Chamber launches effort to boost startups
Continuing its efforts to retain young professionals and help launch new businesses, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce has launched a new initiative aimed at helping college graduates who want to be entrepreneurs jump-start their ideas and stay in Central Massachusetts.
The new initiative, called StartUp Worcester, will award 12 individuals who have innovative business plans with the resources, space and support to develop their ideas and take them to market.
The chamber will be working with Running Start and The Venture Forum, both Worcester-based organizations that help startup businesses get off the ground.
“The goal is to retain … bright, young entrepreneurs and encourage them to grow their business here – in Worcester – where they will soon learn that they have access to everything they need to succeed, including a well-educated and trained workforce,” chamber president and CEO Timothy Murray said in a statement.
Successful applicants will also become members of the chamber as well as Running Start, which has space for startups at its offices on Prescott Street. They will also be able to take part in monthly events presented by The Venture Forum.
StartUp Worcester is receiving financial support from Commerce Bank and the law firm DarrowEverett.
“We saw this as an organic opportunity to team up with the chamber … to support initiatives that leverage new technologies and entrepreneurial approaches to drive innovation and encourage individuals to run and grow their businesses here in Worcester,” said Devon Kinnard, an attorney with DarrowEverett, in the chamber statement.
StartUp Worcester is for current students, graduating seniors and recent alumni from colleges in and around Worcester. (Click here for a list of participating schools.)
Application forms can be completed online (Click here to access a form) and will be accepted until May 1.
Rebirth of leadership development program
In a separate announcement, the chamber along with the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and several community leaders, are re-starting a leadership development program that was discontinued about 10 years ago, according to Murray.
The program, Leadership Worcester, will identify individuals who want to take active leadership roles in Worcester and surrounding towns and aim to learn and hone new leadership skills that will help their communities.
“There has been tremendous growth and change in Worcester and the surrounding region,” said J. Christopher Collins, general counsel for Unum, in a statement distributed by the chamber. “There is a realization that the next generation of leadership needs to be engaged in the community’s long-term vision for success.”
The initial leadership class will begin meeting in September, with monthly classes taking place the second Thursday of each month from October through May, along with two evening networking events. Each session will explore a regional topic and help participants understand critical issues that affect Central Massachusetts.
The cost of the program is $2,500 per participant, although scholarship aid through local foundations will be available, the chamber said.
Applications for the program will be available online (Click here) starting Feb. 1, with applications due April 1. Participants will be notified of their acceptance to the program by May, the chamber said.
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