‘Peter S. Cohan: 12 local startups win space, mentors’

StartUp Worcester, a program developed by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. The program focuses on incubating new businesses that are formed by local college and university students and offering these budding entrepreneurs incentives to grow their new ventures in the Worcester area.

Holy Cross student Timothy Gardner ’17 was one of the 12 startups who was accepted into the program. His venture Sprezza Technologies hopes to increase the effectiveness of existing transportation systems.

“Worcester has been adopting a very growth-focused attitude in the past couple of years, and it has been interesting to see already how the city has progressed” says Gardner.

Other companies that were accepted into the program include  — five from Clark University, two from Becker College, two from WPI, and one from Worcester State.

There were 23 applicants that participated in the competitive program this year and out of those slightly more than half of  entries were accepted. The applicants were voted on by a committee that was comprised of StartUp Worcester’s partners including: the Chamber, Running Start, and Venture Forum as well as sponsors Darrow Everett and Commerce Bank.

The selection process was methodical explains Karen Pelletier, director of higher-education business partnerships at StartUp Worcester, “The committee looked at their potential for business viability and growth, business model, potential for obtaining funding, team readiness, filling a need in a marketplace and if they would benefit from the program.”

Twelve companies were accepted into the program — five from Clark University, two from Becker College, two from WPI, and one each from Worcester State and the  College of the Holy Cross.

Each of the companies accepted into the program will have work space at Running Start and membership into the Chamber and the Venture Forum for one year. This will provide the students with a variety of tools, events, and resources to help them succeed. They will also receive a mentor from SCORE.

Gardner is grateful for the opportunity the city has provided. “I think it is this sort of environment that is the primary benefit of staying in Worcester. There's a real community surrounding the small business/start-up scene that is really just getting kicked off.”

Read the full story here.

This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Kelly Ethier.