Students' Start-Ups Help Fuel High-Tech Boom in Cambridge

Harvard students who want to get involved in Internet start-ups have come to the right place.

Student start-up companies are contributing to a technological boom in Cambridge. City officials and professors say the area is increasingly winning a reputation as a center for high-tech industry. And Harvard and MIT, the universities at either end of town, are the principal attraction.

"A lot of startups come out of MIT and stay in the community," said Jeanne Strain, Cambridge's director of economic development. "They train the scientists and create the technology that's put to work in local businesses."

Along with students' efforts, Harvard and MIT are pouring money into computer science initiatives. Their investment, in turn, has made Cambridge a hotbed for the growing industry, extending well beyond their campuses.

Companies are naturally drawn to the invaluable resources of the two schools.

"There is definitely a natural draw to the schools because of their reputation for important research," said Robert D. Austin, assistant professor in the Technology and Operations Management division of the Harvard Business School.

Last October, Harvard opened a brand-new facility for computer science, the Maxwell-Dworkin building, funded largely by Harvard's most famous dropout who founded a start-up: Bill Gates, class of 1977.

In the same month, MIT announced a joint venture with Microsoft called I-Campus intended to improve the use of computing technologies on university campuses.

Along with donating $25 million to the five-year project, Microsoft will provide researchers to work with MIT faculty and students on various projects aimed at the future of information technology.

The project is an example of what can grow out of technological research, as work by students and faculty turns into entrepreneurial successes.

Austin says the area is very attractive to alumni trying to get started in the technology field.

"A lot of people like the area, and want to invest here," Austin said. "The obvious alternative would be Northern California, which is not as appealing to many."

Strain sees the impact of Harvard as different than that of MIT, but as equally important in the world of start-up firms.

"The [Harvard] Business School trains students who become the leaders of these companies," she said.

While Cambridge can't exactly be called a second Silicon Valley, the technology growth and development that has occurred with start-up companies here has been significant, often attracting people from larger companies.

"There is often a migration to start-ups, because of their potential and things like stock options and benefits," Austin said.

Along with many companies that stay in the area after growing out of the two universities, Cambridge is home to many established companies now facing start-up competition.

Lotus Development Corporation, which was founded in Central Square, is one of the largest software firms in the country.

The company, which employs over 1,700 workers, is the biggest company in Cambridge.

"They are a major employer," Strain said.

Even with high-tech expansion at Harvard and MIT, Cambridge officials maintain that the city does not make a conscious effort to attract new technology.

"Our main strategy is to grow from the inside," Strain said.

And with the resources of MIT and Harvard, that growth is likely to continue for years.