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wbjournal.com | Fact Book 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 5 R E G I O N S G r e a t e r W o r c e s t e r Greater Worcester: At a glance Largest employer UMass Memorial Health Care Inc., Worcester 12,906 local employees Largest chamber of commerce Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce 2,300 members Biggest bank Commerce Bank & Trust Co. $1.2B in deposits Biggest college Worcester Polytechnic Institute 5,150, fall 2017 full-time enrollment Largest meeting venue DCU Center, Worcester Accommodates 2,520 guests banquet style Average median age 39.61 Sources: Worcester Business Journal surveys of area businesses, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) as of June 30, 2017, Esri's Updated Demographics, 2017 estimates, Esri Tapestry Segmentation, www.esri.com Finding a home in downtown W hen Worcester cheerleaders talk about the city's start-up scene, there may be no other company that better embodies the fledgling industry than ten24. David Crouch, the president of ten24 Digital Solutions, moved the company three years ago from a suburban location in Northborough to 20 Franklin St., a multi-tenant building just off Worcester Common, drawn to where it could be near young talent in an urban neighborhood. The nearly decade-old com- pany creates and manages e-commerce platforms for a tenant roster including Sotheby's, Fast Company magazine, Total Wine & More and others. How did you make the decision to move the company to Worcester? Being in MetroWest, it's easier to find older guys like me. But we wanted to attract younger talent, so we began look- ing to Boston or Worcester. Living in Shrewsbury, I wanted to make it work in Worcester. We worked with the Worcester Business Development Corp., which was develop- ing the building after the Telegram & Gazette moved out, and we really liked the concept. How has it worked for you? It's helped with younger talent. If you were in Northborough, it's not the same. We had 11 employees when we got here, and we have 21 now. Worcester is a city, so I wasn't sure how people would like it. But we haven't lost any- one since we've moved here. Having the Idea Lab, Petricore and Blustream in this building, and having the Grid District, Mercantile Center and others right in the neighborhood has been great. How has ten24 been grown to include so many big clients? It's been mostly through referrals. We've only very recently added a marketing person. Our niche is in more complex e-commerce systems like Total Wine's Concierge service, where people can order wine in advance, or with business-to-business e-com- merce sites. That's the real growth area for e-commerce. This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by Grant Welker, WBJ news editor. (From left) ten24 vice presidents Sumit Verma and Brad Gustavesen with President David Crouch at the company's offices at 20 Franklin St. in downtown Worcester. P H O T O / N A T H A N F I S K E Community Tax rate % Property tax rates Shrewsbury 12.83% Oakham 14.25 Leicester 15.48 Hardwick 16.00 Boylston 16.12 Holden 17.59 New Braintree 18.06 Rutland 18.32 West Boylston 18.80 Paxton 20.39 Auburn* 24.16 Worcester** 32.93 *Residential tax rate is 18.34 **Residential tax rate is 19.22 Source: Mass. Department of Revenue W