2010 was an amazing year for the Boston startup community.  Many new initiatives took off, old ones got new life and the community as a whole grew much larger.  Here at Greenhorn Connect, we've been lucky enough to be a part of this new wave of entrepreneurship around here and so we'd like to share some of the key trends we noticed over the past year.  (Note: Next week, we'll be making predictions for the ecosystem in 2011). Read on...

10 Trends in the Boston Startup Scene in 2010

1) The Ecosystem is Growing

Without a doubt, there are more people and more companies today than there were last year. More companies are hiring, both at the early stage and growth stages and with competitions like MassChallenge, there are ton of newly launched startups as well.  Looking at the Greenhorn Calendar, we've gone from a "normal" week being 20-30 events to now it not being uncommon for 40-50 events going on, some of which can get over 400 registrations. Across every measure, our ecosystem is expanding.

2) Fresh Blood has Revitalized Us

In the last year we've had a number of new leaders enter the community. Antonio Rodriguez, Jennifer Lum and Roy Rodenstein have all entered as new investors (Antonio as a VC, Jennifer and Roy as angels).  In all cases, they've been vocal, active and helpful in making some noise for the good things going on in Boston.

On a community level, DartBoston, BostInnovation and Greenhorn Connect have all done their parts to re-invigorate the community and inject some youthful energy and fresh ideas to the community.  Both DartBoston and BostInnovation have thrown great events and all 3 of us have gotten students and young entrepreneurs more active in the community than ever.  Many of these young people now have interesting startups or are major contributors as employees at startups.

3) Kendall Square is the Epicenter, but the whole Red Line is packed with Innovation

Startups have long clustered in Kendall Square because of the Cambridge Innovation Center, but there's now been an explosion of startups nearby, whether they be at DogPatch Labs down the street or their own space.  Meanwhile, all along the rest of the Red Line, there's been startups opening offices at many of the stops especially Davis, Central and South Station.  We wrote about this in much more detail before, so if you want to learn more about startups clustering along the Red Line check out, Why We Should Rename the "Red Line" the "Innovation Line" or just click here.

4) Boston Avoided the Bubble

Many have been speculating that we're in the midst of an investment bubble. Money is flowing into tons of seed/angel investments in both the Valley and New York City.  This has led to many blog posts and even a Twitter account called "The Tech Bubble."

Here in Boston, investment has not been flowing the same way.  While some are upset about that, it does make it likely that we'll avoid many of the painful affects of a bubble burst in NYC and the Valley. As Katie Rae said recently, we'll be able to just keep moving along unaffected.

5) There are many players, but Microsoft NERD is essential

Last week, Microsoft NERD hosted their 500th event (the #MegaTweetup). In talking to Gus Weber of Microsoft last week, I discovered that they've only had NERD open for events for less than 2 years, which means they're hosting an incredible 20 events a month. Without their space and sponsorship of so many things in the ecosystem, we would not have the vibrant community we have today.  Quick: think where else you can host more than 40 people for an event for free? Didn't think so...which is why We Should all Thank Microsoft NERD. 

6) We've gotten a bit Bloated

So it's not all sunshines and rainbows here in Boston and there's plenty of room for improvement.  As we've seen that explosion of events in Boston, we've also seen an explosion of low quality events.  I know we've all been there...a bad panel that you are stuck sitting through and end up checking your email on your smart phone or reading tweets. Then the event ends and there's some really awkward networking where half the crowd just leaves.  No more.  

That's why we're adhering to our "Boston Events Barbell": either be REALLY educational (so I learn A LOT for my startup) or REALLY fun (which leads to the best networking):

7) We Beat the Valley Envy to Death

We compare ourselves to Silicon Valley a lot around here. Whether it's research papers at the Kennedy Center, events at The Capital Network about it, or a multitude of tweets and blog posts...we are slightly obsessed with the other side of the fence.  Now, like in any competition, studying the competition is healthy and can lead to great ideas for us to improve (thanks Healy Jones for this post here), but when it's just complaining it does us little good. Unfortunately, I would say more of the discussions have been counter-productive and complaining than effective and action-oriented.  In the end though, I'm optimistic that just like losing in the playoffs when Jordan returned in mid-season gave him the killer desire to work harder and improve to the point of not losing the next year...we can do the same.

8) The Demand for Developers Exploded

Building a web or mobile startup? You're going to need developers...and a lot of them.  In the early days you really only need one or two business people and a ton of developers to get your product off the ground.  With the explosion of startups due to initiatives like MassChallenge, I watched as the amount of developer talent completely evaporated and now it's quite common for people to be asking everyone else if they know any developers. About half of the job openings on our job board right now are for software/development roles.

9) Government has become an Active Participant in the Community

Whether it be Governor Patrick coming to major events like MassChallenge or groundbreaking at the CIC, Secretary Bialecki coming to a multitude of events or the City of Boston sending out representatives, we have an incredibly active government.

They've also stepped up with their checkbooks as it was state funds that got MassChallenge started and city funds that led to the creation of Boston World Partnerships and their amazing connectors network.  Both of these organizations have had a fantastic impact on the community and would not be here without government support.

Not to be forgotten the cities of Cambridge and Boston even met last week to discuss future collaboration to continue to build our region of innovation, which bodes quite well for our future.  With a collaborative and engaged government there is great hope for friendlier, pro-entrepreneur/business policy and support.

10) This is only the Beginning...

Boston (and I speak to you as a region, not a city), we've come a long way in a year. There's a lot we still need to do and many great businesses still to be built, but we've got an incredible foundation from which to build on.  

We have new angels, tons of venture capital (with new seed funds coming soon), great companies at all different stages and a student population just starting to discover our awesome ecosystem.  There is more communication and collaboration across groups than ever before and plenty of reason for optimism and hope for continued improvement.  Here's to an amazing and even greater 2011.

What trends did YOU see in 2010 in the Boston Startup Community? 

{Ed note: Tune in next week for our predictions for 2011}

Photo Credit: btwashburn on Flickr