Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Drinks are on us!

Join us tonight at the 8th Mass Innovation Nights product launch party and networking event. Doors open at 6:00 at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation at 154 Moody St.

After-party starts at 8:30 at Biagio's Plush Lounge, 123 Moody St. The first 50 drinks are on us!

Here's who's launching:

Conversion Associates
Implementation Factory
Lime Design
Magic Toob
Risk-wise Investor
Teenlife
Textaurant
Think Flood
Utest
V.i. Labs

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Get Smart on Marketing

Last night we hosted an MIT Enterprise Forum Get Smart program on marketing. Anita Brearton, Managing Director and Boston Forum Leader of Golden Seeds, provided a terrific overview of marketing in a B2B start-up environment. For emerging companies, marketing is often not a top priority when, as Anita pointed out, it should be considered as early as the company inception.

We had a lively discussion among a group that included the CEO of an established company and quite a few early stage entrepreneurs. Topics ranged from developing logos and company names to messaging, media programs, online advertising and social media.

Anita was formerly a CHEN PR client and prior a colleague of ours at Bay Networks. Golden Seeds identifies and invests in women-led ventures and provides women entrepreneurs with strategic business advice and the tools they need for growth.

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Monday, November 09, 2009

A banner week for CHEN PR client Phase Forward





What a week last week was for CHEN PR client Phase Forward.


Phase Forward provides software solutions that help pharmaceutical, medical device and other companies automate the clinical trials at the heart of their new drug/therapy/device development processes. Many of these companies convened in Boston last week for Phase Forward’s 8th annual user conference. The tone was set with a moving conference-opening keynote by John F. Crowley.


Mr. Crowley shared his intertwined personal and professional journey guided by his and his wife’s efforts to develop drug therapies for the Pompe disease with which both of his children, Megan and Patrick, were diagnosed in 1998. Mr. Crowley reminded his listeners of the toxicity of self pity even in the most challenging of circumstances, the importance of humility and the critical role of innovation in helping improve people’s lives. Mr. and Mrs. Crowley, Megan and Patrick are an inspiring family and are a reminder that outside of the biotechnology labs, real people’s lives are being positively impacted by the work of this industry. Harrison Ford is producing and starring in a film, called Extraordinary Measures, based on the Crowleys’ journey to be released in January of 2010 – sure to be riveting.


Two days of informative presentations followed, including a wide variety of Phase Forward customers sharing case studies with their peers about how they have implemented the company’s solutions to bring greater efficiencies to their clinical trials.


The week was capped by the news at a dinner event Thursday evening that Phase Forward had been named Private Sector Company of the Year by the Mass Technology Leadership Council. Accepting the award for the company was chairman and CEO Bob Weiler (pictured in the photo with fellow executives Mike Davies, Martin Young and Russ Campanello). It was a very nice moment we were proud to share with those in attendance representing Phase Forward. Our sincere congratulations to the entire Phase Forward team on this very well-deserved recognition.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Room to Read Boston - This Thursday - Don't Miss It!

I'm just back from our prep meeting in anticipation of our November 5th event, where Room to Read Founder John Wood will be joining us. In case you've somehow missed my past blogs on this topic, Room to Read was founded in 2000, and is focused on creating educational opportunities for kids in the developing world.

I've had the pleasure of seeing John Wood speak on a few occasions now, and he's one of the top three speakers I've ever seen in action. John is a three-time speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative, a five-time winner of Fast Company’s Social Capitalist Award and the only non-Asian to be honored with TIME Magazine’s Asian Heroes Award.

So come join us on Thursday evening, when we'll be hosting a fundraiser at the Harvard Club. We've got a really stellar auction lineup, including:

-A private flight to Nantucket piloted by a former TOPGUN instructor for a day of golf, for two
New England Patriots game day package – four tickets with an on-field pass
- A jersey signed by New England Patriot Wes Welker
Two Red Sox box seat tickets for a 2010 Yankees game (I know - it’s a painful subject at the moment.)
- A Good Will Hunting movie poster signed by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Minnie Driver
- A week’s stay at a private home in Burgundy, France
- A week’s stay on Nantucket
- Stays at private homes on Cape Cod
- A vintage JFK campaign hat, circa 1960
- Signed Red Sox photos and gear
- A beer tasting at Harpoon Brewery, for 80 people
- A one-year membership to Boston Ski & Sports Club
- Original photography and artwork
- Gift certificates from area restaurants, salons, yoga studios and florists

Tickets are available online until end of day Wednesday, November 4.

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