(Photo: Charles River Basin by Robert Lowe)

John is Founder and CEO of MassChallenge. MassChallenge runs startup accelerators designed to catalyze a global renaissance by connecting high impact startups with the resources they need to launch and succeed as rapidly as possible. Anyone can apply to MassChallenge, with any startup, in any industry, from anywhere in the world. MassChallenge does not take equity from the startups it supports, or place any restrictions on its graduates. Since 2010, the 617 MassChallenge alumni have raised over $706 million in funding, generated $404 million in revenue and created 4,800 jobs.

John earned his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 2007. While at school, John won Grand Prize in the 2007 MIY $100K Business Plan Competition and received the 2007 Patrick J. McGovern Award for impact on quality and visibility of entrepreneurship at MIT. He also led the 10th annual MIT Global Startup Workshop (GSW) held in Trondheim, Norway. The Boston Business Journal has identified John as one of Boston’s 50 Most Influential Business Leaders alongside the CEOs of Akamai Technologies, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Boston Celtics. The World Economic Forum also elected John as one of the 2013 Young Global Leaders alongside Chelsea Clinton and Tony Hsieh, and Ernst & Young voted John as Social Entrepreneur of the Year in New England for 2013.