Between Harvard Business School, the Sloan School of Management at MIT and the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, the city of Boston has no dearth of managerial talent. That’s why it’s no surprise that the Boston startup scene is thriving! But it’s not just top universities that make the city so attractive; it’s the city itself.
According to the Boston Globe, entrepreneurs love Boston and are “generally happy to be there.” And earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released an Innovation That Matters study naming Boston the “#1 city in the nation for fostering entrepreneurial growth and innovation.”
So, with new Boston startups being formed all the time, which ones are the best?
-
PlateJoy
Founded in 2013, PlateJoy is a custom, on-demand meal plan service that is focused on healthier living. Its CEO, Christina Bognet, started the company after graduating from MIT and losing 50 pounds. “After graduating I became a healthcare consultant, and I started to realize that prevention is actually the key to treating so many diseases,” Bognet told Built In Chicago.
Unlike its competitors, such as BlueApron, PlateJoy is based on a lifestyle quiz, meaning that each recipe is far more customized to the individual. PlateJoy also offers users an on-demand nutritional coach and the option to have their groceries delivered via Instacart. PlateJoy makes our list of hot startups thanks to the $1.7 million in seed money that it raised in 2015 as well as its recent partnership with Instacart, to expand its services. And, according to Datafox, the company has already earned $2.4 million in revenue.
-
ArtLifting
For a “feel-good” Boston startup, we love ArtLifting. The company, which took off in 2013, empowers homeless artists, as well as artists with disabilities, to sell their artwork for income. Fifty-five percent of every sale goes to the artists, while the remaining funds go to ArtLifting and 1 percent goes to a nonprofit that provides art supplies to therapy groups.
ArtLifting makes our list for its explosive growth, growing from four to 72 artists and expanding to 11 states. Also, in its first seed round, the company was able to raise $1.1 million, which allowed it to make deals with Staples and Harvard to help sell its artwork.
-
Grove
Grove is a unique indoor garden that harnesses the power of aquaponics to grow healthy and sustainable food. Grove empowers consumers to grow fresh produce in their own homes year-round. The company started in an MIT dorm room, and now its founding members are both on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
One of Grove’s most impressive features is how it got started. In 2014, the company received $2.05 million in funding followed by an additional $1.79 million in 2015. The company has also taken advantage of Kickstarter, earning almost four times its $100,000 goal.
-
ClearSky Data
ClearSky Data is a global storage company that has been featured in Inc., Entrepreneur, Fortune and Forbes. The company takes a new approach to data storage with the goal of dramatically simplifying the way companies manage their data. Already the company has 40 employees and is changing the data game.
One of the most impressive features of this Boston startup was its last round of Series B funding. During that time, the company raised $27 million—led by Polaris Partners with a strategic investment from Cambridge-based Akamai Technologies. This increased ClearSky’s total funding to $39 million. However, it’s not just the funding that makes the company so attractive; it’s also the fact that Boston storage technology veterans lead the company.
-
Jibo
Who doesn’t want a talking “social robot for the home?” We do, and that’s why we love Jibo. A rival of Amazon’s Echo, Jibo is an “intelligent humanoid” that will allow users to make video calls, set reminders and more. The goal of Jibo is to act as a personal assistant. Already Jibo has been reviewed and promoted by such giants as Yahoo! News, Wired and Mashable.
Founded in early 2013, Jibo now employs more than 94 people and, in total, has raised more than $60 million in funding. Beyond its cool tech, Jibo also makes our list based on its successful Indiegogo campaign. The campaign raised more than $2.3 million and sparked interest in the product nationwide.
Runners’ Up
The five companies that made our list of best Boston startups are just the tip of the iceberg. If we had time, we’d list all the best startups, but since that would take pages and pages, we’ll round off our list with three startups that just barely missed the top.
- Cintell: Cintell is a marketing software company that already claims hundreds of users. The software aims to help automate the process of creating ideal customer models and personas.
- Driftt: Driftt aims to help companies improve the way they engage their customers. During its first round of funding, the company raised $15 million, an unusually large amount.
- Lola: Lola is a travel-booking smartphone app that aims to connect travelers with live travel agents. The app officially launched in early 2016 and has already raised $20 million in funding.