The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with Venture Forum and WorcLab, is proud to announce the twelve local companies that have been competitively selected to the 2024-2025 cohort of the entrepreneur pre-accelerator program StartUp Worcester. They will be part of the program from September 5th, 2024, until May 1st 2025.

These twelve companies were selected by a review committee based on the innovative nature and scalability of their business proposal and how relevant the program benefits would be for their needs. Each participant will receive benefits in the form of a free year of membership to the Chamber, free space at the downtown co-working space WorcLab, and access to possible funding and mentor networks with Venture Forum. They are also paired with a mentor from SCORE and a mentor who is a StartUp Worcester alum or local entrepreneur. This year’s program will offer workshops led by experts in topics such as; idea validation & market research, banking & revenue generation, branding, selling, building your network, fundraising, and pitch preparation. There will be seven workshops, taking place once a month. The participants will graduate in May of 2025 and will showcase their companies at an event open to the community.

StartUp Worcester is made possible by Presenting Sponsor Berkshire Bank, Supporting Sponsor Iandoli Desai & Cronin P.C., and Supporting Sponsor SCORE,

This year’s StartUp Worcester participants are:

  • ByteMorph.ai – Satish Mummadi – Is a software and technology start-up that helps businesses automate their software to newer versions, through an A.I.-based solution to update legacy software.
  • CROI, Inc. – Nicolas Gronda – Is a financial literary software that empowers high school students to make informed decisions through personalized college data and comprehensive cost-benefit analysis insights.
  • Eastern Standard Insurance Consultants – Christopher Jones – An e-commerce and insurance information start-up that seeks to streamline the insurance process, making it easier for consumers to purchase the right coverage for their needs.
  • Gld Mnd Cllctv – Kiron James – A start-up that educates, innovates, and entertains, through the mediums of art, fashion, and the media, to help local youth who don’t have the voice or guidance they need to succeed or truly express themselves.
  • Made from Jewl’ry – Teree Thomas Perez – Is a sustainable art education business that diverts thousands of pounds of jewelry waste away from landfills, to create unique, educational, and sustainable products for fashion, design, and so much more.
  • Oyster Enterprise, LLC – Elir Da Silva Melo – A software and technology solutions startup that has created an app to assist with transportation logistics and distance recording.
  • P.O.P Services – Jamal Smith – A personal training and financial literacy start-up that is developing an app to integrate sports training with financial literacy, personal development, and technology, to make the whole athlete.
  • Project Psyclone Productions – Sam Nelson, Zander Day, Connor Schenk – An entertainment production start-up, that has created a platform for talented small independent entertainment creators to showcase their work and projects, helping them connect to entertainment studios across the world.
  • Real Estate Investing Bot – John Pollock – A real estate investing tool that compiles data on the entire real estate market in an area and provides only the best potential real estate investments to users, quicker than ever before.
  • SlimeWare – Alex Supron & Brien Rondeau – Is an independent game development studio that aims to create and publish a fun and quirky interactive experience for the casual game audience on multiple platforms.
  • Studio Blue Jay – Jay Lam, Isabelle Colantuonio, Miss Maness, Cameron Connolly, Tate Donnelly – A game design and development start-up that seeks to create games with diverse and inclusive characters as well as storylines that showcase often unrepresented groups.
  • The Dope Design Co. – Shannon Manassa – An e-commerce start-up, that focuses on the customization of clothing and marketing materials, by creating exceptional designs while making a positive impact on our community.

Michael Kane, the Economic Development and Public Policy Associate at the Chamber who acts as the StartUp Worcester Coordinator. “The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to partner with Zak Dutton from the Venture Forum and Tyler Ojala at WorcLab for YEAR 10 of StartUp Worcester. We are also passionate about assisting our new cohort of twelve local entrepreneurs with the support they need to grow their businesses from the ground up and become successful entrepreneurs and community members. Also, we are thankful to have twelve volunteer mentors from our community to assist our entrepreneurs over the next eight months.”

Zachary Dutton, Executive Director of Venture Forum, said “Year 10 of the program is going to be the strongest one yet. The support of sponsors, mentors, and Business leaders will help ensure that the participants are well positioned for success.”

Tyler Ojala, Community Manager at WorcLab, is excited about this year’s program. “We’ve put a lot of work into making the program more impactful for entrepreneurs, with monthly workshops, consistent mentorship, and regular networking sessions… we think this will be the best year yet for StartUp Worcester.”