Please welcome this week's guest blogger; Gerald Kimber White, Senior Managing Director at RF|Binder. Gerald was assigned to Uncharted Play during the MITX Up Hackathon, who recently developed the SOCCKET Ball. Learn more about this innovative product in this article from Co.EXIST! 

Last week, I was scheduled to participate in the latest MITX UP “hackathon” but when Wednesday evening rolled around and I ran through my mental “to do” list – preparing for two new business pitches, our agency’s annual meeting in New York, this week’s SXSWedu in Austin, etc. – part of me felt I should skip it and stay focused on my other obligations. As much as I love going to the hackathons, there was simply no way to get it all in. Fortunately, the selfish side of me that loves the hackathon experience overwhelmed the clock-watching side of me and I went to the Harvard Innovation Lab to meet another startup.

I was particularly looking forward to this hackathon since the startup I was assigned was Uncharted Play, a company that has developed a soccer ball that somehow manages to incorporate a power generator inside an almost perfectly standard size and weight ball. The generator converts the kinetic energy from play into electricity that can be stored to power an LED light (with plans to increase the output to be able to charge cell phones, water purifiers, etc.). The SOCCKET ball is designed for communities in developing countries for whom power supply is inconsistent or non-existent. Basically, SOCCKET combines two of my biggest passions – economic and social development and soccer – in a business model.

Temperature@lert’s Solar Cellular Edition was officially named a finalist in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products in the “Other” category.  They were also named a finalist in the 2012 American Business Awards for Best New Industrial Product earlier this year. They are currently waiting to hear if they will take home the gold. In order for Temperature@lert to win this category, they must collect enough votes to move into first place.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Emma Bisogno. Emma is a Client Services & Marketing Manager at Promoboxx. A graduate of Simmons College, she studied public relations and marketing, with a focus in entrepreneurship. While at Simmons, Emma co-founded the entrepreneurship organization on campus and interned at several startups in the Boston area. After living and working abroad in London and China, Emma has gained extensive experience in new media and marketing. When Emma isn't at Promoboxx, she is planning her next travel adventure, exploring Boston's foodie scene or practicing yoga.

In The Boston Globe's recent article "Slowing Boston's 'Brain Drain," myself and several other recent grads were interviewed to find out why we decided to start our professional careers in Boston. As the article mentions, many  young and skilled students decide to leave the Boston area upon graduation.

To be honest, I was looking at possibilities in other cities such as New York. However, I quickly realized that living and working in Boston would provide the best opportunity to collaborate with the movers and shakers who were making change through their entrepreneurial endeavors.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Diane Deng, Advertising Acrobat (Online Marketing Coordinator). Born and raised a Bostonian, Diane graduated with a BS from Boston University in Communications with a specialty in Advertising. Aerodynamic Diane spends her spare time flying in the air through her practice of aerial yoga while pursuing her Masters in Visual Arts at Harvard. Not only is she a flying machine but a marketing machine as well. She recently launched her first national cross-promotional marketing campaign. When Diane is not gliding on yoga swings, she swiftly manages Temperature@lert's new media accounts while building client and affiliate relationships. For this airborne gal, she likes her temperature like she likes her aerial yoga, a warm 78 degrees.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Michelle Goodwin and Taryn Westerkamp, PR & Social Media Account Executives at AMP Agency, showcase their love of PR through the creation of exciting and noteworthy campaigns for their clients.

When staring down a long list of expenses it is not uncommon that a public relations spend falls in at the bottom. While probably viewed as a flagrant expense to many working on a lean budget, investing either time or money in building a strong public relations strategy can be crucial to helping companies increase brand awareness, launch new products or build a stand-out reputation in a saturated market.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Seth Lieberman, CEO of SnapApp. Seth has more than 15 years of online marketing experience. When he is not immersed in social media marketing, you can find him at home in Brookline with his young family or indulging in one of his many hobbies, from gardening to photography to music to woodworking. You can reach Seth at @sethwlieberman or slieberman at snapapp.com.

Stephen Dubner (of Freakonomics fame) recently said: "You can put too much of your emotional life in the hands of people who don’t know you and have no responsibility for you, but I think sports fandom is a fantastic gift with almost immeasurable value. It’s a proxy for real life, but better. It renews itself, it’s constantly happening in real time. There are conflicts that seem to carry real consequences but at the end of the day don’t – it’s war where nobody dies. It’s a proxy for all our emotions and desires and hopes, I mean, heck, what’s not to like about sports?”

And what could be more applicable to start-up life than that? And with that… “Start-up life is like your favorite sport.” Add your own in the comments.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Harvey Simmons. Harvey is Dean of Marketing Affairs at EverTrue, a TechStars and MassChallenge startup that is dedicated to providing school fundraisers better data by connecting traditional alumni CRMS to the social graph. Harvey is a proud  Boston College Alum, and is wild about running, college basketball and everything mobile. You can reach Harvey at @HOSimmons4 or at harvey at evertrue.com.

When on the spot to articulate a quick response, we sometimes find an obvious truth. That was the experience I had when answering the question of "what is it like to work at a start-up in Boston," by a current student while visiting my alma mater, Boston College.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Raj Dandage. Raj has a BS and MEng from MIT and has 10 years of experience leading innovative software companies, beginning with founding and selling Cognate Technologies while still in college. He has been working in the mobile space since he founded the Next Generation Mobile Classroom at MIT, in partnership with Microsoft. Most recently, Raj served as lead architect at WolfPAC Solutions where he architected the flagship WolfPAC product, in use at hundreds of banks worldwide. He has been profiled in Crain's Business Magazine and Mass High Tech and has been quoted in publications such as the Washington Times, United Press International, and eWeek. He has also appeared on numerous TV and radio stations. Raj currently serves as president of the board of directors of the nonprofit OneWorld Classrooms.

A couple of days ago, I was walking to my favorite Mexican food truck for lunch when I had an unpleasant surprise - it wasn’t at its usual location. That could mean several things. Had they launched a new menu and found greater success for their eats in a different neighborhood? Did they take the day off? Worst case scenario – maybe they had gone out of business?!

This might be some hush-hush, Web 3.0 kinda stuff, but I've heard "mobile devices" are the web's next frontier. Apparently, people are taking their telephones outside the house and using them to send electronic mail and access the World Wide Web! Alright - kidding - but let's face it, an enormous number of businesses just aren't leveraging the mobile web like they could be. Today, Dave chats with Bluetrain Mobile, a startup entirely focused on helping their customers create an engaging mobile experience for their brand. In addition to providing a holistic approach to nailing down mobile strategy, Bluetrain's Mobile Grader tool shows where even established mobile sites may be falling short.

This post is part of our June series on start-ups. We reached out to some of our favorite local start-uppers to find out how they're innovative. This post is by Sonciary Honnoll. Sonciary is co-founder of Promoboxx, a brand-to-retailer marketing platform that allows brands to launch co-branded online campaigns with their retailers. Sonciary’s also a founding team member of BizUnite, an online cost savings marketplace for small businesses that has amassed more than 1 million business members. She has much love for traveling, tea, and technology.

Start-ups are constantly on the lookout for superstars to join their A-teams. For really early companies, a kick-butt crew means the potential for some serious success. Rapid and continuous execution is a must, especially when funds are short and time is of the essence. One person must have the output of two or three people, making human resources the singular most crucial asset of any startup.