Program Process & Timeline

The MassCONNECT process involves a two-month mentorship where industry experts guide entrepreneurs as they seek to develop business plans, launch companies, and raise capital. MassCONNECT mentors evaluate and provide feedback on commercial feasibility; identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; and team up to furnish industry-specific business advice for innovative ideas in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, and health IT. Entrepreneurs gain invaluable advice and coaching on defining their value proposition, developing pitches, and building professional networks.

In addition to entrepreneurs and industry mentors, the MassCONNECT program relies on MBA students with life sciences knowledge or interest to serve as project managers for a MassCONNECT team. For MBAs, MassCONNECT offers invaluable experience, VIP connections, and the potential opportunity for course credit.

Applications for entrepreneurs and mentors are considered on a rolling basis. Please contact Rachele Ryan for more information.

Individuals interested in volunteering as a project manager, please contact Grace M. Yu for more information.

MassCONNECT partners and supporters include LabCentral, Harvard Medical School, Harvard iLab, MassChallenge, Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s iHub, North Shore Innoventures, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, MTTC, Platform, MDG, UMass, and WPI.

Entrepreneur Application

There is no official application form for MassCONNECT. Interested entrepreneurs should contact Rachele Ryan. The MassBio team will meet with entrepreneurs to learn more about their technologies and share more details on the MassCONNECT program. All qualified applicants will be evaluated based on mutual fit between the entrepreneur and the program.

Technology Showcase

Chosen entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas to a group of mentors and articulate the areas with which they need help at an initial Technology Showcase. MassBio will then match each entrepreneur with a team of five to seven mentors who are best qualified to provide targeted advice, connections, and other resources.

Mentoring Team Meetings

Once matched, entrepreneurs meet with their mentoring teams in focused, one-hour sessions that are held in-person each week for eight weeks. MassBio coordinates the team meetings and hosts them at the MassBio offices.

Final Presentation

Armed with business plan pitch decks and a refined strategy, entrepreneurs pitch to a large audience of industry mentors and other members of the life sciences startup community.

Meet the Mentors

MassCONNECT mentors provide entrepreneurs with legal, business, and scientific expertise.

For seasoned life sciences industry professionals, becoming a MassCONNECT mentor provides the chance to give back, build relationships with up-and-coming entrepreneurs and other mentors, and access the region’s most exciting opportunities. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please contact Rachele Ryan.

MassCONNECT Testimonials

See what MassCONNECT participants have to say about their experiences in the MassBio entrepreneur mentorship program.
 

“Our faculty have great ideas and the MassCONNECT program provides the essential real world flavor, advice, and connections to catalyze and transform those ideas into business plans, commercial products, and companies.”

Isaac (Zak) Kohane, MD, PhD, Lawrence J. Henderson Professor of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital Informatics

“MassCONNECT’s mentoring program for our clinician entrepreneurs is the top mentoring program in a crowded sea of programs vying for innovation. What makes MassCONNECT unique is the unparalleled investment of time from top talent whose unique insight unlocks commercial value for impactful results. All of Tufts Medical Center teams have emerged stronger both financially and strategically as a result of our MassCONNECT experience.”

Nancy Wetherbee, Director, ORBIT, Tufts Medical Center

“We have put together a diverse and solid advisory team in large part due to MassCONNECT. We have participated in a number of accelerator and incubator programs, and MassCONNECT was invaluable. We particularly liked the ability to have “focus group” sessions on specific questions-this seemed to work well for both us and our mentors. Several of them have continued to help us in meaningful ways.”

Michio Painter, Co-Founder, Blue Therapeutics

“MassCONNECT was a very valuable program for our team. It connected us to a number of industry advisors who we remain in touch with to this day. These are individuals who provided critical formative thought in the early days of VitaThreads when we were still working to focus our vision of what the company could and should be. Transitioning from a unique and exciting academic technology into a usable commercial product with accompanying strategy and logistics train to bring it to market is a non-trivial exercise and not one done in a vacuum. The MassCONNECT program provided key learning opportunities and outstanding mentors in helping to ease this transition for VitaThreads.”

Adam Collette, CEO, VitaThreads