LiftLabs
In
October 2025, the
Massachusetts SBDC's Government Sales Advisory Program began working with a new client, LiftLabs, a company
working on innovations in sustainable lobstering. This was six days after the
national Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program
expired.
Cormac Hondros-McCarthy [photo], owner of LiftLabs, thought he would be awarded a previously-submitted SBIR grant soon. With the closure of the SBIR program, the award did not come as awards were stopped.
Massachusetts SBDC staff worked with the client to discuss pursuit of other funding options. The client went to work identifying such funding. He decided to pursue Catalyst funding through the Masschusetts Clean Energy Center. Massachusetts SBDC staff reviewed the client’s proposal and advised on improvement strategies. The proposal was funded in March 2026 for $75,000.
Mr. Hondros-McCarthy stated that the Massachusetts SBDC assistance provided
"was direct, and focused on helping us get the feedback we needed on
our grant application in time for submittal. This is a huge asset to
startups in MA which helps fuel innovation in the state!"
(click photo to enlarge)