Community Matters
The most successful entrepreneurs are resilient—
but none succeed alone
They rely on networks of mentors, peers, family, and partners to navigate challenges and scale their ventures.
In Greater Boston, founders benefit from a powerful ecosystem—accelerators, incubators, world-class universities, targeted policies, grants, volunteers, and well-connected organizations that provide capital, mentorship, and technical expertise.
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Yet even with these advantages, true risk-taking requires economic security. Access to healthcare, education, and stable housing empowers people to launch businesses, fueling innovation and job creation. Without this safety net, too many ideas never leave the drawing board.
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Massachusetts is seeing fewer new business starts, and fewer companies on the Inc. 5000. With half of Americans lacking a living income and millions with no savings, it’s time to ask: should we rethink tax and spending policy to create a more inclusive entrepreneurial future?
Join us for a screening of Death & Taxes—a documentary on wealth, inequality, and the American Dream—followed by a panel discussion on what it will take to expand opportunity and entrepreneurship in Boston and beyond.
Panelists:
Patricia McCoy is a nationally recognized expert on financial regulation and a member of the faculty at Boston College Law School.Her most recent book, Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All, examines the financial precarity of American families and what we all can do to make positive and collective change. She served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2010 and 2011.
Jim Stergios is Executive Director of Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank founded in 1988. Prior to joining Pioneer, Jim was Chief of Staff and Undersecretary for Policy in the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, where he drove efforts on water policy, regulatory and permit reform, and urban revitalization.
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Doug Banks is Executive Editor of the Boston Business Journal, overseeing editorial content across its daily website, newsletters, weekly print edition, and business events. Under his leadership, the newsroom has earned several regional and national awards for excellence in investigative, breaking news, government journalism, design, and general reporting.
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Larry Gennari, moderator, is a founding Partner at the business law firm of Gennari Aronson, LLP. He curates the annual Authors & Innovators Business Book Festival, writes a regular book column for the Boston Business Journal, and is an adjunct professor at Boston College School of Law, where he leads Project Entrepreneur, a clinic focused on assisting entrepreneurs with criminal records launch new business ventures.
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All proceeds benefit the West Newton Cinema Foundation
Tuesday, October 28th
West Newton Cinema
1296 Washington Street, West Newton