Suffolk Construction’s Build With Us 2024 Boston cohort is underway.
This year’s 21 participating minority-, women- and veteran-owned small businesses are paired with Suffolk mentors and participate in a four-week accelerator program that intends to help them learn best practices and land contracts with Suffolk, according to Anieka Wilson, the Build With Us program manager.
The Boston real estate and contracting firm has run its Boston-based small business accelerator since 2012, and has since expanded the program nationally, with sites as far south as Florida and as far west as California.
The Boston cohort runs once per year. This year’s group kicked off on March 27 and will graduate on April 25. The program includes eight different courses, which acts like “a compressed MBA,” said Eileen Martin, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Suffolk.
The goal of the program is two-fold, Wilson said. It helps Suffolk build its list of subcontractors, and helps the minority-, women- and veteran-owned business leaders make a big step forward in their careers. Suffolk aims to help the businesses potion themselves at the prime level.
“They need a foot in the door to be able to [get] the work,” Wilson said.
Suffolk has not had difficulty finding enough subcontractors to complete projects, according to Wilson, but the program helps the firm meet its inclusion goals. For participants who might not otherwise be in a position to gain contracts with Suffolk, it’s a way in.
“We are meeting them where they are,” Wilson said.
The mentorship aspect of the program continues beyond the four weeks, and is the element that best helps participants gain contracts with Suffolk, according to Wilson. The mentors help guide newer contractors through the process of navigating sophisticated jobs in the long term.
Applications for the cohort run on a rolling basis throughout the year. To date, almost 250 participants have graduated from the program.
This year's participants come from these 21 companies:
- A. Holmes Associates
- Aetna Fire Alarm Service Co., Inc.
- American Moving & Installation Inc.
- Aura Insulators, LLC
- Boggs Properties, LLC
- EK Construction
- Emmaty, Inc.
- Essential Perimeter Safety Systems, Inc.
- Glass Electric Company, LLC
- JAG Painting Contractors Inc.
- Johnson Ironworks Inc.
- KMB Construction LLC
- M&J Painting Renovation Inc.
- MacDonald Cabinet & Countertop Distributors, Inc.
- New Horizon Finishes, Inc.
- Stone Koncepts
- Pereira & Sons Contracting Inc.
- Salem Quality Services Inc.
- Skyline Glass & Glazing, Inc.
- Towers Construction Company Inc.
- Ultra Drywall Finishers Corp.
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