Start a New Business in Massachusetts

The State of Massachusetts’ Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) certifies diverse and small businesses interested in public and private business opportunities in Massachusetts.

The SDO is responsible for certifying diverse business categories including Minority (MBE), Women (WBE), Portuguese (PBE), and Veteran (VBE) businesses, and has agreements with third-party organizations that certify businesses in categories like Service-Disabled Veteran (SDVOBE), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBTBE), and Disability-Owned (DOBE), all of which must meet certain certification criteria.

SDO certification enhances a firm's ability to do business in public and private markets. Although certification does not guarantee that a business will be successful every time it bids, it may add a competitive edge to firms seeking contracts with the government.

Office of Supplier Diversity
One Ashburton Place
Room 1411
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Phone: 617-502-8843

Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Certification Program website

Women Entrepreneurs Boston (WE BOS) provides skill-building opportunities, technical assistance, and networking to help women entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses in the City.

WE BOS unifies and supports all women entrepreneurs - helping everyone from startups to home-based businesses to established brick-and-mortar mainstays. Resources include:

• coaching and educational workshops

• mentoring and networking

• panel discussions

City of Boston Mayor's Office
1 City Hall Square
Suite 500
Boston, Massachusetts 02201
Phone: 617-635-450

City of Boston Women Entrepreneur’s Boston website

The Massachusetts SBA is supported by a main district office in Boston as well as an additional location in Springfield. They provide services including funding programs, counseling, federal contracting, certifications, and disaster recovery. They can also connect you to partner organizations, lenders, and other community groups that help small businesses succeed.

The Boston office serves Worcester, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties.

The Springfield location serves Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties.

Examples of educational programs and events include Legal Considerations for Women-Owned Business Certifications, Accounting for Non-Accountants, Basics of Starting a Business, and Beginner's Guide to Canva.

Main Boston office:
10 Causeway Street
Room 265
Boston, Massachusetts 02222
Phone: 617-565-5590

Massachusetts Small Business Administration SBA website

Additional office:
1 Federal Street
Building 101-R
Springfield, Massachusetts 01105
Phone: 413-785-0484

Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) is an inclusive economic empowerment organization helping women business owners and aspiring women entrepreneurs launch and grow their business by providing greater access to the resources, tools, and support they need.

CWE provides:

• Education

• Training

• Technical assistance

• Women’s business enterprise certification

CWE clients represent a variety of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds at every stage on the business development spectrum - from starting a home-based business in public housing to running a multi-million dollar technology firm.

Eastern Massachusetts:
44 School Street
Suite 200
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Phone: 617-536-0700

Center for Women & Enterprise CWE website

Central Massachusetts:
69 Milk Street
Suite 217
Westborough, Massachusetts 01581
Phone: 508-363-2300

EforAll is a nonprofit organization that partners with communities nationwide to help under-represented individuals successfully start and grow their businesses through its unique combination of immersive business training, mentorship, and an extensive support network.

The EforAll Business Accelerator Program is a free, one-year program conducted twice a year and open for application to anyone with a dream of starting or growing a business or nonprofit.

Massachusetts communities served by EforAll include Berkshire County, Cape Cod, Fall River and New Bedford, Greater Worcester, Lynn, Merrimack Valley, Pioneer Valley, and Roxbury.

EforAll website

The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network provides free, confidential, one-to-one business assistance and free or low-cost educational training programs to prospective and existing small businesses throughout the Commonwealth.

Areas of assistance include business plan development, pre-venture feasibility, cash flow analysis, personnel and organizational issues, conventional and non-conventional financing, marketing, international trade, SBIR and government procurement.

Additional SBDC regional offices and specialty centers include the Berkshire Regional Office in Pittsfield, Central Regional Office in Worcester, Greater Boston Regional Office in Newton, Northeast Regional Office in Salem, Southeast Regional Office in Fall River, Western Regional Office in Springfield, Massachusetts Export Center in Newton, Government Sales Advisory Program and Small Business Innovation Research SBIR in Central Massachusetts, and APEX Accelerator Program in Springfield.

State office:
Tillson House
University of Massachusetts
23 Tillson Farm Road
Amherst, Massachusetts 01003
Phone: 413-545-6301

Massachusetts Small Business Development Center MSBDC website

SCORE provides business mentoring from experienced advisors at no cost to you and free workshops on all aspects of your business. From startups to existing businesses looking to grow, the expertise SCORE provides helps entrepreneurs like you succeed.

SCORE volunteers are successful real-world business professionals with experience in areas such as accounting, finance, human resources, consulting, import/export, law, operations, production, retail, wholesale, manufacturing, sales, marketing, management, business plan preparation, strategic planning, and many other business disciplines.

SCORE provides:

• volunteer mentors who share their expertise across many industries.

• free, confidential business mentoring in person, via email or by video.

• free business tools, templates, and tips.

• inexpensive or free business workshops and webinars.

SCORE Boston
Thomas P. O'Neill Federal Building
10 Causeway Street
Room 265
Boston, Massachusetts 02222
Phone: 617-565-5591

SCORE Massachusetts website

SCORE Northeastern Massachusetts serves Essex county and parts of Suffolk and Middlesex counties.

SCORE Worcester serves Worcester County in Central Massachusetts.

SCORE Southeastern Massachusetts serves the South Shore and South Coast of Massachusetts.

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps small businesses get the funding they need. Funding resources include:

• Loans: Start or expand your business with loans guaranteed by the SBA.

• Investment capital: Find an investor for your business. Investors make both debt and equity investments.

• Disaster assistance: Get help after a disaster with low-interest disaster loans.

• Surety bonds: Protect your work and your client with an SBA-guaranteed surety bond.

• Grants: Look for government grants that help businesses do scientific research and development.

United States Small Business Administration Funding Sources website

Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation is a quasi-public agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts providing financial services and managerial assistance that saves and creates jobs at women-, minority-, immigrant- and veteran-owned businesses in Massachusetts.

MGCC works with traditional financial institutions to make challenging loans bankable, working with community development corporations and other non-profits to provide financing for job-producing projects and assisting a wide range of small businesses find the growth capital they require.

For viable Massachusetts small businesses in need of financing, MGCC small business loans are an alternative lending source that provides loans from $5,000 to $1,000,000. Grant programs are also available for small business owners to expand their business and improve their digital capabilities.

529 Main Street
Suite 201
Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
Phone: 617-523-6262

Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation website

MassVentures is the Commonwealth’s strategic venture capital team. They find, fund, and foster early stage deep tech that fuels economic growth across the Commonwealth.

MassVentures focuses on those points in the investment cycle where capital gaps exist; specifically seed, post seed, and between Series A and B.

At its core, MassVentures is a venture studio with an emphasis on academic spinouts and building diverse teams that convert research and early-stage ideas into companies serving underserved areas in the Commonwealth.

By providing not only financial resources but also strategic direction, operational support, and access to a network of experts, MassVentures provides portfolio companies a greater chance of success.

1075 Main Street
Suite 100
Waltham, Massachusetts 02451
Phone: 617-723-4920

MassVentures website

The MIT Sloan School of Management is about invention. More specifically, they are at the intersection of business and technology, exploring the future of work. They are launching companies that kick start local economies in the developing world, retooling systems to make healthcare work better, and working to engage people around the world in addressing climate change.

100 Main Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
Phone: 617-253-1000

Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT Sloan School of Management website

Northeastern’s D'Amore-McKim Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group (E&I) is at the forefront of academic research, curricula, and experiential learning not only in entrepreneurship, but also in corporate innovation.

The E&I Group offers an array of courses in both innovation and entrepreneurship topics that prepare students to become entrepreneurs or agents of change in established organizations. At the undergraduate level, entrepreneurship programs are divided into four areas: corporate innovation, entrepreneurial startups, family business, and social innovation and entrepreneurship. At the graduate level, E&I offers two concentrations in the MBA program: entrepreneurship and corporate innovation. In addition, the group offers two unique programs: the Master of Science in Innovation which focuses on corporate innovation and the Master of Science in Technological Entrepreneurship which focuses on emerging technology ventures.

Complementing University research and academic programs, E&I has spearheaded the creation of a vibrant entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem on campus and beyond. This includes the IDEA Student-Led Venture Accelerator, the MOSAIC guild of expertise-based service providers, The McCarthy(s) Venture Mentoring Network, and the Entrepreneurship Club.

101 Hayden Hall
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Phone: 617-373-3232

Northeastern University D'Amore-McKim Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group website

The Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership is an action lab that convenes and amplifies thought leaders around the globe. Its six centers and institutes are at the heart of Babson’s global education. Two examples include:

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship is the nerve center for entrepreneurial activity at Babson and home of signature programs Rocket Pitch, B.E.T.A. Challenge, and Summer Venture Program, as well as the Butler Launch Pad, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference, and Butler Institute for Free Enterprise Through Entrepreneurship.

The Frank and Eileen Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership is the first center focused on women entrepreneurial leaders at a business school. It provides mentorship and resources to bridge the gender gap in business through programs such as Student Mentoring, Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab, Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program, and the Diana International Research Institute.

231 Forest Street
Babson Park, Massachusetts 02457
Phone: 781-235-1200

Babson College Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership website

The business journal of Western Massachusetts, BusinessWest is published bi-weekly and connects the business communities of all four counties in Western Massachusetts.

BusinessWest delivers business news from a local perspective with featured stories, a community focus and departments including new business listings, Chamber Corners, People on the Move, legal briefcase’s, bankruptcies, real estate transactions and a company notebook, celebrating business achievements and milestones.

1441 Main Street
Springfield, Massachusetts 01103
Phone: 413-781-8600

BusinessWest website

The Boston Business Journal is a hub for breaking business news and events. It provides readers with timely, accurate, and useful business news in print and online while serving as the primary facilitator of the highest quality business events in the Greater Boston area.

70 Franklin Street
8th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Phone; 617-330-1000

Boston Business Journal website