It all starts while out with your mates, sipping a couple of beers on a snowy night in your favorite pub. The fluster of mid-term week is slowly but steadily diluting as you take another sip. As you lament the never-ending list of things that you should’ve done to get that precious A, it hits you like a rock.

Word for word, you come up with a brilliant solution to an everyday problem. Like a jazz tune, it fits perfectly with your argument. Your mates look at you with a mix of “He is absolutely nuts” and “I wish I would’ve thought about that”. Your heart beats faster and faster and your imagination wanders to places never reached before. And then, silence. And more silence. And then, a big laugh and they all forget about it and continue with the agenda for the night: more beer!

As you walk back home, your idea returns to your head – but now you are thinking about all the things that could go wrong. You decide to put it aside for the night and focus on getting home without freezing en route.

Next day, you start a business plan for your new idea. You go through your Marketing and Economics notes. “Always remember, a company maximizes profits at the point where the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost”. After seven hours of research, your output is a 12-page document complete with a step-by-step plan for putting your idea into action. Now, you need some money.

You could ask your parents, but should you? You already asked for a load of money for your masters. You could ask for a bank loan, but you’ve also agreed to pay them back once you graduate. Then you remember that Professor Sullivan told the class about a place near Kendall Square that hosts events for entrepreneurs and investors. Right! That’s the place. You google “kendall square + entrepreneurs” and you find it: Venture Café Kendall. You click on the site and the “Office Hours program” catches your eye. Bingo! 30-minute consultations with an advisor to help with the business plan. Because you are feeling as excited and proactive as the first day of B-School, you schedule a session for tomorrow.

You arrive 20 minutes before the agreed time and go through your business plan over and over again. At the bar you are drawn to ask for a beer but want to look professional and order a coffee instead. Your advisor arrives and you start talking.

It all started with your mates, on a snowy day, after mid-term week. Or did it? In 2018, Boston dethroned New York to become the second highest startup funding hub in the United States. According to Techcrunch, venture investment in the Boston metro area hit $5.2 billion by August 2018 (Gasner, 2018). PwC stated in their MoneyTree Report for Q1-2018 that “New England had a record quarter… with over $2.7 billion dollars invested across 125 deals” (PwC, 2018).

Venture capital helps a company take off. Money can be invested at different stages: seed, early, expansion, later. The top three venture capital firms include Sequoia Capital (YouTube), Tencent Holdings (Riot Games), and Insight Venture Partners (Despegar). Boston being one of world’s education hubs, it makes sense for VC firms to reach out to students eager to find innovative solutions to everyday problems. Biotech and artificial intelligence are currently the most important industries in which VC firms are focusing investment in New England.

“It makes sense for VC firms to reach out to students eager to find innovative solutions to everyday problems.”

Hult has its own start-up incubator, Hult Founders Lab. If you are a student and have a great idea for a startup you can gain access to resources to leverage your ideas and put them into action. For now, the incubator has official presence on the London and San Francisco campuses, however, you can work remotely with the Lab.

Can you believe that it all started with your mates on a snowy day, just after mid-term week? Join this good rippah, all you need is a wicked smart idea!

Got smart ideas of your own? Start your entrepreneurial adventure at Hult this year. Download a brochure now.

Kickstart your career in this education and innovation hotspot by studying at Hult’s Boston business school. To find out more, take a look at our blog 6 key lessons from my first 6 months at Hult’s Boston campus. Download a brochure or get in touch today to find out how Hult can help you to learn about the business world, the future, and yourself.