Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | July 24, 2023 | wbjournal.com to market condi- tions," said Loew. "ere are always new ideas." Loew, along with investor Zachary Dutton, founded a Worces- ter-based coalition of angel investors called e Wire Group. e group invests up to $150,000 a year in high-growth startups and aims to keep 20% of its funding with busi- nesses in Greater Worcester. e Wire Group is part of an entre- preneurial ecosystem in Central Mass. designed to help potential founders turn BY TIMOTHY DOYLE WBJ Staff Writer W ith the Central Mass. Business Confidence Index now indicating business leaders are pessimistic about the economy, the Federal Reserve Bank expected to raise interest rates again this year, and a tight labor market, it seems like a tough time to start a business. Yet, economic conditions do not necessarily kill the imagination of entre- preneurs. Great ideas can happen in any economy, said Worcester angel investor Timothy Loew. "Angel-level investing is impervious their ideas into reality, where the right programs and advice can be the difference between a concept never getting off the ground and an investment-ready startup with a tested concept and a well-conceived business plan. One company making its way through this process is eSki, an electric personal watercra startup founded by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate Jack Duffy-Protentis. eSki worked with members of WPI Business School's Business Development Lab's Advisors Mentors and Partners (AMP!) program to put on a high-profile June 27 event at the Lake Quinsigamond boat ramp attended by 46 people, including Con- gressman Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), Worcester Mayor Joe Petty, and other Worcester and Shrewsbury officials. e event led to media outlets MassLive and Community Advocate writing lengthy features on eSki and Duffy-Protentis, raising the company's profile in the business community. "I'm looking forward to seeing what they're doing in a year," said Loew, of e Wire Group, which hasn't invested in eSki yet but is aware of its efforts. Electric dreams In the heat of summer, personal wa- tercra cutting through the water are a common sight on lakes throughout Cen- tral Mass. While fun for the riders, they are loud, usually around 110 decibels, and can belch smoke, emitting almost 250 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour. eSki wants to change the $1.5-billion global personal watercra market by selling a fully-electric, battery-powered version, cutting down on the noise and carbon dioxide. Since his graduation in December 2020, Duffy-Protentis has started his company, assembled a team, built a concept model, is working on a prototype, filed two patents (with more in the works), and is taking preorders. Founded officially in September 2021, eSki put together a full-size concept model and brought it to the 2022 Miami Boat show in February. Duffy-Protentis knew the boat show was a key venue to show off recreational watercra and so one of his early goals was to exhibit there. e design, which is more sparse and efficient looking because it isn't built around a gasoline engine, was well received, Duffy-Protentis said. "If you're going to build the next gen- eration of personal watercra, why not Darnell Dunn, WPI Business Development Lab entrepreneur-in- residence Timothy Loew, co- founder of The Wire Group Building a STARTUP Worcester personal watercra company shows how even in a shaky economy, good ideas can get close to investment-ready eSki Founder Jack Duffy-Protentis sits on a personal watercraft, retrofitted with his company's technology, while engineer Tim King holds a scale model of eSki's signature product, the Trident ES1. PHOTO | CHRISTINE PETERSON

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