The Mass Challenge Awards Ceremony takes place tomorrow night at the Boston Convention Center. Erik is one of the 26 entrepreneurs who are finalists in the Class of 2012. He first read about Mass Challenge on this very blog the day before the deadline for applying!
The whole family is excited that Erik has done so well. Suzanne and John (both entrepreneurs) will be sitting at his table at the big event. Erik’s mother, lately arrived from Sweden, will be strolling the baby around South Boston with a little help from yours truly.
The Awards Ceremony includes Governor Deval Patrick. Orlando Jones will moderate. And I am a particular fan of speaker Gerald Chertavian.
A native of Lowell, Chertavian so appreciated the mentoring he received in high school that he served as a Big Brother in college and for years after. Having sold his own entrepreneurial company, he decided to give back by building an organization to give young low-income but motivated people a paid year to prepare for the workforce through internships and training.
For more on the unique approach of Chertavian’s nonprofit YearUp, now in many U.S. cities, look here.
YearUp photograph of Gerald Chertavian
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Congrats Erik! Can’t wait to hear more!
Wish you were here!
Ah, here we go! So I clicked on the link to get to Erik’s company, but for the Mass Challenge, did the company have to present a proposal, or was it the company itself that was up for a grant?
The company is Erik and a couple team members. It is just starting out, and Erik went through many layers of mentoring and presenting as he gradually rose through the ranks from the 1,200 original applications for the annual “accelerator incubator” program. Ultimately, 16 start-ups won some level of grant.