Businesses Gain New Space To Elevate In Central Mass.
Running Start co-founder Ryan Leary has about a dozen startups working at his Worcester site.
Whether offering an affordable space to work, an area for collaboration or seminars for small businesses, there are more options available to Central Massachusetts startups and entrepreneurs to get their ventures out of the gate.
Until last fall, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) in Worcester and the Biotechnology Transfer Center at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton were the only startup incubators in the region, specializing in life sciences. But with more demand, other organizations are moving into the incubator space in their own ways.
Kevin O'Sullivan, president and CEO of MBI, which has been in operation since the 1980s, said his common refrain is: "Incubators are the rage these days. It's everywhere."
And they are part of a growing trend toward collaborative work environments where, in some, desk space can be rented for as low as $20 a day.
Locally, two incubator/co-working spaces have opened over the past year.
Running Start, launched last August, has about a dozen members working in a historic building on Lincoln Street. But this summer, it will expand to a building on Prescott Street, near Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Gateway Park.
According to co-founders Ryan Leary and Brenna Venkatesh, the move to the two-floor, 10,000-square-foot space will allow Running Start to step up its offerings beyond desk and conference room space to include industrial space with workbenches and a professional-grade machine shop where entrepreneurs can create prototypes.
"We've had so many people come to us with a product idea, and there's no place for them to follow through on it," Leary said.
Leary said he was approached about two months after opening Running Start by the owner of the Prescott Street building, thinking it would be a good addition to the area, which includes MBI.
Although Running Start's members range from a videographer to an app builder, Leary said the company — which is in the process of becoming a nonprofit — plans to focus on manufacturing, but it will continue to welcome members that need its services, no matter their industry. Co-working space will be on one floor; industrial space on another.
Running Start is getting creative with its funding as it becomes a nonprofit, looking to rely largely on corporate sponsorships. So it's offering what Leary said is a way for sponsoring companies to see multiplier effects of their investments. Running Start has pitched a sponsorship plan that includes an incentivized challenge program to Worcester manufacturers. In exchange for funding, a company could come to Running Start if it needs a product or program developed that's necessary, but not cost-effective for the company to produce in-house. The incubator would use its connections within the community to find a local person or team willing to take on the task while working at Running Start, potentially selling the product to the company when it's completed.
"It's a very good chance for people to get in front of companies they might want to work for," Venkatesh added.
Southborough's 'SandBox'
While Running Start's focus is broad, the newly launched venture TechSandBox, housed at the Southborough campus of Becker College, is zeroing in more on science and technology. Founder and CEO Barbara Finer believes the venture is necessary because there's nothing like it for entrepreneurs in MetroWest.
"The goals, in general, are to accelerate the success of science and technology startups to help them get to market faster" and get them resources to do that, Finer said. TechSandBox, which is seeking non-profit status, has a collaborative workspace, a conference room and "networking parlor," enlisting 50 members in its first six weeks.
Both Running Start and TechSandBox provide collaborative environments and expert advice.
Each month, Running Start hosts a workshop for the public with an expert on a topic relevant to small businesses, including best practices for innovation, creating a professional website and tax planning. The organization also has a growing pool of business mentors from around Central Massachusetts.
The idea is similar at TechSandBox which has clusters called SIGs — or special interest groups — covering various sectors that include marketing, IT and digital game design that meet monthly for workshops and discussions. It also has on-site experts, and Finer wants to line up more.
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