Tag

incubator

Oct 06

An incubator for labor

By Feature, Trends

By Suzie Boss, writer, Edutopia

Could digital gaming be used to retrain fast-food workers for better-paying waiter jobs in fancy restaurants? Could an Uber-like “sharing economy” app help freelance workers boost their income?

Today’s napkin sketches might well become tomorrow’s solutions to the challenges faced by the American working class. That’s the hope behind the Workers Lab, a first-of-its-kind incubator launched this past October with $1 million in start-up funding from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). “We’re looking for audacious ideas about how to rebuild the middle class,” says Carmen Rojas, CEO of the Workers Lab. Winning applicants will receive $150,000 over a nine-month period to develop and pilot their ideas. They’ll also get access to mentors and introductions to investors who might provide next-round financing. The first cohort of winners — to be announced early this year—will include up to five projects.

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Oct 06

Next Mile Project, an incubator and co-working space for nonprofits

By Feature, Trends

By Nidhi Subbaraman, senior staff writer, BetaBoston |

Boston tech entrepreneurs can choose from a variety of havens in which to grow their young businesses: They could seek admission to Somerville’s green-tech incubator, Greentown Labs, or apply to join the state-sponsored MassChallenge accelerator.

Now a group seeks to bring the incubator concept so common in the tech space to new groups that are launching nonprofit endeavors. The Next Mile Project is a new Boston co-working space for young ventures in the not-for-profit world. Founder Vilas Dhar’s goal has been to bring the same network, training, mentorship, and camaraderie available to tech startups to organizations working on issues like social justice and global development.

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