John Harthorne

John Harthorne

Title	Founder
Affiliation	BIIG / Two Lanterns VC / MassChallenge

John Harthorne is the founder of MassChallenge, Two Lanterns Venture Capital, and the Boston-Israel Innovation Group (BIIG). He launched MassChallenge Israel in Jerusalem in 2016 and traveled to Israel on governor trade delegations in both 2014 and 2016. His current venture fund, Two Lanterns VC, invests primarily in Israeli startups. In 2025, he founded Boston-Israel Innovation Group (BIIG), a nonprofit that links Boston and Israeli tech companies.

Links

• Oct 2024 LinkedIn post sharing PitchBook article on Israeli VC “Great article that echoes a lot of my thinking and confirms our belief that this is an excellent time to be investing in pre-seed- and seed-stage startups in Israel.”
• Apr 26, 2018 tweet by Israel in Boston “@jharthorne joins @CGYehuda to speak on the impact of #Israel innovation in the Boston ecosystem, noting the contribution it’s had on the local community - especially in job growth.”
• Apr 17, 2018 tweet by Israel in Boston “Watch our friend @JHarthorne, @MassChallenge Founder & CEO, explain why Israel’s Start-up Ecosystem is worth celebrating. #Israel70”
• Mar 28, 2018 tweet by Yehuda Yaakov “So honored that accomplished entrepreneurs like @rapid7’s Corey Thomas and @MassChallenge’s @jharthorne (& others) attended our #Israel biz event ystrdy.”
• Dec 8, 2016 JTA on Baker delegation to Israel Harthorne traveled with Governor Baker’s delegation of nearly 50 leaders to Israel and co-authored a Boston Globe op-ed with Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz on Massachusetts as a destination for Israeli startups.
• Jan 2016 MassChallenge Israel launch in Jerusalem “It was our goal from MassChallenge’s earliest days to open an accelerator in Israel and today it becomes a reality.”
• Jan 2016 Times of Israel on MassChallenge Israel launch “We are super-proud to be supporters of Israel. We love entrepreneurs, no matter who they are and where they come from.”
• Jun 23, 2015 tweet by David Goodtree “Big milestone: Nonprofit incorporation of @MassChallenge in Israel! With @jharthorne, @iganot”
• Jun 2014 Times of Israel on Patrick delegation Harthorne traveled to Tel Aviv with Governor Deval Patrick and over 120 Massachusetts business leaders in what the NEIBC called “the largest-ever economic trade mission to visit Israel from the US.”
• Feb 14, 2013 Boston Herald on MassChallenge Israeli initiative MassChallenge launched its Israeli initiative with backing from Robert Kraft’s Kraft Group. Harthorne: “Robert Kraft was very genuine and sincere about his desire to create jobs and growth here and in Israel.”

Events

Instances where John Harthorne showed support for the State of Israel.