

Ask HN: Young, Lonely Boston Hacker - choffstein

I am a 23 year old small business owner who just moved to Boston.  I work in financial consulting; in specific, I partner with investment firms and utilize technology to innovate their investment framework.  My background is in Computer Science and Computational Finance.<p>I am extremely fortunate to be able to work for myself.  It provides me an incredible amount of freedom in my life and I love what I do.  The only downside, however, is that 90% of the time, I am working alone.<p>I have contemplated joining start-up office spaces in the area just for the social interaction, but can't really justify it as a business cost at the end of the day.  Plus, while I think I would thrive off the energy in the room, I would still be working alone at the end of the day.<p>I am extremely interested in getting involved in the start-up and angel investing community in the area, but have yet to really find a good way of going about it.  The angel community seems to be locked up by groups of business associates that are all much older than me; people with whom I will unfortunately probably never have much opportunity for social or business interaction.<p>I also don't really know how I could fit into the start-up space -- I don't have time to work on new projects.  I think that I am probably too young to offer myself up as a 'mentor' in the start-up space in Boston -- while I have learned a tremendous amount running my own business in the last several years, I don't feel like I am an expert by any stretch of the imagination.<p>Ideally, I am looking for the opportunity to,<p>1) Meet other young entrepreneurs
2) Develop mentor relationships with local angel investors (at this point, I am seriously just contemplating cold-calling some of the groups)
3) Listen to speaker series on start-ups, entrepreneurship and investing<p>I would love to get involved in some sort of weekly get together to discuss new business or investment ideas, real or fictional, to foster creative thinking and entrepreneurship.<p>I am even more interested in meeting with other young successful entrepreneurs and investors (no offense to you older guys) so we can push each other to succeed and begin creating a tremendous business network.<p>Does anyone have any thoughts or know about any weekly meetings or get togethers I could start attending where I could find these things?  Any thoughts on how I can go about finding mentors in the angel investment space?<p>I am willing to start these groups myself, but thought I would reach out to see if they already exist.<p>Any and all thoughts are much appreciated!<p>For anyone who wants to reach out, in public or private:
e-mail: corey@hoffstein.com / twitter: @choffstein
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imkevingao
Hi, I'm from the Wellesley area myself, and I really appreciate your
initiative. Babson College is a really good school for you to look at because
the students are known for their entrepreneur activities.

I would be very interested in joining the group if you ever get a chance to
start it.

Please shoot me an Email @ milokgao@gmail.com and maybe I could provide some
assistance.

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choffstein
I am actually keenly aware aware of the entrepreneurship focus at Babson. My
father, who was an entrepreneur, actually received his MBA there.

Are you aware of any events at Babson where the general public is allowed to
participate? Do any other of the business schools in the area (Harvard, MIT,
et cetera) have forums for public participation?

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imkevingao
there was this Founder's Day at Babson two days ago which gathered many
entrepreneurs / investors around the area, but that's a bit late already. I'd
keep you posted since I'm currently studying at Babson, and if there are any
open forums and activities around the area, I can give you a heads up

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kmccarth
read bostinnovation.com and/or stop by our office whenever (110 Chauncy
street). we know a decent amt about the young entrepreneurs in the area

