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wbjournal.com | July 24, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 9 ey-raising standpoint, it is possible for a company to capitalize on its intellectual property, Dunn said, but that is akin to hitting a single or a double in baseball. A grand slam is scaling the business to becoming a major manufacturing firm. Becoming a cornerstone of the community ough a native of Easton, Duffy-Protentis is grateful to the com- munity of Worcester and wants to create jobs here. He wants to employ people from marginalized communities like himself. He was diagnosed with Star- gardt disease in 2006, leaving him legally blind. Adonis, his friendly service dog, accompanies him throughout his day. People with disabilities are oen overlooked because they don't fit into people's ideas of competence, said Duffy-Protentis. With a note of frus- tration, he recounted the story of a blind man he knew who worked as a janitor because he had trouble finding other work because of people's per- ception of his disability. By building a business where he can employ dozens, Duffy-Protentis could put in the work to help people like that janitor achieve their potential. As Duffy-Protentis works to bring eSki toward that goal, Greater Worcester has programs in place designed to help. One of those programs, StartUp Worces- ter, is an initiative of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, new business resource program e Venture Forum, and downtown incubator Wor- cLab. StartUp Worcester aims to attract businesses to Worcester and to retain and incubate businesses founded here. At Clark University, former state rep- resentative Bob Spellane is the interim regional director of another organization providing help to entrepreneurs: the Massachusetts Small Business De- velopment Center, a program funded by the U.S. Small Business Adminis- tration. Spellane said Worcester's strengths as a lo- cation for startups stems from the rich diversity of the community, how consumers in the city embrace small business, and the cost of doing business in Worcester being less than other areas in the state. Central Massachusetts' economic legacy as an historic manufacturing center would seemingly help a company like eSki ush- er more manufacturing into the region. While still in the early stages of building his business, Duffy-Protentis from his shop in a former wire factory on Webster Street hopes to benefit the people around him, the environment, and people who want to enjoy a day on the lake. W CALL FOR NOMINATIONS! To submit your nomination visit www.wbjournal.com/womeninbusiness WOMEN I N B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ Worcester Business Journal WOMEN B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ n W O M E N B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ IN WOMEN I N B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ Worcester Business Journal Here is your chance to nominate a deserving business woman that you know, and have her accomplishments recognized and celebrated! Submit a nomination today! Worcester Business Journal is looking to recognize the achievements of strong, talented and remarkable women who are making their mark on the Central Massachusetts business community NOMINATION DEADLINE: Friday, August 4, 2023 Corporate Sponsor Supporting Sponsor MARSH MCLENNAN AGENCY Presenting Sponsors Honorees will be featured in our October 16, 2023 edition Invest in startups Inflation persists, interest rates may see another hike, and labor costs remain at a premium. Still, locally and nationally, entrepreneurs are launching new ventures and seeking investment from traditional and nontraditional sources. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said investing in startups is a worthy endeavor, even if it's not an ideal time to do so. Is now a fortuitous time to invest in a startup venture? F L A S H P O L L No, now is a bad time for this kind of investment. 15% It's not a favorable time, but it is still worth investing in startups. 45% Yes, now is a good time for startup investments. 29% This is the best time to invest in a startup. 11% COMMENT "Yes, if an entre- preneur has educated themselves on their marketplace, invested in a solid planning process, and is committed to learning along the way, invest in them. We work with hundreds of diverse, local small business owners as they launch and expand their business in the Worcester area. Give us a call and we'll introduce you to our homegrown entrepreneurs." - Bob Spellane, interim regional director, Central Region Mass. Small Business Development Center (located at Clark University) Size of the personal watercraft market Global market size in 2022 .. $1.48 bilion Expected compound annual growth rate .......................... 5.6% Projected market size in 2032 ................................ $2.55 billion Source: Global Market Insights Bob Spellane, interim regional director, Small Business Development Center make it look like the next generation of personal watercra?" he said. Riding an eSki will feel familiar to people who use PWCs but a bit newer because of increased torque due to the electric motor, like driving an electric car for the first time, he said. One of the striking differences would be the relative silence of the eSki. In his Webster Street facility, Duffy-Protentis started up the PWC and revved it to more than 2,000 RPM without disrupt- ing the conversation. e machine was quieter than a kitchen blender. Getting investment-ready In order to begin manufacturing, eSki will need to obtain a significant amount of funding, which means learning to pitch to investors. Duffy-Protentis would like to manufacture an initial run of 250 vehicles. e electric vehicle environment has been building and seeing tremendous investing, said Loew of e Wire Group. "e window is still open for companies with good ideas and good tech," he said. To gain experience pitching to investors, Duffy-Protentis participated in the AMP! Startup Pitch Event on June 1 at the invitation of WPI Entre- preneur-in-Residence Darnell Dunn. e event gave Duffy-Protentis the opportunity to showcase his business to potential investors and mentors. Dunn helped eSki promote the June 27 unveiling event at a Lake Quinsiga- mond boat ramp, and Dunn hopes eSki can work more with WPI's Business Development Lab. at can lead to eSki connecting with investors who will not only provide money, but business exper- tise and connections. eSki is not short on connections as its board of advisors includes people from technology and industrial companies Raytheon Technologies and John Deere, as well as bankHometown of Oxford. A key to attracting investors is patents and intellectual property, said Loew. eSki has patented its battery technology allowing the PWCs to quickly swap out spent batteries and get back out on the water, something Duffy-Proten- tis said would be valuable to rental companies. eSki's product, Trident ES1, will be equipped with rear lights to indicate when it's slowing down, and Duffy-Protentis holds the patent for this technology as well. From an investment and mon-