Sanrel, LLC
“I originally started Sanrel LLC to develop a new metal 3D printing technology called Semisolid Metal Printing, which removes many of the issues currently associated with metal printing (like use of dangerous metal powders or electrical arcs), enabling the technology to be affordable and flexible enough to meet the market's needs. Developing my prototypes has been an incredible challenge: Lawrence Livermore National Lab tried and failed to develop a similar technology. But they missed some key out of the box thinking that indeed makes the technology feasible. To support the development of this technology, I am taking on materials science and systems engineering consulting work, which has become successful in its own right.
Startup Worcester helped provide me with free and affordable resources that, especially during the pandemic, were hard to come by for startups, like lab and industrial spaces/capabilities. Because I was developing physical hardware, materials and processes, I could not have started my business without access to these sorts of spaces. The mentorship provided through Startup Worcester kept me focused and helped me plan my business spending carefully. My business might not have survived the pandemic otherwise. Networking with Startup Worcester alumni, mentors and collaborators opened up many doors to future partnerships, and helped me find additional revenue streams like materials science consulting work to keep my business afloat while developing my originally intended minimum viable product. Through the Chamber of Commerce membership, I met the WCAC program which pairs interns with local universities and small businesses, and I found two interns paid by their program to help me set up my website and streamline and automate things around the office and lab.
Worclab has gotten much more active as pandemic lockdowns abated and vaccines became widely available, and as people decided to return to the office, and I think it's good for an entrepreneurs' mental health to be interacting with each other again. With more people renting spaces, Worclab has had the money to begin renovating the space: installing blinds to reduce solar irradiance drastically lowered the daytime temperature in the lab spaces compared to the same time last year. The return to in-person meeting has greatly improved networking opportunities as well: it just wasn't the same to meet people via phone or zoom.
As I grow my consulting portfolio and launch minimum viable product, it will be extremely valuable to my startup to have an affordable and multipurpose physical space to associate with my business, where I can invite potential investors and consulting clients to showcase my capabilities. The network afforded by the program will also be a tremendous help towards finding funding opportunities.” - Michael