Starting a small business is many people's dream. Now, one city is giving those people the chance to realize their business potential. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, recently announced plans to develop the South Boston Waterfront and the Marine Industrial Park into an Innovation District, according to Metro Boston. This coincides with the final deadline for MassChallenge, a $1 million competition to accelerate and develop high-impact new businesses. Up to 100 finalists will be offered free office space on Fan Pier, and up to 20 teams will be awarded grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 in October. "We have to create a platform to drive new business in growing industries in the next several years," Mitch Weiss, Menino's Chief of Staff said to the news source."We know this is an incredibly opportunistic time and place to do this kind of stuff. In Boston, we are a leader in health care and IT, and whether we're growing mobile, video gaming or green technologies we've got to be ready and have a head start in the industry." The Innovation District would make the challenge of starting a new business accessible, according to Metro Boston. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a small business is classified as any company with less than 500 employees on payroll.  |