Datalign supports a separate digital marketplace in which financial advisers can place bids on an investor’s portfolio; the individual investors are directed to Datalign’s platform from ads on financial news websites. Datalign says it referred portfolios that collectively totaled nearly $15 billion in assets to various financial advisers in 2023, with about $3 billion “converting” — or moving over to the new advisers.
For now, Datalign will remain in the Cogo office space at One Kendall Square. But Mahajan is currently building his own leadership team: He has 20 employees now and expects that to double by the end of the year.
When Blundin first approached him, Mahajan expressed a bit of skepticism because his entrepreneurial background, pre-Amazon, was in motion-sensor technology for golf training and computer games, not financial services. Blundin successfully made the case.
“Sometimes, you like people that don’t come from an industry because they ask really silly questions,” Mahajan recalled. “They say, ‘I don’t understand that because . . . ’ I come to this from a very fresh perspective, and [have] a willingness to do different things.”
Blundin and the other investors in his venture capital firm, Link Ventures, still hold a controlling stake in Datalign. But Mahajan may launch a fund-raising round soon to bring in more investors, and he hopes to follow EverQuote into the public market within three years.
“I’ve never taken a company public [before], and that looks like it would be a fun ride,” Mahajan said. “We’re open to other possibilities but I think this is a really great company to head in that direction.”
Blank Rome lands local legal eagles
The Boston legal market can be a tough place for out-of-state firms to get a foothold.
Blank Rome, whose roots are in Philadelphia, is doing it the smart way: bringing on an already established team of Boston attorneys. That team consists of 25 lawyers from Burns & Levinson, led by corporate practice co-chairs Frank Segall and Josef Volman. The group joined Blank Rome last week; Segall and Volman will run the Boston office, Blank Rome’s 16th location. Among those making the move: Scott Moskol, who led Burns & Levinson’s successful cannabis practice with Segall; they’ll lead Blank Rome’s national cannabis practice.
Blank Rome chair Grant Palmer said his firm had its eye on Boston for years, so he was thrilled when Segall and Volman reached out about joining forces.
Segall, meanwhile, said he enjoyed his two-plus decades at Burns & Levinson, but wanted to be at a bigger law firm in part to offer more services to his clients.
“My career and practice thrived there [but] I knew this was the right decision for our clients and our team to take it to another level,” Segall said. “You’re never too old to start a new adventure.”
For now, the Segall-Volman team will stay put at Burns & Levinson’s offices at 125 High St., as they scout for a new spot. “We didn’t have to go far,” Segall said. “We just had to show up at the same garage.”
Chamber talk: Boston’s big inflection point
The theme of the night was “Strengthening Our Competitive Edge.” So it was no surprise the state’s competitiveness would come up during the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting, which drew roughly 1,500 people to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center last week.
Ron O’Hanley, State Street’s chief executive and the chamber’s chairman, warned that Massachusetts is at a “pivotal moment” as it confronts housing and transportation crises, as well as the ramifications of declining office tower values and a year-old income tax surcharge on high earners.
“In the post-COVID world, the competition between states has never become more intense,” O’Hanley said. “The mobility of businesses and people have never been higher.”
Fixing public transportation tops O’Hanley’s list of must-dos, along with local zoning reforms to encourage more housing construction. “Before I throw this cold blanket on everybody and nobody even wants to stay here for dinner, we have to remember that Greater Boston and Massachusetts [have] a proven track record of addressing hard problems,” O’Hanley said, before passing the mic over to Rapid7 chief executive Corey Thomas, who takes over as the chamber’s board chairman in July.
After some remarks from Thomas, Governor Maura Healey bounded up to the stage to offer a few sports analogies. “There are a lot of states who are nipping at our heels, and looking to blow past us,” Healey said. “I don’t want to let that happen. Ever. So as a former has-been point guard, know that I am here to lend any assist [and] work together as a team.”
Pulling the plug on projects in Conn.
Eversource still has two headquarters locations, one in Hartford and one in Boston. But it’s become pretty clear where chief executive Joe Nolan and chief financial officer John Moreira would prefer to spend their time. Hint: not Connecticut.
The simmering battle between Eversource and its regulators in Connecticut heated up last week, when Nolan and Moreira announced they would pare back the utility’s capital spending there. The reason? They said Eversource faces significant uncertainty there because of the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, led by chair Marissa Gillett. They told analysts on an earnings call that they were cutting back spending in Connecticut by $500 million over five years, but also left their overall capital budget unchanged. In other words, more money for Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Nolan griped about how recent regulatory authority decisions do not give a predictable “recovery path” for the utility to recoup its investments from ratepayers. He said the cutbacks in Connecticut would take place in reliability efforts, not safety. And he seemed to go out of his way to praise the other two states where Eversource operates.
“Obviously, we have grave concerns about the environment there,” Nolan said. “I think everyone knows that. [But] we enjoy a very productive working relationship in our other two jurisdictions where we are so aligned that no light shines between the state’s initiatives and our initiatives.”
The Dream Police are coming to Fenway
It’s not quite the Nippon Budokan, the legendary Japanese venue where Cheap Trick recorded its famous live album. But the MGM Music Hall will still be rocking come Aug. 3 when Cheap Trick comes to Boston for the third annual “617 Rocks” show.
Landing a big-name band like Cheap Trick is a big victory for an unlikely concert promoter: state senator and attorney Barry Finegold. In his off hours, Finegold has shepherded the 617 Rocks Foundation, a nonprofit that works with Live Nation to host a show every year to raise money for charities. In 2022, local legend Godsmack kicked things off with the first show for the “617 Rocks” series and the first show for the Fenway Sports Group-owned venue. Last year’s show featured hard rockers Chevelle and Three Days Grace. Boston Beer Co.’s Samuel Adams brand returns this year as the lead sponsor.
Finegold’s goal is to raise $150,000 with the Cheap Trick show, primarily to benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Center. He eventually envisions a big weekend along Lansdowne Street that can incorporate the other nearby venues, namely the House of Blues and Fenway Park.
“Look at Boston Calling and how they grew,” Finegold said. “Each year, they got a little more growth. That’s what we’re hoping to do as well.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @jonchesto.