Startups

With most consumer markets populated by mass-produced items that are cookie-cutter images of each other, entrepreneurs in Worcester are capitalizing on goods that emphasize customization and craftsmanship through the use of time-honored skills in a 21st-century marketplace.

Former State Treasurer Steven Grossman, now CEO for a Boston-based nonprofit organization that aims to revitalize urban economies through business and job development, is leading the charge for business training in Massachusetts' 26 Gateway Cities, which include Worcester, Fitchburg and Leominster.

The transition from military to civilian life is a notoriously tough one, but many veterans have a set of skills that's well suited to running a business. And there are a number of public- and private-sector resources devoted to helping ex-military people move into the business world.

There are a lot of exciting things about starting your own business, but the isolation many entrepreneurs feel when they start out can be debilitating, said Venkat Kolluri, the chief executive of Internet advertising firm Chitika in Westborough. He remembers working alone in his home back in 2003 when he was trying to get Chitika off the ground. After the first few days, he said he started talking to himself because there was no one else to kick around ideas with. “How well can you be motivated when you're alone?” Kolluri said.

A dozen area startups, representing five Worcester colleges, have won memberships in a new program designed to launch new businesses.

A passion can develop into a business plan. But the steps in between are very critical, Ken Cook writes.

Worcester is the best city in New England to start a business, but not necessarily one of the best among the largest cities in the United States, according to a national survey released Monday.

Inside a former mill building in Worcester, a potentially new wave of businesses toils away. One has launched a new way to read the news while another is honing a robotic wok. These entrepreneurs are part of a growing number of college students seeking to evolve their ideas into businesses.

Ashland biomedical device maker BioSurfaces Inc. has kept a relatively low profile through much of its 12-year history. But new developments are creating some noteworthy buzz for the small company and its portfolio of products designed to treat renal, heart and vascular diseases.

Medical companies swept The Venture Forum's Five-Minute Pitch Contest Tuesday night, with the producer of a “smart pancreas” taking home $3,500 in prizes.