Dear Mass Fintech Hub Community,
2026 is off to an exciting start! The Mass Fintech Hub Boot Camp at Bentley University on April 1 marked our largest event to date. Featuring two keynote speakers, industry-led roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities, the program brought the fintech community to life for over 350 attendees.
A highlight of the program was the roundtable discussions, where students spoke directly with industry professionals—not HR representatives—about real-world experience and career pathways. Students consistently pointed to these conversations as the most valuable part of the experience.
Two weeks ago, we hosted our inaugural Fintech Pitch Battle at Stonehill College, bringing together 30+ students from nine member schools to pitch early-stage fintech ideas in front of a panel of six judges from across banking, payments, and fintech leadership. The energy in the room reflected the strength of the next generation of builders across Massachusetts.
Judges were genuinely impressed by the preparation and clarity across teams, ultimately awarding first place to LendPilot, second to GrowCents, and third to Creator. We've captured the key takeaways from our judges—including what they look for in the first minute of a pitch and how they evaluate early-stage fintech ideas—in a new article. You can read the full piece here.
And the activity didn’t stop there. Last Friday, we celebrated the close of MFTH’s 2026 Mentoring Program with our largest cohort to date. Mentors from 30 companies worked one-on-one with students throughout the semester, and the virtual closing ceremony captured what made this year special.
The highlight was hearing directly from participants. One mentee said the program shifted their thinking beyond monetization: "It's about ideas that can actually improve people's lives." Another credited their mentor with giving them the confidence to push further: "This program is really worth it, trust me."
We're gearing up for the next cohort—fill out the interest form if you'd like to get involved!
A few other highlights this quarter:
Three student events in one semester—and they keep getting bigger and better. On February 19, we partnered with Boston University for our "Fintech is FinLife" Boot Camp, featuring speakers on wealth management, crypto and stablecoins, and AI in real-world business. The Bentley Boot Camp in April drew our largest crowd yet. And the Pitch Battle brought student founders front and center. The momentum is unmistakable.
In April, we organized two panels at the Spain-US Business Summit, focusing on Boston's role in cross-border innovation. The timing was right: the Summit announced a new Massachusetts trade office and a $200 million VC fund to help entrepreneurs and scientists commercialize their research locally.
Thank you to M&T Bank and the Richi Foundation for collaborating with us on programming that reinforces Boston as a hub for global fintech growth!
