,” Myrto said. “Being a little more aggressive in the way we look at technologies and a little more futuristic in the way we see the world is a key ingredient.”

Riding the AI Wave

The race to produce great AI companies has, of course, already begun. Haddad guesses we’re in the “second or third inning” of AI perforating every industry.

Boston has already seen many AI startups gain traction, in some cases helped by recent eye-popping funding rounds. In a three week stretch of March, for instance, DataRobot's predictive analytics platform helped it raise a $54 million Series C and Kensho's financial analysis software earned the company a $50 million Series B.

Big funding rounds are becoming increasingly common in the area. Boston startups are working to overcome some of the largest technical barriers holding AI back, and they’re attracting attention across a wide variety of industries in the process.

Examples of startups working to increase AI’s potential impact include Lightmatter and Forge.ai. Lightmatter is focused on using light, rather than electricity, to improve computational speed and efficiency for AI operations. Forge.ai helps businesses use unstructured data in machine learning systems.

Havasi’s Luminoso, meanwhile, uses AI to analyze customer feedback in 13 languages to give companies insights on product reviews, social media posts and more. May’s Talla integrates AI into office chat programs like Slack and Gchat to help employees automate repetitive processes within a company.

And a number of Boston AI startups are competing with the same tech giants that have recently set up shop in the city. Netra CEO Richard Lee says the company’s visual intelligence software is more accurate than Google in image recognition tasks in head-to-head tests. Newton-based Semantic Machines has raised more than $12 million to make a conversational AI that its website says will “enable people to communicate naturally with computers for the first time.” The Semantic team shares that goal with a number of companies building the next generation of smartphones and smart speakers.

Other Boston AI startups are just plain cool. Cogito uses AI and behavioral science to read people’s emotions in real time. Neurala's product, the Neurala Brain, uses neural network software that’s been designed to closely mimic the functioning of the brain. It was first used to increase the intelligence of NASA’s Mars rover.

Other Boston tech companies such as Localytics, dataxu and HubSpot also now leverage machine learning for core product offerings.

“With AI and machine learning, we’re still exploring where it’s going, but it’ll be everywhere,” Myrto said. “And it’s Boston’s race to lose because you can see all the ingredients are here, from the labs to the talent to even the government being more innovation focused. We’re very young and very hungry to make a big impact on the world. This could be a huge long-term benefit for Boston in general.”

Boston taking a leading role in AI’s implementation could also be good for humanity. Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” mindset poses little real danger in consumer tech, but the implications of further AI advancements require a much more thoughtful approach.

“You want to really change the world with AI,” Haddad explained. “Boston has been thinking about AI for a long time. If all you’re doing is optimizing for the short-term opportunity to make money, you’re looking too close to you. And if you’re stepping back and looking at the horizon, that’s also not good because the world needs faster change. Boston has really converged those two views. We’re looking at AI in terms of its impact on society, and those conversations don’t happen as much elsewhere.”

No one can predict exactly how far-reaching the AI wave will be or what companies will come to define it.  All we can do is consider how prepared the city is to support the next generation of entrepreneurs seeking to make their mark on the world.

In that sense, Boston seems to be in good shape to welcome the next Minsky to town.

Zach Winn is a contributor to VentureFizz. Follow Zach on Twitter: @ZachinBoston.

Images courtesy of Henry Han, GE, Gensler, Harvard i-Lab, and CB Insights.