Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 10, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Can we create a CUSTOM magazine for you? Whether it's the celebration of a major anniversary or the opening of a new headquarters, Worcester Business Journal's Custom Publishing Division can help you create a custom magazine for your business. Our division's top flight team of writers and designers can help you tell your story – and make your business look great! Based on our unique publishing model, it's surprisingly affordable. Call WBJ Custom Corporate Project Director Christine Juetten at 508-755-8004 ext. 270. Worcester Business Journal WBJ Custom Publishing Division B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E F O C U S New businesses in Central Mass. Since 2021, the growth in the number of new businesses founded in Central Massachusetts each year has outpaced the statewide average. CMass. new Year-over- Mass. new Year-over- businesses year change businesses year change 2017 2,368 - 13,764 - 2018 2,487 5.0% 13,966 1.5% 2019 2,395 -3.7% 13,503 -3.3% 2020 2,383 -0.5% 13,847 2.6% 2021 2,731 14.6% 15,245 10.1% 2022 2,772 1.5% 14,824 -2.8% 2023 2,948 6.4% 15,200 2.5% 2024 2,904 -1.5% 14,880 -2.1% Source: WBJ analysis of Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth data W at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the mid-90s with the goal of putting the city among the next generation of startup hubs, spun off into its own nonprofit. A year later, the Worcester Idea Lab opened its doors. e collabora- tive workspace for startups and small businesses was part of a $42-million redevelopment project by the Worcester Business Development Corp. Today, the Idea Lab is the home of Holios Inc., a startup focused on ana- lyzing data from smart home devices to give companies insight into real life use of these products by consumers. Holios is led by CEO Jay Cahill, a WPI graduate and experienced startup leader with multiple exits under his belt. His work with startups over the past 25 years has brought him all over the world, but launching Holios out of Worcester has given the opportunity to work much closer to his home in the Blackstone Valley. One of his former startups was based in Providence, but the area lacked the depth of skilled workers he needed. "We did big business down there, but we were capped out of the talent pool," he said. "Once you go through the people who exist around Brown University, the talent, at least on the tech side, drops off." Cahill already had experience working in Worcester, having operated tech service startup Bluefin Technology Partners from the Idea Lab since the facility opened. Looking to spend less time commut- ing into a place like Boston and more time with his children, Cahill decided Worcester's universities and growing support network for startups made it a good place to launch another venture. "Even though you're building a tech company, it's not just tech," he said. "rough Bluefin, we've been able to leverage great computer science resources from WPI, but there's great marketing teams coming out of Clark University. I grab employees from Worcester [State University] and Quin- sigamond [Community College]. It's great to have a nice palette. at's why I chose to stay here with Holios." Cahill said the launch of the Wire Group and Auxilum is an exciting mo- ment in the local startup scene. "at's where everyone kind of gets tripped up is … having to look outside the city for capital," he said. "e more of those types of groups and organiza- tions [like Wire Group and Auxilum] that come here to support businesses in the city, I think it'll be better for the overall startup climate." Cahill is exploring his options for a Holios-focused capital raise, aer a few turbulent years in the venture capital industry, where the market flooded with new investors and companies looking to cash in on the artificial intelligence craze. "We're starting to see the professional investors go back in and get serious and that frothiness of AI has cooled off a little bit, and people see through the smoke now of what's [legitimate] AI and what's not," he said. Funding the right startup team With the 2022 launch of the Wire Group, Cahill may not have to travel too far to find funding sources for Holios. Focused on fast-moving, high-growth startups, the organization has made eight investments to date, with an aver- age total of around $45,000. "We see our pipeline and deal flow as high quality, and we're always looking forward to our next meeting to see the kinds of companies that we can bring to the table for folks in our group," said Tim Loew, one of Wire Group's 21 members. e team assembled by a startup is just as important, if not more import- ant, than the original incarnation of the company's gameplan, Loew said. Capital not only allows startups to begin their journey but gives them breathing room to pivot into a business model or sector more lucrative than their initial idea. "We expect them to learn and evolve so that the startup that we may invest in six months from now or a year from now, may have made a series of pivots to find the product market fit.," Loew said. "We take that on happily, because otherwise, many of these companies might not be able to get to where they need to be. "Other pro- grams in the area have really helped a lot of companies get to the point where they can go out and raise money," Loew said. "In fact, the advent of Auxil- ium in Worcester is a great example of that, where we see … some real signif- icant capital coming into the market to support Worcester-based startups." The next level Perhaps the clearest sign that some of the region's biggest business movers and shakers have faith in the continued growth of the city's startup ecosystem is the launch of Auxilium, a full-package innovation hub and accelerator started by entrepreneur Cliff Rucker, the owner of the Worcester Railers ECHL hockey team and the Worcester Palladium. e organization is taking applica- tions for its innovation studio, offering a 12-month residency featuring access to mentorship, business support, and capi- tal investments, as well as a three-month accelerator designed to boost existing businesses with access to industry lead- ers and investments starting at $250,000. ese efforts are being led by Zachary Dutton, another member of the Wire Group who led e Venture Forum from 2022 until the launch of Auxilium. Dutton sees local higher educational institutions as a key part of the local scene, even when students don't want to lead a startup themselves. "ere is a real intent on teaching entrepreneurship, but also the entrepre- neurial mindset," he said. "Not every- body you know has a company or an idea that they want to follow through, but many still like the idea of being involved with startups." Venture Forum continues to operate, with Dutton remaining on its board, but he believes the launch of Auxilium and the capital it provides should boost Worcester's entrepreneurial scene past its own startup phase. "We could provide advice, guidance, connections, but we couldn't actually support the entrepreneurs with any type of capital," Dutton said of the nonprofit Venture Forum. "Auxilium will be able to do many of the things that we wanted to do, while also supporting entrepre- neurs and these startups with invest- ment dollars." Tim Loew, one of 21 members of the Wire Group

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