Founded by James Martucci in 2023, SideKix is a Wilmington-based startup created, in Martucci’s words, to “redesign broken systems.”

The entrepreneurial development platform, which has been self-funded since its launch, is preparing for a national rollout next month. 

According to Martucci, while plenty of people may have business ideas, most never take the next step.

"The biggest reason for doing this is that we do actually truly believe in people and the potential of people,” he said. 

SideKix aims to help founders and entrepreneurs maintain momentum by connecting them with support, ideas and pathways to growth. It is designed to support entrepreneurs at every stage by helping fill resource gaps that might otherwise be unavailable. 

"What would that look like to actually help anybody, at any stage, in any industry, build any idea, validate any idea, map out those ideas and remove every roadblock along the way?" Martucci said. 

The platform is AI-powered and includes a mobile app and a network of community affiliates who can serve as advisors. The app provides personalized growth pathways with actionable advice and digestible milestones, while the advisor network connects founders with experienced business owners who offer industry-specific guidance.

"We have an advisor marketplace, and really the big difference for us is our advisors are business owners,” said Martucci. “It's the person in your shoes, not the person with the theory."

The advisor network allows users to book short sessions with experienced business owners or entrepreneurs who may have experienced similar hurdles. According to the website, SideKix accepts advisor applications from “experienced founders, small business owners, corporate leaders at the Director or VP level and above, fractional executives and university mentors or ecosystem builders.” 

Once a user taps into the network, they also gain access to events, workshops and networking opportunities. 

SideKix remains in beta, though it already has a network of about 80 advisors, Martucci said. The company currently has over 1,000 people on its waitlist and a team of 22 employees. 

Martucci intends for the platform to be as accessible as possible, with plenty of free offerings. There are four tiers members can sign up for, including a free tier with limited access. Each paid tier offers expanded access to events, resources and community features, with pricing starting at $39 a month for “Basic Access” and topping out at $299 a month for “Advanced Access.”

According to Martucci, the platform’s national affiliates include Shopify and Amplemarket, with local community partnerships from Bridge to Wilmington and Port City Design Group. The platform also lists national partners Zapier, Second Order Studio and America the Entrepreneurial.

As the company developed its personalized large language model, Martucci said privacy and emotional intelligence were key priorities. Martucci said the company's proprietary large language model is designed to acknowledge when it doesn't know an answer instead of generating inaccurate or "hallucinated" responses. He added that customer data is anonymized before being processed by the platform.

There are no immediate plans to pursue a funding round, Martucci said. Instead, SideKix has been self-funded and has grown organically. 

Martucci said he plans to keep the company rooted in Wilmington, after relocating to the area around three years ago and finding a supportive entrepreneurial community.

"This place has so much possibility,” he said. “There are just so many passionate, exciting people from all over doing creative things, and why not?"