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Press Release

SoftLayer® Sponsors MassChallenge Startup Accelerator and Competition

Company to Provide Cash, Infrastructure and Mentorship to Program Honored by President Obama as One of Best for Supporting High Growth Entrepreneurs

Boston, MA—March 1, 2012—SoftLayer Technologies announced that it will be a Silver Sponsor of the 2012 MassChallenge Startup Accelerator and Competition, the largest program of its kind designed to catalyze the launch and success of high-growth, high-impact new businesses. SoftLayer’s Catalyst Program – the company’s own technology entrepreneur mentorship initiative – will provide $25,000 cash to MassChallenge and also will give qualifying participants $1,000 a month credit on the SoftLayer platform for one full year for their server, storage and infrastructure needs.

“We are very grateful for Softlayer's generous support of MassChallenge. Their resources and mentorship will provide early stage entrepreneurs with much needed support; and allow them to transform innovative thinking into tangible business,” said Akhil Nigam, Founder and President, MassChallenge Inc.

In its third year, MassChallenge is the first startup accelerator and competition program to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached. Each year, participants vie for up to $1 million in cash awards and an additional $4 million of in-kind support, and have the opportunity to dramatically accelerate their startups through community, education and mentorship, without sacrificing any equity. MassChallenge entrepreneurs benefit from business tools and free office space, while connecting with a network of mentors, funding sources, media representatives and fellow entrepreneurs.

“Programs such as MassChallenge are critical for giving today’s Web and tech-savvy entrepreneurs the jumpstart they need to bring new innovations to market and contribute positively to our country’s economic development,” said George Karidis, Chief Strategy Officer at SoftLayer. “Our sponsorship of MassChallenge is another example of SoftLayer’s commitment to supporting the growing and thriving community of future technology entrepreneurs in the US, and helping them effectively address the challenges that startups face today.”

SoftLayer, which itself grew out of a classic startup environment, founded its startup program in 2011 to help find the best innovators and mentor them to success. SoftLayer Catalyst provides novice entrepreneurs with advice, best practices, industry insight from SoftLayer executives, marketing support and hosting resources.

2012 MassChallenge Launch

Today, MassChallenge launched its Startup Accelerator and Competition with a ceremony in Boston MA. During the event, entrepreneurs were able to network with VIPs and hear remarks from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; City of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino; Jonathan Kraft, president of The Kraft Group and New England Patriots; and Dharmesh Shah, chief technology officer and founder of HubSpot.

Entrepreneurs interested in applying for the 2012 MassChallenge Startup Accelerator and Competition have until April 11 to submit an application.  Those who apply by March 15 are eligible for a $100 discount on the application fee.

About MassChallenge

MassChallenge is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached.

Benefits for startups include:

• Three-month accelerator program. World-class mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, legal advice, cofounders, media exposure and more.
• $1M in cash awards. $4M+ in-kind support.
• Open to all. Any startup can enter, from anywhere, in any industry.
• No equity taken. No restrictions applied.

President Obama honored MassChallenge in January of 2011 as one of the nation's best organizations for supporting high-growth entrepreneurs, and MassChallenge was the youngest inaugural affiliate of the Startup America Partnership. The 111 startups supported in the 2010 MassChallenge accelerator raised over $100M in outside funding and created ~500 new jobs in under 12 months. For more information or to apply, visit masschallenge.org.

About SoftLayer Technologies

SoftLayer operates a global cloud infrastructure platform built for Internet scale. Spanning 13 data centers in the United States, Asia and Europe and a global footprint of network points of presence, SoftLayer’s modular architecture provides unparalleled performance and control, with a full-featured API and sophisticated automation controlling a flexible unified platform that seamlessly spans physical and virtual devices, and a global network for secure, low-latency communications. With 100,000 devices under management, SoftLayer is the largest privately held Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider in the world with a portfolio of leading-edge customers from Web startups to global enterprises. For more information, please visit softlayer.com.

Contact:
Andre Fuochi
Director, Corporate Communications
469.394.7274
afuochi@softlayer.com

2012 Press Releases