How to Become an Expert or an Innovator

How do you get to be a Massachusetts Innovator?  Or, how do you end up at the Experts Corner? Let’s find out!

The Experts Corner

The original idea for Experts Corner stemmed from the fact that we spend a lot of our MassInno evenings introducing entrepreneurs to someone who can help them solve a specific problem.  “I don’t know the answer to that question.  Here, talk to this lawyer.  Gosh, I have no idea how to get a company funded.  Here, ask this finance person or this VC. I’m not a technology person, maybe one of the engineers here can answer that question for you.  Or, yes, I could personally help you write a press release, or get up and running on Twitter but frankly, there are only so many hours in my days so let me introduce you to this PR or marketing person.”

You get the idea.

As for how you get to be an expert, that’s a bigger question.  Experience and lots of it.  Oh, you probably mean, how do you get to be one of the Expert Corner experts?  The first batch of Experts was assembled via a group effort.  For example, Ben and Michael at VC Ready Law offered to coordinate some of the experts.  They brought some of their contacts.  Others were people we personally knew.

When we first kicked off the idea, we mentioned in the newsletter that we were looking for experts and asked people to submit their experts through the “Submit a product” form on the website, and add in “expert” to their name.  Expertise is a product too.  (We’ve always been open to products that weren’t physical products — a product can be a service — this is taking it to new heights.)

Becoming a Mass Innovation Nights Exhibitor

First, you need a new innovative product.   You think you’ve got what it takes?  Tell us about it!  Go ahead.  Use the Submit a Product form to throw your hat in the ring.   We suggest that people attend an event before they “exhibit.” Exhibit is a high-faluting word for what we do — think 6th grade science fair — a table top set-up with your product and people wandering around, stopping at all of the ten tables to visit with the product owner/manager/CEO/Founder/Chief Idea Person.

We do have product demonstrations in a small amphitheater starting at 6:30.  Only 4 out of the 10 companies give 5 minute presentations there — the four are chosen by vote on the website when we announce the products.  (You can see the current Innovators list now, and the voting mechanism too.)

When you are at the table, you’ll be talking to people for 2 hours straight — so far, everyone has been very busy all night.

As for the time line, once you submit through the website form, we have a rolling list that you have been added to — we try to give everyone an idea when they sign up which month they will end up in but the truth is we just don’t know.  (Yes, we can count on fingers and sort of figure it out but often people aren’t ready to go when their turn comes.  Or, at least their product isn’t.)  Right now the waiting list for products is about 2 months deep and we’re booking experts out up to several months for some professions.  We notify the companies in the queue for the next month as soon as the previous event is completed.  As fast as we can, we try to get the new month’s blog post, company list, RSVP list, and poll up.

Innovators, Experts, and Social Media too

As for the social networking aspect of Mass Innovation Nights — we start off by using that to get people to attend the event — we run a zero budget event and social media tools are free.

We encourage our guests to use social media to help support the Innovators by making some noise on their behalf.  See something you like, blog about it, tweet about, Facebook, Flickr, whatever.

Obviously this audience is social media savvy or they might never have heard about the event.  (There are a good number of people who aren’t on things like Twitter or Facebook or Linkedin.  They found out about the event some other way.  Maybe a friend told them.  You don’t need social media to enjoy the event BUT it could help you follow up afterward — many people use their Twitter handle on their name tag!)

Hope this helps!