Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Flybridge Capital introduces scholarships to retain talent in Mass.

By Galen Moore

Flybridge Capital Partners will announce today the launch of a scholarship program designed to help the commonwealth retain college students in innovation and entrepreneurial fields after graduation.

Dubbed “Stay in MA,”  the scholarship program will subsidize fees charged by regional technology and business organizations, to the tune of up to $100 per event or membership fee. Any student enrolled in a Massachusetts college or university may apply for up to three scholarships per year.

“We’re trying to really address what we think is a huge issue in Massachusetts, which is that we’ve got this incredible talent pool of students at universities, and our talent disappears when they graduate,” said Jeffrey Bussgang, a general partner at the Boston-based venture capital firm, who is leading the charitable effort. “We want to harness that talent in Massachusetts.”

Professional organizations participating in the effort include the Massachusetts Network Communications Council, MassMEDIC, MITX, the New England Clean Energy Council, Search Engine Marketing New England and TiE Boston.

“Those industry groups are fundamental to each of their various ecosystems in the state, but they all operate as silos,” Bussgang said. “Students want to plug in somehow across these various groups to understand what is the best fit for them. And there’s a cost hurdle -- 50 bucks, 100 bucks, it adds up.”