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Business Journals
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Hack.Diversity to cease operations after final cohort
After almost 10 years of working to diversify the Boston tech startup workforce, the nonprofit plans to shut down this summer. Story Highlights The tech diversity nonprofit will shut down Aug. 30. Declining partnerships and internships led to financial challenges for Over 600 fellows graduated, with 80% securing high-paying tech jobs. After almost 10 years of working to diversify the Boston tech startup workforce, plans to shut down this summer. The nonprofit dedicated to boosting diversity in tech startups said its current cohort would continue as planned, but that it would not be enrolling any additional cohorts afterward and will cease operations on Aug. 30. The closure of marks the loss of another pivotal resource for the Boston tech ecosystem, coming a week after Innovation Studios, the nonprofit co-working space provider with studios in Boston and Roxbury, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. The Roxbury location of Innovation Studios specifically catered to programs for entrepreneurs and founders of color. Now, with the loss of diverse startup founders will have fewer opportunities and resources available, making it harder to break into a crowded tech ecosystem. The closure is coming during a time when diversity initiatives across the United States, including those in Boston, are facing scrutiny and criticism from the federal government. According to co-founder and board member Jeff Bussgang, the nonprofit began preparing for the potential attack on diversity last year, changing the language around DEI and emphasizing overall excellence instead. Sign up for The Beat, BostInno's free daily innovation newsletter. See past examples here. Fellowships provided by were primarily funded through partnerships with companies, as well as grants and contributions. As AI tools continue to advance, Bussgang says there's a decreasing need for entry-level coding positions. Coding AI tools have improved so significantly in helping engineers write and adjust code, to the point where 95% of the code in one quarter of Y Combinator startups was written by AI, according to Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan. Bussgang and the board at decided that there was no clear path forward for into 2026. 'The best junior engineers are going to be those that figure out how to leverage the tools to self-teach, which potentially exacerbates the access problem and the diversity problem in the industry,' Bussgang said. 'Because people who are going to have those tools might be the ones that have the resources and the influences around them because they're raised in the ecosystem.' The nonprofit dropped from 30 partner companies to 18 within the last couple of years, as more companies dropped internship positions altogether, Michelle De La Isla, the current CEO of told The Business Journal. According to De La Isla, fewer partnerships result in fewer internships, and fewer internships have a direct impact on funding. "That was what really impacted us. Our philanthropic partners are incredible, but HACC doesn't work without internships, host companies or jobs for the fellows," De La Isla said. expand Michelle De La Isla, new CEO of Gary Higgins / Boston Business Journal The nonprofit faced financial challenges last year after it announced that it would cut eight jobs as part of a restructuring due to budgetary restraints. According to its 2024 impact report, the nonprofit operated at a loss of $440,000 in 2024, compared to a net income of $200,000 the previous year, as reported by Pro Publica. has undergone a series of changes since it spun out of the New England Venture Capital Association. Jody Rose, who served as NEVCA's president and co-founder of stepped down from her role within a year, and Michell De La Isla, the former Mayor of Topeka, Kansas, stepped into the role as CEO in 2023. The nonprofit was originally founded in 2016 with the mission to connect talented STEM students of color with strong companies in Greater Boston in the hope of dismantling the barriers between the local innovation economy and the Black and Latino communities. also conducts racial equity, diversity and inclusion training at partner companies. In pursuit of helping Black and Latino communities, conducted a fellowship program to help underrepresented tech workers secure internships at companies seeking to diversify their workforce. During its 10 years in operation, the nonprofit graduated over 600 fellows who have been placed at more than 30 companies. Despite the closure of Bussgang said the New England Venture Capital Association will maintain the alumni network and Slack channels for alumni to continue to network and share resources. According to De La Isla, over 80% of alumni who were not returning to school after the fellowship ended up getting hired at the end of their fellowship. The average salary for the program's alumni averaged between $115,000 and $150,000. "At this point in time, the organization of may be ceasing operations after this cohort, but the spirit of Hack lives in every single one of the fellows that we've been able to serve," De La Isla said "To keep Hack alive and to pay for all the goodness that they received, it is their opportunity to now open doors for others. And if they carry that on, Hack will live on, because Hack lives through them."
Boston Globe
24-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Tech diversity nonprofit shutting down after a decade of training people for software careers
The political Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'As we looked at 2026, we just didn't see a path to providing internships and entry level opportunities for another cohort of 70 to 100 fellows,' Bussgang said. 'We worked a number of different angles and playbooks, but in the end, if there are no jobs, there's no hack, or at least hack is currently constructed.' Advertisement Michelle De La Isla, Hack's chief executive, said she has been telling current participants, who will wind up their internships this summer as scheduled, and alumni that they can continue the program's mission. 'The calling right now is for everybody that has participated in Hack to continue keeping that legacy alive, because the organization will not die,' she said. Advertisement The program arranged mentors for participants, so Hack graduates should become mentors in the future, De La Isla said. And graduates could help students prepare for job interviews and tune their resumes, as Hack helped them. 'Hack the organization may be winding down, but hack the concept lives on within all of you,' De La Isla wrote in a Slack message to program participants. De La Isla grew out of a conversation between Bussgang and Jody Rose, who was then executive director of the New England Venture Capital Association, seeking to address the tech industry's struggles attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. Together with Tech Connection founder Melissa James, they hatched the idea for a program. De La Isla took over for Rose as CEO in 2023. The problem Hack was trying to address remains. Black and Hispanic or Latino people each Sara Fraim, chief executive of the Massachusetts Technology Council, said she was 'devastated' by the news of Hack closing. Advertisement 'They played a critical role in shaping a more vibrant, innovative, and inclusive tech community here in Massachusetts,' Fraim said. 'We will honor their impact by redoubling our commitment to supporting tech careers, creating meaningful connections, and advancing diversity and professional development throughout the industry.' Aaron Pressman can be reached at
