Grossman connects capital to Lynn firm

LYNN – Patrick DeIulis helps run a construction business in the center of Lynn, but he is also at the center of a push by former state Treasurer Steve Grossman to help small businesses like DeIulis Brothers Construction get the money they need to expand and take on bigger projects.Founded almost 50 years ago and located off Collins Street yards away from where DeIulis and his siblings grew up, the construction firm has 25 employees and three projects underway, including the North Shore Community College addition.DeIulis, the company’s vice president, said he is glad he has work, but he said Grossman’s Inner City Capital Connections is a way to position DeIulis Brothers to take on bigger projects.”We’re looking for ways our business can grow in an upward direction,” he said.Grossman, a Newton resident elected state treasurer in 2011, joined Inner City Capital at the request of founder and Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter after leaving state office this year.Porter founded the Boston-based national nonprofit organization in 1994 based on his ideas for linking inner-city businesses to the money they need to grow.Before companies like DeIulis Brothers expand and add jobs, Grossman said their executives must approach a capital provider and tell them, “I need money.””They need to build their capacity for managerial excellence,” Grossman said.Inner City Capital works with business owners and executives to ensure they have the business plans and strategies they need to grab capital providers’ interest. Its efforts are oriented toward businesses, like DeIulis Brothers, located in cities with local workforces.DeIulis and Wood Insurance are two local companies participating in Inner City Capital’s executive education forum on Sept. 24 at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. Grossman said the program will include presentations and discussions by business professors and a chance for executives like DeIulis to match up with coaches who can help them refine business plans.”It’s like an MBA on steroids,” Grossman said.September’s training and mentoring work will set the stage for a November conference in New York City, Grossman said.Built on the ideas of Porter, Inner City Capital Director Hyacinth Vassell said Inner City Capital’s main goal is “preparing businesses to thrive.”DeIulis grew up working construction with family members and graduated Boston College with a business degree. He entered the family business with an accounting, contracting and legal background that helped DeIulis Brothers bid for and build projects, including the renovation of the historic High Street school building into a new facility for Girls Inc. and the new Paul Revere School.He said obtaining capital is critical in the construction business because ramping up for a big job requires money.”We’re paid after we complete work,” he said.Grossman, like DeIulis, comes from a family business background. His grandfather founded Grossman Marketing Group, and the 105-year-old firm still thrives.”I’ve dealt with all of the heartaches and building blocks of a small business,” he said, adding, “We’re trying to create jobs for people who live and work in Lynn.”