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One VC described it as such: instead of waving the Boston flag high, the community wants a flag to be planted here in general.

While not to discount the amazing work happening at the Boston Globe and BostInno, my experience is that the tech community here often expressed a lack of national interest in the home that grew companies like , , , , and beyond.

about this, but long story short: in the week of October 23, there were at least six exits of Boston-based companies: was bought by , was acquired by , was acquired by , was acquired by , was scooped up by, and was acquired by .

We only wrote about one of those deals, in a week that even by Silicon Valley standards, was quite busy. This had me wondering, what else am I missing?

So I over at and , and walked away with some broad themes on what this startup scene cares about.

Boston’s Strong Eye

Often when writing about a city, local love comes strongly into the narrative. A city like Boston, with a talent pipeline boosted by prestigious universities, is no different — for the most part. After all, as the spurn of unicorns teaches us time and time again, in order to grow to higher valuations and greater worth, you have to have a demand greater than the city you are headquartered.

That’s why when a few entrepreneurs I met mentioned an outward gaze, beyond Boston but internationally, it was refreshing. , for example, had 50 percent of its investments in the Boston area, but beyond that, it also had investments all over the world, including Canada.

The firm, which claims it is one of two in the world that explicitly invests in immigrant founders (the other one is , and OneWay is an LP in that firm), said its focus makes it of international interest. One Way’s managing partner told me that he’s not just interested in funding immigrants that want to be in the United States, he’s looking to invest across the border as well.

Then there’s , which helps startup employees better understand their shares and equity stake. When we met at the and event, Boston wasn’t even mentioned. I consider that a plus, as it’s easy to flout a city (especially if it’s not in the Valley) as your differentiator. But with a billion dollar competitor in San Francisco — — it’s probably best that Vested keeps their hunger beyond Beantown.

The co-founders, and , told me they’ve onboarded 10 startups to their website so far, including Snowflake and Brex, both San Francisco startups. There’s more to come.

Honorable Mentions

I have to end with a few startups that reminded me how the future of Greater Boston’s tech scene is more than just biotech. While worthwhile, those are not the full story. So, let’s meet a few.

• was started by Dhasharath Shrivathsa, who dropped out of school and worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s labs and found a pain point: lab operational error. He recruited his dad, and created what he defines as an operating system for labs. In his light words, Radix is the Walter White of labs, nodding to the Breaking Bad character that tests drugs. Radix tries to limit human error, tapping into a .
• creates sports performance technology, and in this past week, raised a $55 million Series D round in a combination of equity and debt (the company declined to breakdown the total). Investors include , , and A Whoop membership, per the company, comes with hardware and a specialized coaching platform.
• wants to make sure WeWork never happens again. The early-stage company, started in 2018, helps companies scale responsibly with data and all the concerns that come with having loads of customer information. When I caught up with , CEO and founder of the Boston-based company, he said that unicorns these days are more like “one trick ponies” and need help growing sustainably.

And that’s a snapshot of my interactions this week in Boston. For any other Boston startup tips, deals, or trends feel free to e-mail me at natasha@crunchbase.com, or @nmasc_.

Now, on route to Philadelphia!

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“The personality of a woman is going to be different than a man, so you have to […] understand that someone can be effective, even if they really aren’t aggressive,” the managing director of the firm continued. “It’s about opening the door wider.”

Fay is one of two female partners at Glasswing Ventures, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm focuses on artificial intelligence investments. Notably, about 40 percent of the founding teams of the companies Glasswing invests include at least one woman, according to Fay.

female-led venture capital funds like Glasswing, and venture capitalists like Fay, , a nonprofit organization that wants to help more female founders get venture capital, expanded into Boston last month. Fay is part of the steering committee.

’s expansion shows there’s both a need and a promise for more venture dollars to go to female founders in the city. So, for this month’s Boston-focused column, we thought we’d unpack the dollars raised by teams with at least one woman founder in Greater Boston over time.

First, we’ll do the numbers, then we’ll circle back to Fay to see how it all fits into All Raise’s mission.

The Numbers

Before we get into the numbers, some caveats. Venture rounds are often prey to reporting delays, and, sometimes, founders are not tagged in Crunchbase with gender identifying characteristics. For this reason, we opted for a proportional split chart to help account for any lag in known data.

Housekeeping aside, $979 million dollars have gone to venture capital-backed companies with at least one female founder so far in 2019, according to Crunchbase data. Starkly, $1.8 billion dollars went to venture capital companies with all-male founding teams.

To get a more helpful perspective on how (and if) more female founders are getting funded within Greater Boston, let’s wind back to 2014. The chart below breaks down the percentage break down of the data above.

In 2016, 28 percent of venture capital dollars raised by Greater Boston startups went to companies with at least one female founder. Compared to years prior, 2019 isn’t at the same level of equality, but it is also isn’t exactly fair to hold it to the same standards due to possible data reporting delays.��

Fast forward to 2018, and 43 percent of venture capital dollars raised by Greater Boston startups went to companies with at least one female founder. It isn’t a 50/50 split; however, the percentage is notably high. Globally, about 8 percent of venture dollars have gone to female founders, according to the latest quarterly statistics.��

Its historical progress of venture capital dollars going to underrepresented founders—coupled with a stark contrast to global averages—is part of the reason Boston was put on All Raise’s radar in the first place. After all, where better place for a nonprofit to set up a pipeline and network of women in tech than a place that has already taken steps to level the playing field?��Now, along with the Boston launch, in the Bay Area, New York, and Los Angeles.��

Goals

All Raise has some lofty objectives it aims to achieve. , the organization wants 25 percent of all venture dollars allocated to female-founded companies. It also wants to double the percentage of female partners at venture firms (with funds greater than $25 million) in the United States from 9 percent to 18 percent over the next ten years.��

To do this, one of All Raise’s flagship efforts has been in creating a database of diverse candidates for venture capital firms to tap into. The organization also has cohorts, where women interested venture positions from associates to general partners can join a “tight-knit groups where deep connections trump empty schmoozing and real conversations replace small talk,” .��

According to Glasswing’s Fay, in Boston, that looks like founder bootcamps, mentorship, and networking opportunities.

Within these efforts, All Raise is intentionally having a conversation beyond just gender, when it comes to shifting pattern recognition in venture funding. “There are a lot of women involved with All Raise who are already successful,” she said. Fay also added that men, alongside women, need to be included in the conversation too.

“If we’re just talking to each other as women to women, then we’re in an echo chamber,” she said. “So it is very important for men to also understand what the experiences are, so they can support us. And I can tell you in Boston, the [venture capitalists] who are men here are great.”

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All existing major investors and other new investors including “funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.” particpated in the round. The company first became a unicorn when it raised a $275 million at a valuation of $1 billion in 2017. Backers include , , and , among others.

The financing makes Ginkgo Bioworks the most valuable venture-backed company in Boston, according to the It also pushes its founders’ stakes “to some $250 million each,” according to Forbes.

In its own words, Ginkgo Bioworks uses synthetic biology “to grow products instead of manufacturing them.” The company says its technology platform is putting biotechnology into consumer goods markets with the goal of helping fragrance, cosmetic, nutrition, and food companies “to make better products.”

“Cells are programmable similar to computers because they run on digital code in the form of DNA,” said , CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, in a written statement. “Today’s fundraise will allow us to expand our technology and continue our drive to bring biology into every physical goods industry – materials, clothing, electronics, food, pharmaceuticals, and more. They are all biotech industries but just don’t know it yet.”

A few days ago PitchBook that a large funding deal was in the works.

And in aearlier this week Y Combinator noted that Gingko Bioworks represented “the first bio company YC funded, back in summer 2014.”

Now Ginkgo is working to establish itself as a to build their biotech businesses. Through two new partnerships with Y Combinator and Petri, “startups can access Ginkgo’s platform and mentorship in exchange for equity,” according to Gingko.

In its blog, Y Combinator noted that Ginkgo’s core business is programming cells for large companies such as Bayer and Roche. It wrote: “But these are multi-million dollar deals that are out of the reach of startups. Ginkgo’s new deal will make it possible for startups to access the same platform.”

Over the past two years, the company has partnered with a number of companies, including striking a $122 million deal to produce cultured cannabinoids with and an up to $160 million agreement with to discover novel antibiotics. It also invested $80 million in “to accelerate the development of living medicines.” And last year, Ginkgo launched its second spinout company, Motif Foodworks, with $117 million in funding, to address the need for better alternative proteins (which we covered here).

For more about Boston’s venture scene in general, check out Natasha Mascarenhas’��roundup from last week.

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Beyond massages and a nice dinner or two, the group focuses on accomplishing one activity during the getaway: establish a goal for the year.

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This year, Rose made her goal to “be bold.” She says this focus makes her a better mother, daughter, and leader. Day in day out, Rose is busy working as the president of the (NEVCA). She has been with the team for 12 years.

In this Proust Goes Tech, Rose riffs about imposter syndrome, unicorns, and why she admires .

The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What would you otherwise be doing right now?

If I could dream big, high in the sky, I would be a singer and entertainer. I’d be something on the creative side. I have a musical home and background in my family.

Your main fault?

“Main” is a good disclaimer, because I have many. I’m my hardest critic to a fault, which sometimes inhibits me or prevents me from taking a bold, daring step. I struggle with confidence and questioning myself.

For example, one of the programs we launched at NEVCA, now going into its fourth year, focused on the challenge of diversity particularly within latinos and tech.

I’m not an expert at diversity and inclusion, so I felt really nervous and almost didn’t launch the program. I got imposter syndrome, and I had just gotten the role at NEVCA.

But I believe that diversity in tech is not just a Silicon Valley issue, it’s a Boston issue. NEVCA should be at the helm.

With the help of my co-founder I decided to take the leap. It was a seven-month ideation and conversation process before we decided to pursue it.

Your idea of misery?

Regretting not taking a leap. Misery is looking back and wishing I would have done something and didn’t because of fear. Basically letting fear drive my decisions.

What do you appreciate the most in your friends?

Trust, accountability, and transparency. I have a big friend community, but I have a couple friends that know what’s happening and that hold me accountable. They are honest with me, and for me, that is the most important thing in a relationship. I didn’t realize how important it was to me until the last 8 years of my life.

Your chief characteristic?

I am a motivator. I am trustworthy. And I am someone, who if I believe passionately about a vision or an idea, gets the train moving. I’m visionary.

What skill do you wish you possessed?

I wish I was more organized; I wish I had a strong operational foundation.

I rely on my notebook and my calendar, but I haven’t found any task masters or any kind of products to stay organized. So let me know if you do.

Your most impactful book?

I would say . My faith is really important to me. It’s my script and drives everything I do. I would also say a book that I have been completely blown away by and inspired by is “” by Trevor Noah.��If you’re going to read it, do it through his audiobook.

What defines success?

It’s my family being cared for. Are they happy? Are they at peace? And have I contributed to that and the broader community?

When is confidence lost?

If I’m being really honest, it’s lost if I feel like I’ve let my team down.

Which buzzword is exhausted?

Unicorn. I think sometimes it places so much value on having companies or investing in companies that are going to be the next unicorn, versus investing in companies or building companies that are impacting the industry in which it is in. What about companies that bring in a ton of returns for investors and are making an impact? I wish we would focus less on unicorn creation and more on that.

What virtues do others have that you don’t?

I would say consistently working out everyday. I would also say balance. I find work-life balance to be an elusive concept. At any given point, I’m failing as a mom, as a wife, or as a leader. It is impossible to have so many balls you’re juggling and keep them all in the air, and I think we need to accept that.

What impact do you want to leave behind?

I want to know that I made an impact in people’s lives. Whether it was pointing them to opportunities that they weren’t thinking about or providing entrepreneurs with opportunities that were hard for them to achieve. Also, I want to make a difference in the investor community.

What’s the biggest problem tech is failing to solve?

A macro issue it is still failing to solve goes back to equity and inclusion, and making sure we are creating spaces and technologies where women and people of color are seen as “in the know.” Again, it’s not just about unicorns.

To me, equality is the day that appoints a female CEO, and the headline of the Boston Globe of the New York Times isn’t that they appointed a female CEO, but that they’ve appointed a new CEO and here’s her background. I’m looking forward to that day.

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Looking at the total venture capital scored by Greater Boston-based startups in July year over year, 2019 was the biggest dip in five years. Thanks to the likes of startups like , , , and more, previous Julys in Boston saw nine-figure rounds. This July, we saw none. See the chart below for more.

The Past Month For Greater Boston

Going back to this July, however, Greater Boston startups raised $183 million through venture capitalists last month, with the majority of that total going toward Seed stage rounds, and then Series A rounds.

That total is a dip from June’s totals, when the same region raised $247 million. The June spike was due to an outsized round from Commonwealth Fusion, a startup which works on complicated concepts like superconducting magnet technology and commercial fusion on energy.

The company raised a $115 million Series A.

As Alex and Mary Ann explained when covering Commonwealth’s round that the startup has some local love in its DNA. Founded in 2017 it was spun out of MIT and works with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

Below is a chart of notable rounds raised by Greater Boston-based startups in the past month, .

A slew of companies scored eight-figure rounds. raised $20 million to help with car loans for international students (and raised $130 million in debt financing), Sense raised $10 million to help you better track devices and automate your home, and scored $11 million to aid those who want more flexible work. Although its a tiny round, . raised $1 million to help us all find local music that we love, played live.

On the biotech front, we saw raising $1.8 million to create a non-invasive white blood cell monitoring device. Also, raised a $22 million Series A to focus on immunology.

Excluding Cambridge, a home for biotech startups, Boston-based startups racked up just over $139 million in venture capital funding. That’s more than double the amount that Boston-based companies raised in June, which was $59 million.

Why the sudden uptick within Boston? , a biotech company that plans to develop immunotherapy treatments for cancer, raised $48 million in a Series B. This is almost quintuple the size of any round scored by a Boston-based company in July.

As you can see, there was a slew of large(ish) Series A rounds made by venture capitalists. , an on demand marketplace that connects businesses to people who want flexible work, raised $11 million. which uses diamond dust to help identify objects raised $10 million.

Yup, diamond dust. The company launched from stealth in 2018, and now works with tech and consumer electronic brands as well as government organizations. , the CEO said that “maintaining the integrity of the data is vital, but it is not enough. We need to extend the trust into the products.”

The list above features a healthy mix of industries, reminding us that Boston isn’t just a biotech town. In fact, as we reported last month, the city’s food tech industry is thriving too.

And as we’ll discuss in our next section on acquisitions, some Boston-based food startups are even hungry.

Toast & Weed

In July, I wrote about how restaurant management platform Toast bought StratEx, its first-ever acquisition. The buy will help Toast customers automate their payroll and HR services, like employee on-boarding and scheduling. The Boston-based company said it plans to invest over $1 billion in R&D over the next five years “to continue building software and hardware designed specifically for the restaurant industry.”

More in acquisition news, , a public cannabis company, acquired Chicago-based for $875 million. that the combined entities make Curaleaf the world’s largest cannabis company by revenue.

To Close

This is just a snapshot of what was up in Greater Boston in the past month. When I lived in the city, I noticed growing tech scene just by sifting through Eventbrite and .

I’m not going to compare Boston to San Francisco just yet because I don’t have the nuance under my belt yet. That said, as I’m starting to understand SF better I think Boston is doing what’s necessary to be taken seriously as a startup hub — it’s opening innovation labs, and then more innovation labs, helping immigrant founders, devoting Wednesdays to immigration talks, and setting up Friday nights where you can meet your

This column is meant to be a quick, digestible window into this growing enthusiasm. Talk next month, and in the meantime any Greater Boston news can be sent over to natasha@crunchbase.com.

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In order to help restaurants better retain their hardworking employees, , a Boston-based restaurant management upstart, has made its first-ever acquisition, , for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition, Toast’s first, will allow Toast customers to automate their HR and payroll services. Think services like employee on-boarding and scheduling, and labor law compliance.

“If you walk down the street in many cities in the US, you’re going to see help wanted signs in every restaurant,” , Toast’s CFO and chief business officer told Crunchbase News. Toast hopes that with this acquisition, some of those hiring woes will be resolved through the improvement of HR management.

Toast works with chains like Jamba Juice to Michelin-star rated restaurants, and all face shortages of talent, Barash added.

‘s says that the acquisition “further validates the notion that vertically-focused SaaS is the new distribution method for services to run and grow small business.” He added that companies want a one-stop-shop to streamline all their operations, and dual-sided commerce is here to stay.

As Crunchbase News’s reported back in June, Toast said that its revenue in 2018. Barash says the company is maintaining that same pace of revenue growth. Since we last chatted, Toast has added 500 more employees.

Toast, which launched its first product in 2013, says it has tens of thousands of restaurants that use its technology. This announcement comes just a few months after the company raised $250 million in a round led by and , bringing its valuation to $2.7 billion.

Back then, the company said it plans to invest over $1 billion in R&D over the next five years “to continue building software and hardware designed specifically for the restaurant industry.”

This acquisition, it appears, is one of the first steps to satisfy that appetite.

Below is a chart on the company’s fundraising past.

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