MassInno's December event was this week
MassInno's December event was this week

Last night I scoped out the ninth installment of Mass Innovation Nights, a free event where startups and innovators convene for networking, exposure, and some expert advice. Sitting in the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, I found the juxtaposition almost comical as new web and tech startups presented in the same wing of the museum that showcases steam engines from the early 1900s. It’s an event that really makes you appreciate the progress of technology in the Boston area. I found a few things to like, so let’s get to it…

Here’s your recap of Mass Innovation Nights presenters:

Smart Symbols takes advantage of the crowd's reviews and informs buyers as a result.
Smart Symbols takes advantage of the crowd's reviews and informs buyers as a result.

Smart Symbols
Smart Symbols is a newly created marketing tool that allows users to get detailed information about products they are looking to buy online. By mousing over designated icons that can be integrated just about anywhere, users can instantly find relevant news, user reviews, videos and more – all specific to the product they are considering. Opposite the consumer end, businesses can get valuable marketing data in seeing what people are interested, when they use Smart Symbols, and how they re-evaluate purchases as a result. I can definitely see this becoming a standard on sites like Amazon.

Blank Label lets you build your own sweet dress shirts.
Blank Label lets you build your own sweet dress shirts.

Blank Label
There are plenty of sites that let you customize a t-shirt, but what about button-downs? Blank Label lets you do just that with customization in just about every aspect of men’s collared dress shirts. This means custom collar, cuff, buttons, linings – the whole thing. On top of all of this, it’s pretty affordable. This is one I really liked. They just do guy’s shirts right now but they have taken orders from girls who simply indicate that they will need a smaller size.

Socrato makes testing more useful to students and teachers alike.
Socrato makes testing more useful to students and teachers alike.

Socrato
Socrato is a new way to look at standardized testing. The platform allows students to take tests and submit answers online, doing away with the accepted bubble-filling with the infamous No. 2 pencil. Teachers and professors can post scores, but the kicker is in Socrato’s analytic capabilities. Once a test has been scored, test-takers can get detailed statistics and graphical analysis showing them what they did right, what they did wrong, and where they should improve.

Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET)
HEET advocates for carbon footprint reduction and energy conservation in your home. In fact, they care so much that they provide free hands-on instruction of how to weatherize your house, helping people cut energy waste and reduce energy bills. Leaks in your house’s insulation let precious heat escape your house during the winter months. HEET wants to help you plug those holes while filling the gaps in knowledge on the issue.

Those were the presenters, here is a list of the table demos:

MyBrainshark

  • Media presentation tool for businesses, check out my in-depth post here.

Emergent Energy Group

  • Organizer and facilitator of renewable energy solutions for your community.

G2 Technology Group

  • IT consulting with green intentions.

IzzitGreen

  • A blog keeping you informed about green products.

Impact Energy Solutions

  • An energy conservation company focusing on Green House Gas reduction.

Holistic Technologies LLC

  • A high-tech solution for nighttime tooth grinding.

New Generation Energy

  • Boston-based non-profit providing investment options in the green sector.

Notice anything you liked at MassInno, or have thoughts to share with us? Leave it in the comments below.

Last night I scoped out another Mass Innovation Night, a free event where startups and innovators convene for networking, exposure, and some expert advice. Sitting in the Charles River Museum of Industry& Innovation in Waltham, I found the juxtaposition almost comical as new web and tech startups are presented in the same room as steam engines from the 1900’s. It’s an event that really makes you appreciate the progress of technology in Boston.

Here’s your recap of the presenters:

Socrato

www.socrato.com

Socrato is a new way to look at standardized testing. The platform allows students to take tests and submit answers online, doing away with the accepted bubble filling with the infamous #2 pencil. Teachers and professors can post score, but the kicker is in Socrato’s analysis capabilities. Once a test has been scored, test-takers can get detailed statistics and graphical analysis showing them what they did right, what they did wrong, and where they should improve.

Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET)

http://heetma.com/

HEET advocates for carbon footprint reduction and energy conservation in your home. In fact, they care about it so much that they provide free hands-on instruction of how to weatherize your house, cutting your energy waste and energy bill. Holes in your house let precious heat escape your house during the winter months. HEET wants to help you plug those holes.

Smart Symbols

http://www.smartsymbols.com/

Smart Symbols is a newly innovated marketing tool that allows users to get detailed information about products they are looking to buy online. By mousing over designated icons that can be integrated just about anywhere, users can instantly find relevant news, user reviews, videos and more – all specific to the product they are looking at. Opposite the consumer end, businesses can get valuable marketing data in seeing what people are interested in when they use Smart Symbols. I could definitely see this becoming a standard on sites like Amazon.

Blank Label

http://www.blank-label.com/

So there are plenty of sites that let you customize a tshirt, what about button downs? Blank Label lets you do just that with customization in just about every aspect of a collared dress shirt. That means custom collar, cuff, buttons, linings – just about anything you can think of. On top of all of this it’s pretty affordable. This is one I may have to check out. They just do guy’s shirts right now but they have taken orders from girls who simply indicate that they will need a smaller size.

Those were the presenters, here is a list of the table demo’s:

Brainshark (myBrainshark) – http://my.brainshark.com/

Media presentation tool for businesses, check out my in-depth post here.

http://www.emergentgroup.com/

Organizer and facilitator of renewable energy solutions for your community.

http://www.g2techgroup.com/index.php

IT consulting with “green” intentions.

http://izzitgreen.com/

Blog keeping you informed of available “green” products.

http://impactenergysolutions.com/

An energy conservation company focusing on Green House Gas reduction.

Holistic Technologies LLC

A high-tech solution for nighttime tooth grinding.

http://www.newgenerationenergy.org/

Boston-based non-profit providing investment options in the green sector.

You can read more stories on Boston startups, technology and innovation at https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/inno