The BIC Presents Podcast

In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan sits down with Dr. Dennis Rebelo, Chief Learning Officer at the Berkshire Innovation Center, to discuss the evolution of the BIC’s accelerator program and its growing focus on the founder behind the venture. After three cohorts supporting entrepreneurs with technical expertise, government relations, media, leadership development, and access to the BIC ecosystem, the program is shifting toward helping founders and key leaders navigate the human dynamics of building an organization. Dennis introduces Orienting Intelligence, his framework for understanding how leaders sense, adapt, and make decisions during high-pressure moments when relationships, priorities, or power dynamics can quickly change. The conversation explores why technical aptitude and funding alone may not prepare a founder to build and lead an effective team. PJ and Dennis also discuss the value of cohort-based learning, where founders can examine real experiences, develop a shared language, and learn from one another. The six-month Founders Accelerator brings that work together through a hybrid program designed to help founders develop alongside the companies they are building.

Links:

BIC Founders Accelerator:
https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/accelerator-program

Berkshire Innovation Center:
https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

Narrative Research Group:
https://narrativeresearchgroup.org/

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center:
https://www.masscec.com/

Massachusetts Life Sciences Center:
https://www.masslifesciences.com/

In this special episode of BIC Presents, PJ Moynihan moderates a live panel discussion during the Berkshire Innovation Center's Stage Two Accelerator program focused on the entrepreneurial journey. Panelists include Troy Cunningham of Zulu Pods, Roger Questel of Questech, Al Enchill of Elegant Stitches, and BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne, who share how their businesses evolved through unexpected opportunities, customer feedback, and changing market conditions. The conversation explores the importance of adapting business models, learning from setbacks, building trusted relationships with mentors and peers, and surrounding yourself with people who bring complementary expertise. Audience members from BIC's entrepreneurial ecosystem also share their own experiences, discussing product development, manufacturing, and scaling new ventures. The discussion concludes with personal reflections on leadership, balancing work with family, measuring success beyond financial outcomes, and the role the Berkshire Innovation Center plays in supporting entrepreneurs throughout their entrepreneurial journeys.

Links:

Digital Eyes Film Productions:  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4876948/

Zulu Pods: https://zulupods.com/

Elegant Stitches: https://www.elegantstitches.com/

Questech: https://www.questech.com/

Berkshire Innovation Center: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan sits down with Bryana Bayly, Manager of Industry Relations, and Heather Williams, Youth Program Director at the MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board, for a conversation about workforce development, career readiness, and the future of opportunity in Berkshire County. The discussion explores how MassHire works alongside schools, employers, community organizations, and regional partners to build a connected career readiness system that introduces students to career pathways as early as elementary school.

Heather outlines the structure of the region’s career awareness, exploratory, and immersive learning programs, including internships, job shadowing, and structured work experiences that help young people develop employability skills before entering the workforce. Bryana discusses the Berkshire Skills Cabinet and the region’s workforce blueprint, highlighting healthcare, hospitality, management, and advanced manufacturing as critical industries facing workforce shortages and growing demand.

The conversation also focuses on the importance of collaboration between workforce development, education, economic development, and innovation organizations such as the Berkshire Innovation Center. Together, the group reflects on the evolving message that “Innovation Lives in the Berkshires,” emphasizing that the region offers not only cultural attractions, but also meaningful career pathways, entrepreneurial opportunities, and long-term professional growth for people of all ages.

Links:

MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board:

https://www.masshireberkshirecc.com

Berkshire Innovation Center:

https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com

In this episode, PJ Moynihan sits down with Ben Sosne, Executive Director of the Berkshire Innovation Center, and Dr. Jennifer Le Blond of the Mass Clean Energy Center following a Climate Tech Corridor Roadshow event held at the BIC. The conversation centers on how MassCEC is engaging directly with regions across the Commonwealth to inform its climate tech strategy and funding priorities. Le Blond explains the purpose of the roadshow as both a listening tour and a way to share implementation plans tied to state-supported climate initiatives.

Sosne reflects on the importance of strategic planning in regional economic development, emphasizing that long-term success requires a clear understanding of local assets and realistic opportunities. The discussion highlights the Berkshires’ strengths in precision manufacturing, workforce development, and available infrastructure, positioning the region as a viable location for companies transitioning from research and development into early-stage manufacturing and deployment.

The group also explores challenges around messaging, infrastructure, and regional coordination, noting the importance of connecting startups with existing capabilities across Massachusetts. With a focus on collaboration, iteration, and long-term planning, the episode underscores how climate tech growth depends on aligning statewide strategy with regional execution.

Links:

Mass Clean Energy Center:

https://www.masscec.com/

Berkshire Innovation Center:

https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

In this episode of BIC Presents, PJ Moynihan sits down with Marie-Pascale Ruberandinda, founder of Globe Grown and participant in the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Stage 2 Accelerator Catalyst program. Originally from Rwanda and later based in Texas, Marie shares how growing up on her family’s farms inspired her to build technology that supports farmers and promotes sustainable agriculture. Globe Grown is developing an autonomous platform that combines drone imaging, machine learning, and a rover system to detect and eliminate weeds without herbicides. The technology is designed to help farmers reduce chemical use, address labor shortages, and improve efficiency while supporting healthier crops and reducing environmental impact.

Marie also discusses her journey as a founder balancing entrepreneurship with running a trucking business and raising a family. Through the accelerator, she is currently evaluating hardware options, engaging with potential investors, and working toward seed funding. Her long-term goal is to build Globe Grown in Massachusetts and contribute to the region’s growing clean technology ecosystem, while helping farmers worldwide through innovation.

Links:

Berkshire Innovation Center:

https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

In this episode, PJ Moynihan welcomes Steve Bravo, Director of Commercialization at New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and Leslie Nash, Interim Managing Director of Emerging Climatetech at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), for a conversation about climate innovation across New York and Massachusetts. Steve describes how NYSERDA supports energy innovation through research, development, commercialization programs, accelerators, mentorship, and connections to venture and corporate capital.  Leslie explains how MassCEC helps researchers and startups move from lab-stage ideas to prototypes, demonstrations, and deployment through grants, investments, and ecosystem partnerships.  Together, they discuss shared priorities including clean energy market growth, startup support, economic development, and building a more affordable, reliable, and decarbonized grid.

A major theme of the episode is the value of collaboration across state lines. Steve and Leslie describe how their teams regularly share lessons learned, compare program design, and help connect companies to new pilots and markets. They point to opportunities in building efficiency and the built environment, especially in older housing stock across the Northeast, and discuss examples like Runwise and Massachusetts-based Imbue as companies addressing those challenges.  The conversation also reinforces BIC’s role as a convening space in the Berkshires, positioned as a midpoint in a broader regional innovation corridor stretching from western New York to Boston/Cambridge.

Links

NYSERDA: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov

NYSERDA Commercialization Program: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Innovation-at-NYSERDA/Commercialization-Program

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center: https://www.masscec.com

MassCEC Emerging Climatetech: https://www.masscec.com/emerging-climatetech

Berkshire Innovation Center: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

Massachusetts Business Front Door: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/business-front-door

In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan sits down with Noble Carbon co-founders Jared Lebos and Andrew Crane to discuss how their climate tech startup is developing smart circuit breakers designed to improve energy efficiency and grid resilience. Lebos, who previously worked in financial services, and Crane, an engineer originally from Berkshire County, met while attending business school and later began collaborating on a solution inspired by energy challenges Lebos experienced abroad. Their early prototype evolved into Noble Carbon’s core technology: a compact smart circuit breaker capable of managing energy use more intelligently within homes.

The founders describe how participation in the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Stage 2 Accelerator helped move their concept from a basement prototype to a deployable product. They also discuss the role of state support, including the InnovateMass Grid Tech Spotlight program and an M2I2 grant, which provided critical non-dilutive funding to develop hardware, testing equipment, and manufacturing processes.

Looking ahead, Noble Carbon is preparing a pilot program with Eversource that will deploy its smart breakers in homes across Western Massachusetts, gathering data on energy efficiency, grid performance, and affordability for low- and moderate-income households.

Links:

Noble Carbon: https://www.noblecarbon.io

Jared Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-lebos-32146410b/

Andrew Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-crane-25039935/

Berkshire Innovation Center: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan speaks with Jeanne LeClair, Chief Business Officer of the Mass Life Sciences Center (MLSC), about how strategic public investment has shaped one of the world’s most successful Life Sciences ecosystems. Jeanne outlines MLSC’s role as a quasi-public agency investing across the full Life Sciences landscape, from academic research and shared infrastructure to workforce development, tax incentives, and public-private partnerships. She reflects on the origins of the original 2008 Life Sciences Initiative, describing how a bold, billion-dollar investment during an economic downturn focused on shared research assets and commercialization laid the groundwork for long-term growth.

The conversation explores how bipartisan leadership across multiple administrations enabled the initiative’s reauthorization and expansion through the Mass Leads Act, allowing MLSC to think and plan on a ten-year horizon. Jeanne also discusses evolving definitions of “Life Sciences,” the increasing importance of health equity and women’s health, and the need to address healthcare delivery alongside innovation. The episode highlights MLSC’s collaborative “tiger team” approach, illustrated through a multi-agency effort to retain and grow a life-saving MedTech company in Massachusetts. Throughout, Jeanne emphasizes accountability, ecosystem stewardship, and the ripple effects of well-paying Life Sciences jobs on regional economic vitality, including continued support for organizations like the Berkshire Innovation Center.

Links

Massachusetts Life Sciences Center:

https://www.masslifesciences.com/

Berkshire Innovation Center:

https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan is joined by Ben Sosne, Executive Director of the Berkshire Innovation Center, and Lily Fitzgerald, Director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech Collaborative, for a deep dive into the Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerator Program (MMAP). The conversation follows a ribbon-cutting event at Lenco Armored Vehicles in Pittsfield, highlighting how MMAP funding supports real-world investments in advanced manufacturing equipment.

Lily explains MassTech’s role as a quasi-public economic development agency and outlines how MMAP provides non-dilutive, capital-based grants to small and medium-sized manufacturers with 500 or fewer employees. Rather than funding startups, the program focuses on established, often multi-generational manufacturers facing growth bottlenecks related to demand, workforce challenges, or outdated processes. The episode explores how MMAP funding enables investments in automation, equipment, and other infrastructure that improves efficiency while freeing workers to focus on higher-value tasks.

Ben shares how MMAP aligns closely with the BIC’s mission, noting its catalytic effect across the regional manufacturing ecosystem. Using Lenco as an example, the discussion illustrates how the application process itself often prompts companies to rethink their operations and pursue larger-scale modernization efforts. The episode also highlights recent program evolution, including MMAP’s transition into a true accelerator model and its measurable economic impact, including job creation, workforce upskilling, and supply chain growth throughout Massachusetts.

Links:

Berkshire Innovation Center:

https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com/

MassTech Collaborative - Center for Advanced Manufacturing:

https://cam.masstech.org/mmap

Produced by Nate Christy & PJ Moynihan, BIC Studios.

In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan is joined by Ben Sosne, Executive Director of the Berkshire Innovation Center, Tyler Fairbank, CEO of The Fairbank Group, and Doug Crane, retired manufacturing executive and founding BIC board member, for a wide-ranging conversation on clean energy leadership in the Berkshires. The discussion centers on the formation of the Clean Energy Leadership Group, one of several new BIC leadership groups designed to organize expertise, focus collaboration, and advance regional innovation priorities.

The guests explore why the Berkshires are uniquely positioned to participate in the clean energy economy, citing the region’s scale, grid simplicity, available land, and strong network of manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and institutions. A key focus of the episode is the concept of a microgrid at the William Stanley Business Park, envisioned as both a cost-reduction strategy for local businesses and a demonstration site for emerging clean energy technologies. The group discusses regulatory, technical, and organizational challenges, as well as the opportunity to pilot new solutions alongside startups seeking real-world deployment environments.

The conversation also highlights the BIC’s U.S. Department of Energy Make It Prize award, which supports Western Massachusetts as a testing and deployment hub for clean energy manufacturing technologies developed elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Throughout the episode, the guests emphasize collective wisdom, open collaboration, and community engagement as essential drivers for long-term economic development and a successful energy transition in the Berkshires.

Links:

Berkshire Innovation Center: https://www.berkshireinnovationcenter.com