reSET hosted its 2019 Accelerator Venture Showcase Tuesday, June 11 at the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, CT.

Community involvement was key to the event. First, the community was invited to vote for the startups from the Accelerator cohort to pitch at the event. Following welcome remarks from reSET Managing Director Sarah Bodley, seven top-selected startups pitched:

• Alchemists Beauty
  Beauty tonic created by two high school chemistry teachers
• Engagement Solutions
  Cloud-based platform to connect people with social services programming
• Helpfie Smart First Aid
  Mobile application that delivers life-saving skills on demand
• Kiyomi Beauty Box
  Korean beauty subscription box
• Little Nomad
  Aesthetically pleasing foam playmats
• Raise Green
  Platform to enable people to invest small amounts in local renewable energy projects
• TIEV (Treasure in Earthen Vessels)
  E-commerce platform to market and sell products made by artisans from developing countries

 Judges Kevin Bouley, President and CEO of Nerac, Inc.; Sheila Coleman, professor of finance at the University of Hartford; and Steven Taylor, Vice President and Branch Manager for United Bank in downtown Hartford encouraged the pitching startups and challenged them with questions about things like risks, marketing, time to market, revenue streams, competitors, and cost benefit analysis.

After the pitches, audience members were encouraged to vote online for an Audience Favorite, with polling results shown in real time.

And the winners…

First Place: Raise Green

Second Place: Engagement Solutions

Third Place: Kiyomi Beauty

Honorable mention: Jam Program

Congratulations to all the participating startups!

About the reSET Impact Accelerator
The reSET Impact Accelerator is a four-month program designed to provide entrepreneurs with access to the knowledge, networks, and resources they need to grow their businesses and their impact. The program focuses on connecting entrepreneurs to early-stage customers and industry-specific experts and mentors and providing coaching along important startup milestones.