VentureFizz brings people and tech together in Boston
Keith Cline is the founder of Dissero, a recruiting firm focusing on emerging growth companies in the Northeast. I’ve known Keith for five years, and respect his ability to find the right people to fit the right jobs in emerging technology companies. For those who’ve been tasked with hiring talent for a web tech company in Boston – you know how hard this is to do with success on a regular basis. It takes a deep understanding of the technology, but also the personalities of everyone involved. That’s why I was intrigued when Keith launched VentureFizz in 2009, a destination website focused on all things Tech in the Boston area. From the start, it was clear that VentureFizz is much more than a job board. It’s a community site dedicated to bringing together the talent, the technology, the jobs, and the entrepreneurial spirit in this great technology hub in Boston and the northeast. I sat down with Keith to learn more.
Mamet: What is VentureFizz and what prompted you to start it?
Cline: VentureFizz is a destination website where people can find all that is buzzing within Boston’s technology community from one spot. There is a tremendous amount of great content out there and our goal was to help pull it all together for people in our industry. For the past seven years, I have been running a recruiting firm called Dissero, which is focused on VC backed technology companies in the Boston area. I speak with several people every day and I always ask the question – “how do you find information about Boston’s tech industry.” The responses are typically varied and it seemed apparent that a site like this would be a valuable resource. Thus, VentureFizz pulls all of this information together. Our features include: Company Research (over 800 companies, tagged and searchable), Job Board, Networking Calendar, VC Funding Activity, News, Blogs, and our Twitter feed.
Mamet: What’s happened since you launched it? things you were hoping for? things you didn’t expect? any stats you can share with us?
Cline: One word – WOW – I have been overwhelmed and encouraged by the amount of support and positive feedback from the tech community in Boston. So many people have sent me emails saying how much they appreciate the site. The venture capital community has also been very, very supportive of the site. Firms like Matrix Partners, Flybridge Venture Capital, Venrock, Highland Capital Partners, etc. have all helped out in one way or another. Every week, the traffic continues to grow at a steady clip and we currently have over 6,200 people receiving our weekly email newsletter. The newsletter has been a very popular feature, since it provides an overall snapshot of information from the previous week. We also highlight innovative companies, jobs and upcoming networking events.
Mamet: During your “day job,” you help tech companies find talented technology workers. How do you see technology, venture capital / funding, and entrepreneurship blending to change the shape of the “recruiter” role?
Cline: In the recruiting industry, there are always new ideas, cutting edge technologies, or new business models that are looking to change the face of recruiting. Some of which have been venture capital backed and very successful. For example, LinkedIn has made an enormous impact on how recruiters source for talent. Bullhorn is a Highland backed company which has created a SaaS Applicant Tracking System for staffing firms. Each company is filling a critical need in a major market where there is a significant revenue opportunity (for a VC to fund the business). On the flip side, I see a lot of “solutions” that seem overly technical and complex, where they are trying to automate too much. A lot of recruiting comes down to experience, knowledge, personal touch, and instinct.
Mamet: How does VentureFizz fit into the ecosystem of great tech communities here in New England like Scott Kirsner’s Innovation Economy, David Beisel’s Web Innovator’s Group, and Bobbie Carlton’s Mass Innovation Nights?
Cline: VentureFizz is a perfect compliment to the overall ecosystem. We are all working towards the same common goal in terms of increasing the awareness of all the great things happening, as well as encouraging innovation throughout the region. WebInno, Mass Innovation Nights, MTLC, MITX, etc. are all included as part of our Networking Events page. I also help to promote specific events, such as the QUEST for Innovation, which has a featured listing and logo on our site. I have always been a big fan of Scott Kirsner, as well as Mass High Tech & Xconomy. I hope that VentureFizz is introducing their great content to some fresh eyes.
Mamet: What does the future hold for VentureFizz? What next big steps should we be on the lookout for?
Cline: I am happy with the positive feedback from the first release of the site, but I already have several ideas for the next release of VentureFizz. My goal is to make the site more social and interactive. At some point, I would like to roll out VentureFizz to another city…but I am focused on making the site a major success in Boston first.
Keith Cline is Founder, VentureFizz & Dissero. Keith has over eleven years of experience in the technology and recruiting industry. In 2009, Keith launched VentureFizz, which is a destination website focused on all things Tech in the Boston area. Seven years ago, Keith also started and continues to run Dissero, which is a leading recruiting firm focused on working with venture capital backed companies in the area.
