CT CEO Shares Updates About Growing Tech Company

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CT CEO Shares Updates About Growing Tech Company

August 29 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights, Tech, Where Are They Now? 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, small business growth, small businesses, tech company, technology

Control Station President and CEO Dennis Nash on a recent trip to one of the company’s software clients, Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston, MA.

Where Are They Now? Follow Up with Control Station President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Nash

Innovation Destination Hartford met with Control Station, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Nash in December 2015. (Read the interview: Connecticut Technology Company Success—Control Station, Inc.) At that time, the company had recently moved to a new facility in Manchester, CT, having outgrown the venture incubation space within Nerac—a global research and advisory firm located in Tolland, CT.

IDH Website Curator Nan Price recently caught up with Dennis. He shared what the company has been doing since 2015 to grow and to help manufacturers improve production efficiency.

NAN PRICE: Tell us what’s new?

DENNIS NASH: When we spoke three years ago, Control Station had just moved to a new office space. Today, we’re the same rapidly growing tech company, but we now have 12 full-time employees, a joint venture in Ireland, and customers located in nearly 60 countries.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) even recognized us as the 2018 Exporter of the Year for the state of Connecticut. Those are all great developments and signs that we’re gaining momentum as well as gaining recognition.

NAN: Has the company experienced any major pivots since we featured your story?

DENNIS: We’re actually in the midst of pivoting from a software-only business to a technology-based solutions company. If you think back to 2015, we’d just established our PlantESP product as the company’s “growth engine” and we were determining the best way to package services with the software. At the time, we were unsure of the particular service offerings customers would want. But even then we knew that clients would benefit from a more hands-on approach.

It may not be as obvious here in the Greater Hartford area, but there’s been meaningful growth in the manufacturing market’s demand for production monitoring and diagnostic solutions. Manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to do more with less—and that includes contracting for technologies like PlantESP as well as for value-added services.

Even though PlantESP can single out a plant’s “bad actors,” not every manufacturer has the engineering resources needed to do the analysis and determine the right corrective measures. Our service offerings enable customers to realize greater value from the PlantESP software. That’s the services niche we’ve targeted and its paying dividends.

Another interesting industry trend we’re watching is the steady shift of analytics technologies and services to the cloud. That may be the next pivot for us as PlantESP was recently redesigned to support delivery via the cloud. Only a small portion of the services we provide today are performed remotely. In a way, those engagements are helping us solidify the business case for a more comprehensive cloud-based offering.

NAN: How are you continuing to build your customer base?

DENNIS: It’s easier to grow existing accounts than it is to win over new ones—that’s one I’m sure you’ve heard before. So, we try to foster a culture of responsiveness and innovation, which seems to resonate with our customers. It’s not uncommon for me to get an email from someone praising one of our engineers for going above and beyond. I love hearing when the team goes the extra mile, makes an impact, and helps a customer to be successful. That’s what keeps customers asking for more—and it’s what seems to be driving our referral sales.

Responsiveness is key too. It’s kind of funny how easy someone’s expectations are exceeded simply by acknowledging their issue. Years ago, we automated our trouble ticket system so acknowledgements are instantaneous. What’s more, we’re responding to inbound support calls in under an hour. Considering that the industry standard is six hours or more, we’re way ahead of the game.

In terms of innovation, we see each customer interaction as an opportunity. That’s a bit cliché, and not every call or meeting unearths a new product breakthrough. Most support calls are pretty simple and it’s just a matter of helping the customer activate a software license.

But sometimes we get that unexpected surprise where a customer shares details about how they’re using our software—or more specifically how they’re trying to use it—and it’s an “ah ha” moment.

Our sales team is far more sophisticated now, too. They’re proactively hosting annual review meetings with our biggest accounts and our biggest users with the goal of learning “what’s next.” When you can stay in sync with your customers and address their needs that’s bound to keep them happy. It’s no surprise that what one customer views as valuable is usually valuable to others. And just like that, we’re able to keep the virtuous cycle going round and round!

NAN: In what ways do you connect with other entrepreneurs?

DENNIS: Even these many years in, there’s still a lot to learn. Control Station clearly isn’t a startup anymore, but we’re not on a glide path to success either. I’m just at a different phase with the business and focused on different challenges.

The Control Station team at a recent offsite event at Pine & Iron Axe Throwing in Hartford, CT.

At the start, I was laser focused on closing the next sale. Today, I spend more time on researching 401K programs and recruiting. Fortunately, I’ve cultivated a solid group of contacts over the years—other small business CEOs, venture guys, and serial entrepreneurs—people who I trust. It’s hard to know when I’ll need input, let alone on what topic. It’s nice having people who are dealing with similar challenges. It’s even better when they’ve got the answers.

I try to meet up with at least one of my contacts each month to get their take on trends, best-practices, and whatever challenges they might be facing. Over the years, I’ve gotten timely input on things as seemingly simple as sick days and vacation policy. Trust me, that stuff can keep you up at night when you’re getting started and constantly worrying about cash flow. You can’t underestimate the value of personal experience. What worked? What didn’t? Why? That’s information you can’t always get from Audible.

I also meet quarterly with the CEO of another automation company with similar revenues and a similar headcount, but he’s in hardware versus me being in software.

Our meetings focus on three things: A general update, performance against the last quarter goals, and plans for the next quarter. We’ve been meeting for several years now, so we understand each other’s business and management styles. More importantly, we’re at a point where we’re expected to hold each other accountable. It’s like having another board of directors.

NAN: What’s next for Control Station?

DENNIS: Fortunately, we’re on a nice growth trajectory. Even so, we’re looking at ways we can accelerate growth and extend our capabilities while maintaining the company’s core culture and values. We’re considering organic as well as inorganic ways of taking Control Station to the next level. Our joint venture in Ireland is one example of how we might look to expand in the future.

A key to growth will be continuing our investments in product innovation. We’re lucky to have some brilliant engineers on the team and many great ideas on our product roadmap.

It’s good being so close to the University of Connecticut too, as the school has been a major source of brainpower. Last time I checked, four out of five of our employees received at least one degree from UConn. We also recently engaged the university on a research project that could unlock new value for our customers. Hopefully that’ll lead to more sales so we can hire more UConn graduates so we can grow sales and so on and so on.

I also think it’s good to be located near a hotbed of innovative thinking and research. Hartford is becoming a magnet of sorts for entrepreneurs. There’s more and more buzz, especially in the FinTech arena.

Seven Stars, the new blockchain company that’s relocating from New York to West Hartford is just one example. All the buzz helps, as it’s making it easier to recruit. It seems as though college graduates aren’t just racing off to Boston or New York immediately after commencement. Hartford is becoming more of a draw for them. Now that we’re getting a professional soccer team, I imagine the sky is the limit!

NAN: Where do you see the entrepreneurial landscape heading in Connecticut?

DENNIS: Hartford seems to be making a steady transition from its old identity as the insurance capitol to a hub for innovators. I referenced Seven Stars when I mentioned FinTech. If that transition goes according to plan, I imagine it’ll serve as an anchor for other like-minded startups—whether in FinTech or another high-tech arena. The region would definitely benefit from an injection of youth and innovation. And where there is a critical mass of talent, I have to believe that Control Station will thrive.

Learn more about Control Station, Inc.

VISIT: controlstation.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube

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Entrepreneur Runs Successful Hartford-Based Tech Company

August 20 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights, Where Are They Now? 0 comments Tags: business success, Connecticut, CT, entrepreneur, Hartford, tech

Tech to Us provides managed IT services for businesses and remote home technical support services for home users. The company has been located in the Hartford Trust Building since it launched in 2010. In April 2018, Tech to Us expanded its offices.

Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price spoke with Tech to Us Founder & CEO Guy Citarella about the company’s evolution and future plans.

NAN PRICE: Have you always been entrepreneurial?

GUY CITARELLA: I’ve always wanted to start my own business. My business interest began when I was a kid. My family on my dad’s side owns businesses, so I was exposed to it at a young age. My goal was to eventually start my own company and at some point, I just decided to go for it.

NAN: Was Tech to Us your first startup?

GUY: Yes, I had done some freelancing on the side prior to launching Tech to Us, but this is my first startup of any major consequence.

NAN: When you were first starting out, was it just you?

GUY: It was me and one other person, a close friend, who was an employee. I was intentional about not having a partner. I’m 100% owner of the company.

That’s what I would recommend for any founder who’s looking to start up: If you lack a certain skillset that you absolutely need to have, then bringing someone on may be fine for you. If not, then keep full ownership. For me, keeping 100% ownership means at least I have some value for my time and all my investment in the company.

NAN: What were the biggest challenges you faced as you were starting up?

GUY: Two major things that always come to mind are marketing and finding good quality people especially on a startup budget.

Hiring is especially challenging when you’re just starting up. Now we’re finally able to pay more for quality talent. But during the startup days, the first couple of years were hard. And, when you’re running a service-based business you need people to execute your service. You’re not just selling or shipping a product or working in a warehouse, you’re customer-facing. You need high-quality people for these interactions. So, it’s always a challenge to find qualified people.

And then the other thing would be marketing, which is always a challenge. Everyone goes into business thinking: My service is great. I’ll just do this, this, and this. And then the customers don’t show up. They don’t just come knocking at your door. You have to go get them and find them in reasonable numbers, which isn’t always easy.

Finding quality people and marketing are still challenges to this day, in different ways.

NAN: Tech to Us is now in its eighth year. Tell us how the company has evolved.

GUY: We started with Tech to Us doing direct-to-consumer, remote technical support —home users. We still do that today

Also, the company was originally doing a lot of call center services for a mixture of customer care and tech support. We eventually eliminated any of the customer care services and focused on just providing technical services. Just over a year ago, we began providing managed IT services for businesses in addition to direct-to-consumer technical support. It was part of the reason for our expansion.

NAN: Was that based on customer need?

GUY: Yes. I think the future of our business—where we have the biggest growth potential—is based on our managed IT services. We have a tremendous opportunity to service businesses locally and nationally. Not that we’re getting away from our home user services—they’re currently still a very large part of our business, so we’re not moving away from that. But we have expanded in managed services and we already have many clients.

NAN: Speaking of customers, how have you been building your customer base?

GUY: Since we’ve been around for eight years, we get referral business and people who have used us in the past continue using our services. We also do web marketing. Obviously, the internet is a big draw for this industry—people searching for tech-support. For businesses, we do regular campaigns with cold calling and cold emailing. We also get a good amount of inbound leads from our website.

With marketing, the toughest challenge is balancing the cost of marketing with the return on investment. That’s also why we’re going more local for our B2B managed services. There’s a better value proposition of being able to go to a client’s site and meet to face to face and provide our IT expertise in person.

NAN: Do you have a specific target market?

GUY: For our home users, it’s really anyone. But our demographic is 90% are 55 or older. On the B2B side, we target smaller companies usually with 10 to 100 employees. We provide services across multiple verticals—pretty much any vertical with more than 10 employees needs IT support.

NAN: Let’s talk about the expansion. How many employees do you have now?

GUY: We recently hired a couple sales representatives for business development, so we now have 15 employees, which is a good size for us. We may expand and add more technical staff as the year goes on.

NAN: How did you choose the business location? Why Hartford?

GUY: In terms of choosing the Hartford area as our location, it was just a matter of luck in terms of an office space that fit our needs in our budget at the time. We’ve been in the same building ever since, even though the building changed ownership this past year. The location has worked out well for us.

We’ve been here for eight years and it was a good choice. I wouldn’t change anything. I personally love Hartford. I moved downtown two years ago, so I get to walk to work every day. Hartford is a good, centrally located city where it’s affordable to do business. It provides those extra city resources and pulls in a wide area of people, so you can be downtown without having the high expense.

The city is up-and-coming. Hence why I moved here. I see a lot of potential here in Hartford—it’s obviously grown a lot over the past several years. You can see the difference.

NAN: Tell us something we don’t really know about what it’s really like to be an entrepreneur. Anything that surprised you?

GUY: As an entrepreneur, you have to realize that the rest of the world doesn’t operate like Silicon Valley. Venture capitalists aren’t going to come knocking on your door dropping millions of dollars.

Tech to Us is a bootstrapped company from the ground up, built with my own money. Being an entrepreneur is tough financially, especially at first—and, to be frank, ongoing as well. Every year, every month, it’s always looking at how much money we are bringing in versus how much money is going out.

I thought it would be much easier after a few years, but that challenge always exists, even as you’re growing the business. Because as you grow, you need to put more money into the business to grow by hiring or by investing in another technology. So, there’s always that feeling that you’re behind the curve. You’re always trying to catch up to your spending and your revenue. And, until you get that big boom, it’s difficult to maintain.

NAN: Any advice for other entrepreneurs?

GUY: The number one thing is: You think it’s going to come faster or you can get more business sooner. But it takes time and patience and it takes good money management.

For someone starting up a business, they say you should have at least six months of living expenses in the bank before you launch. I would say at least double that just to play it safe, because for about the first year of this company I wasn’t really making anything myself. I was living on what I had and what I could afford to pay myself, but it wasn’t much.

NAN: What’s next for Tech to Us?

GUY: Our goal is to grow our B2B managed IT services. That’s our big focus. Not that everything else is less valuable to us, but we got that figured out and we’re doing well with it.

Our next phase as we continue to grow will be eventually adding even more higher-level technicians to help us handle our increased number of projects. We’re seeing continued growth in our managed IT services that would definitely cause us to need such qualified people.

Our local presence as a full managed IT services firm is proving to be in demand as we service businesses in Connecticut and the surrounding states.

Learn more about Tech to Us

VISIT: www.techtous.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter

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Entrepreneurship and Innovation Thriving in Northeast Connecticut

July 26 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: business owner, Connecticut, Connecticut tech startups, CT, CTNext, entrepreneurship, incubator, innovation, Innovation Place, Kevin Bouley, Nerac, UConn, UConn TIP

"I see significant and impactful connections being made here in Connecticut," says Nerac President Kevin Bouley.

Nerac President Kevin Bouley provided an update about entrepreneurial and innovative activities in the northeastern part of Connecticut since his last interview with Innovation Destination Hartford in September 2015.

NERAC BECOMES A CTNEXT PARTNER

Given the role I play fostering entrepreneurial and innovative activities—techpreneurship—particularly at the University of Connecticut, I was encouraged to submit an application to become a CTNext partner.

CTNext reviewed the application favorably, and has recognized Nerac as a CTNext partner. The value is in an expansion of the Nerac Venture Incubator serving the northeast region of Connecticut, with an emphasis on UConn. This enables increased levels of engagement, support, mentoring, and assistance for the community of tech startups.

XCELLR8

Another focus of my efforts has been enhancing the XCellR8 programming—in both reach and frequency. The CTNext Partnership allows us to bring in the assistance of Dr. Ripi Singh, President and Innovator of Plus4pi, with Inspiring Next.

It was important that we expand the XCellR8 venue from being physically tied to the Nerac building and evaluate whether the XCellR8 sessions could be equally effective if held on campus, at the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford, or at the Innovation Partnership Building on campus.

In November 2017, the very first XCellR8 session was held at the NextGen Residence Hall (now the Peter J. Werth Residential Tower) on the UConn Storrs campus. The location is of significance, because it houses students who have a specific interest in innovation-related activities and are involved in one of eight Living & Learning Communities:

EcoHouse
Engineering House
Eurotech House
Innovation House
Honors to Opportunities (H2O) House
Public Health House
ScHOLA²RS House (Scholastic House of Leaders in Support of African American Researchers & Scholars)
WiMSE (Women in Math, Science, & Engineering)

By bringing XCellR8 to UConn, we can more readily interact with the learning communities. And, depending upon the nature of the presentation or the subject matter being covered at that session, the learning communities may have an interest in sponsoring or becoming more directly engaged in that particular XCellR8 session.

The hope is that exposing freshman and sophomores to this kind of programming will stimulate their interests in any number of the different entrepreneur- and innovation-related programming currently taking place at UConn and give them an opportunity to think proactively about their own ideas.

These students might submit for an idea grant. They might apply to become part of Accelerate UConn or the National Science Foundation Core program. They might apply to the Summer Fellowship program at the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI). They might apply to Innovation Quest (IQ). There are many opportunities for them to become involved.

The strong brand and reputation of XCellR8 is drawing interest from a number of different areas. We have now startups from the UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP) and reSET that are being referred to XCellR8 for further advancement, refinement, and development.

Companies participating in formal programs at UConn—whether it’s the Wolff New Venture Competition, the IQ Competition, or HackUConn—are now aware of XCellR8 as a vehicle that can be used to prepare and polish presentations prior to the competition.

The facilitation of these discussions—with companies very early in their development and in the subsequent stages of development and growth—has proved to be highly effective. So, the elevated skillset within the XcellR8 network is now helping a whole host of entrepreneurs and their ventures advance from one stage to next, and to the next, and to the next. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and we’re already working on a program schedule for fall 2018 and spring 2019.

EMERGING PARTNERS

Other partners are beginning to emerge from within our entrepreneurial ecosystem. Arrow Electronics, a large multinational electronics equipment provider out of Wallingford, has been a stalwart supporter of XCellR8 for many years. Arrow, which looks to advance technology-based ventures, has a partnership agreement with Indiegogo, a crowdfunding site for early-stage innovations in tech and design.

Arrow is a conduit through which ventures may be qualified to submit to Indiegogo. It’s in Arrow’s best interests, because the company can build value in the customer supply chain.

It’s very interesting to look at Arrow as a prospective early-stage venture investor—a super angel—for these types of emerging companies.

Exciting developments are also taking place in Stamford with UConn’s Stamford campus now having on-campus housing. The number of students interested in attending UConn at the Stamford campus has mushroomed, giving credence to the idea that a FinTech lab could thrive there.

POSITIVE CONNECTIONS

I see significant and impactful connections being made here in Connecticut—Upward Hartford, the Innovation Place Hartford/East Hartford, the build out of the University of Connecticut Graduate Business Learning Center in downtown Hartford, the growing InsurTech and FinTech activity. Pieces are now emerging in the Connecticut landscape that provide an increasing level of early-venture development and innovation-supported techpreneurship in a very positive way.

Learn more about Kevin Bouley and Nerac

READ: Entrepreneur at Heart Creates Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Connecticut
VISIT: www.nerac.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter

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Entrepreneurial Insights: Building and Rebuilding Your Business

July 17 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, West Hartford, women entrepreneurs, women-owned business

Lorey Cavanaugh is Owner of West Hartford, CT-based Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction (KBDC).

West Hartford entrepreneur Lorey Cavanaugh is Owner of Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction (KBDC), a woman-owned, full-service design/build firm that’s been doing business in central Connecticut for more than 25 years.

Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price spoke with Lorey about her entrepreneurial story, lessons learned, and best advice.

NAN PRICE: Let’s talk about the concept of being a business owner and knowing your skillset—that’s been integral to your success.

LOREY CAVANAUGH: My experience has been, if you don’t have a particular skill you need to hire for that early on. When I was a one-person company, I hired an accountant to work with me one day a week. I knew I was strong in sales and design and that I was not going to be the person doing the accounting, payroll and taxes. I probably could have taught myself how to do those things, but it didn’t seem the right place to focus my energy.

NAN: It’s interesting that you had the awareness to know that starting out.

LOREY: Truly, as a business owner, one of the things that has been very clear to me is you should spend your time doing the things you do really well, and you hire people to fill in the blanks.

I probably could have done the accounting, but I needed to be out doing what I do well to generate an income for the business.

I’ve had that same approach in terms of marketing—I’ve always hired people to assist me in the marketing process. I don’t design my own ads or do any of that, but I’m involved, and I have a say in it.

For me, it’s always been better to hire an expert, pay them what they charge to do their work, and then focus on the things I know I do well. I think that has been a secret to my success. Knowing what I don’t know and hiring for that—and not being afraid to ask for help.

>NAN: You launched your first business in 1990. Tell us a little about your entrepreneurial evolution.

LOREY: I unintentionally ended up in design school at the University of Connecticut. I went as an English major. At that time, nobody was getting teaching jobs, so I thought: I need a different career. I got hooked into the design department. I minored in business administration because I thought I would probably need some business background for whatever I would do. That decision has served me well.

My degree is in commercial interiors. I spent 10 years doing corporate spaces—insurance companies, doctors’ offices, that kind of thing. It wasn’t my niche; however, it gave me terrific training in space planning, which has been beneficial for what I’m doing now.

My mom was an entrepreneur, which was very innovative in the 1950s. She was a caterer, so I was exposed to food and entertaining early on. I thought maybe kitchen design would be more in my realm.

I became a certified kitchen designer and certified bathroom designer while working for a company in West Hartford. The owner became my mentor in the business. He closed the company at the end of 1989 as the result of an economic climate very similar to “The Great Recession.”

When I worked there, a lot of people approached me about hiring me independently. I thought: Here’s an opportunity, he closed his business, I’m unemployed. What can I do next?

I opened my company, Kitchen and Bath Design Consultants, in 1990. It was a home-based business. My intention was simply supplying design services and consulting specifically around kitchens and baths.

After multiple people told me they needed me to do more than a design, I thought: Maybe there’s a business opportunity here?

Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction (KBDC) added European flair and used bold colors for a Hartford kitchen renovation.

I moved the business into West Hartford Center in 1998. At that time, I changed the name of the business to Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction to better reflect what we were offering. It was just me, folding tables, and cardboard boxes—I had more guts than brains at that point! I had a business model I had borrowed from my mentor; I would do a design/build construction model.

Slowly, I started hiring people and developing the concept. I ended up with three stores, 23 people, and five vehicles on the road. It was a big business. From 1998 to 2008, I achieved exactly what I had hoped I would achieve.

When the economy tanked in 2008, I lost most of it and lost all my personal savings. I closed two out of three of the operations. I moved to this space on Sedgwick Road in West Hartford, dropped 20 people, and sold my vehicles, real estate, displays, etc.

NAN: What did you do?

LOREY: I phoned a friend of mine, another woman business owner who I respected tremendously, and asked for help. She told I needed to sell everything and quickly and dramatically downsize, because otherwise I wouldn’t survive.

I had spent 10 years building this business to what I wanted it to be and I had to pull the plug on the whole thing in order to survive. And I listened to her. When somebody you respect gives you advice, your responsibility is to put it into action.

So, I did that. I consulted with a business attorney and followed their directions. It was a pretty crazy time.

I’ve spent the next 10 years rebuilding the business. And you know what? That’s a really important part of the story—being near bankruptcy and figuring out how to deal with that.

I had multiple subcontractors, vendors, and home owners I owed “stuff” to—most of it money—and I had no money. What do you do next? You can’t just file bankruptcy and say: Sorry, the economy was bad and I lost everything so you are going to suffer too.

After getting some guidance and doing plenty of soul searching, I decided I was going to liquidate my assets, put everything into the business, and see if I could bring it back around. I had spent 10 years building it successfully and I decided: I’ve got at least another 10 years (hopefully). Let’s go for it and see if I can do it again.

We managed to deliver everything we promised to the clients we had under contract. I was able to make myself whole with all the subcontractors and vendors. Think about it: If I were to file bankruptcy in construction, at the residential level, who would give me money for deposits on future projects? I knew I needed to stay whole in that regard.

So, I liquidated everything, downsized like crazy, continued the same business model, and slowly built the business up to what it is today. And it’s different. It’s smaller. It’s more focused. I’m back into designing, selling, and customer contact.

That’s the thing I really do best, designing and selling. I’m mentoring and supporting and doing all the things a business owner does, but a big part of what I do now is customer contact. And I love it.

NAN: What lessons learned!

LOREY: Tons. And I believe it all had to happen exactly the way it did.

NAN: Does being in Connecticut play an important role in your company? Are all your clients based here?

LOREY: That’s a great question. I’m from Connecticut and went to school in Connecticut. I decided we would work within a 30-mile radius. It’s what we can service best. We’re very hands on; we are designing and then building, so we’re supervising all the labor. To do that effectively, we really can’t go much beyond 30 miles.

That said, I have travelled further, but it’s not our core business. I’ve done some teaching and consulting nationally and I see that may be in my future as well.

NAN: How are you finding your clients and marketing?

LOREY: From a marketing standpoint, historically, our biggest and best source of business has been referrals and repeat customers.

I’m currently in the process of revisiting marketing. I’ve been in my business a long time and marketing has changed dramatically. We’re really taking a deep dive into social media, trying to figure out what that means for the company, and measuring that.

My marketing and administrative manager is spearheading this effort. She’s going to be taking multiple social media classes through the University of Hartford Entrepreneurial Center. She’s been doing social media, and she will now do it better. We found out about the class through the Innovation Destination Hartford website.

NAN: That’s fantastic!

LOREY: Yes! The resources Innovation Destination Hartford provides—business owners all have to go searching for them, I’m glad I found them offered conveniently in one place.

I also do some print advertising for the arts, which kind of kills two birds with one stone. Those are our clients. For example, the people who are supporting the Hartford Stage are definitely my demographic. And the arts are struggling in terms of finances. So, if I place ads and act as a sponsor for arts organizations, I get something good out of it and I feel like I’m doing something good. I try to give back where we can, for example we offer complimentary consultations at auctions for charitable organizations.

I’m still trying to figure out the marketing piece. Every year I look at: What’s working? What’s not working? How can we change it up? What’s a better thing to do?

That’s one of the things I love about being a business owner, you can keep it fresh if you have that mindset. If you figure out what’s working and what you can do differently you can go at it and try it.

NAN: It’s being innovative!

LOREY: Right. And being open to change.

What happened in 2008 was the scariest thing I ever went through! I learned that you’ve got to keep your head up and put one foot in front of the other. If you keep making the next right decision, there is a plan, it’s going to unfold, and you’re going to be okay. I guess that’s how I approach the business.

The first quarter of the year we experienced a bit of a lull and it brought back what happened in 2008. Back then I felt like: What is going on?! We went from hugely successful to nothing. When things slowed up, I started to think: Oh no! It’s happening all over again! I have to tell myself: Lorey, just chill! Breathe and keep going.

Every day I come to work—I may not be working with clients, some days I’m working on marketing or working on training my staff. I just keep showing up and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know what it’s going to look like in a month or a year from now. Who knows? But I go to work every day, have fun, do the I best can, and they tell me more shall be revealed!

Learn more about Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction

VISIT: www.kb-dc.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram

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Keeping Your Word Is Critical to Business Success

July 03 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: business owners, business success, Connecticut entrepreneur, entrepreneurial insight, tips for business owners

Always Do What You Say You’re Going to Do

Michael Keiser is Co-Founder of The Entrepreneur Circle and BKV Solutions.

It sounds so simple, right? But how often do we not keep our word?

I recently had an eye-opening interaction with a new LinkedIn connection. We had agreed to meet for coffee and she cancelled a half hour before our appointment, saying she was in a client meeting that may run long.

I told her there was no need to reschedule our meeting and emphasized that cancelling an appointment 30 minutes prior, after I had booked that time out of my schedule, was in poor taste and showed a lack of respect for my time.

She responded by saying running a business is her main focus, therefore meeting clients and making money were more important than keeping an appointment with me.

I explained to her that the key to creating a successful business is doing what you say you’re going to do, all the time, even if you see that thing as small or insignificant. And I told her that a business owner’s most precious commodity is time. When you don’t show respect for someone’s time, they won’t want a relationship with you.

She ended up disconnecting with me. By being so dismissive, she’ll never know who I could have introduced her to and the profound effect it could have had on her business. Not to sound harsh, but I believe her new business will fail. I’m sure cancelling a meeting is not the only time she’s had a lack of integrity with her word.

Unfortunately, many business owners have no idea how damaging it is to relationships and our businesses when we don’t keep our word.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THROUGH

The entire incident really got me thinking. I began to wonder how often I don’t keep my word. How often do I make a promise and then not follow through?

It can be something small, like promising to call a person on a certain day, but I don’t do it. Or promising to email someone information by a certain date, but I don’t do it.

It’s scary when you think about it. Every time we don’t keep our word, it’s a withdrawal from the emotional and trusting bank account. But we seem to break promises all the time.

What happens when you don’t follow through on your promises?

You hurt the people around you and damage relationships.
People stop believing you and taking you seriously.
You potentially lose out on great opportunities.
You get a lot less done than you would if you kept your word.
Your self-esteem is damaged.
Your business could be financially harmed.
Customers may leave you.

I’m sure the list could go on.

It also dawns on me that the person we most often break promises with is ourselves. We let ourselves down all the time. We make big plans to eat better, get in shape, work harder on our businesses, and so forth. But then something usually comes up and we go back on our word. Or we make excuses as to why we couldn’t do it.

We usually don’t mean to break promises. Something comes up or we just flat out forget. I’m sure there’s typically no malice intended when we don’t follow through. We almost always mean it when we make a promise. Perhaps we simply don’t put enough emphasis keeping our word. We don’t realize how significant and important it is.

KEEPING YOUR WORD HELPS YOUR BUSINESS THRIVE

When you’re known as someone who keeps their word, it will help your business flourish. It will keep your relationships strong. People will trust you and refer others to you. It plays a huge role in the success or failure of businesses.

Here’s a few things that have helped me get better at keeping promises. You may find them useful, too:

Start keeping track of the promises you make, especially the promises to yourself. Write them down if you need to. Even if it’s something small like, “I’ll call you tomorrow,” keep track of it.
Keep track of how often you don’t keep the promise. This isn’t so you can punish yourself, it’s just to show that you’re probably breaking your word more often than you think.
Don’t allow yourself any excuses for breaking your word. It’s very easy to get into the, “I would have done it but…” routine. If you decide to take ownership for all of it, you’ll become better and keeping promises.
If a real emergency genuinely does come up and you can’t uphold the obligation, let the other person know as soon as possible. A half hour in advance is not fair notice. A lot of us hate to deliver bad news, so we procrastinate. I have a friend who says, “the only thing worse than bad news is bad news late.” Of course, in real life, sometimes things change. But this is far different from not keeping a promise simply because you forgot or “something else came up.”
Start small and practice keeping your word. Don’t expect miracles overnight. Keeping your word is a habit that needs to be nurtured and practiced. Practice on seemingly insignificant things.

When you become great at keeping promises to yourself and others, you’ll see dramatic improvements in yourself and your business. Your confidence increases. Your performance improves. Your relationships improve. And people will see you as someone who knows how to get things done.

I understand that it’s a lot of work. Creating a new habit always is. But if there’s one simple shift you can make that starts showing results immediately, it’s keeping your word.

About the Author
Michael Keiser promises he is Co-Founder of coaching, marketing, and advisory company The Entrepreneur Circle and Co-Founder of management consulting startup BKV Solutions.

Interesting in learning more about Mike and his entrepreneurial endeavors?

Read our interview: Entrepreneur Co-Founds Business Advisory Startup.

Get more entrepreneurial tips from Mike in his Innovation Destination Hartford blogs:

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Hartford Entrepreneur Carmen Veal Reflects on Her Business Experience

June 25 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Hartford, women entrepreneurs, women-owned business

Where Are They Now? Follow Up with Event Strategist Carmen Veal

Hartford entrepreneur and event strategist Carmen Veal.

Innovation Destination Hartford met with Hartford-based entrepreneur Carmen Veal in December 2017 and learned the value of not giving up (read the interview: Woman Entrepreneur, Innovator, Event Strategist).

Carmen recently celebrated her five-year business anniversary and, after nine years in business for herself, shared some tips she learned along the way in her entrepreneurial exploration. She says she’s currently planning her next celebration and notes that growth is clearly a life-long journey

1. Plan all the way until the end.

2. Your plans won’t always work out. And that’s okay.

3. Most people will disappoint you. It isn’t always you, they’re just functioning at their own highest level of consciousness, which may not align with your own. It’s okay to meet them where they are—and leave them there.

4. You’ll disappoint people. And you’ll need to do the work to get your life together. Because it’s unhealthy to go through life hurting people, even unconsciously.

5. You’ll learn you should work smarter not harder.

6. Practice humility and work hard so you’re not driven by, or showing up as, your ego.

7. Care less about those who don’t support you and more about those who do.

8. Silent cheerleaders are some of the best people you don’t always know you have in your corner.

9. When someone doesn’t understand the investment they are making by paying for your services, or they think you’re too expensive, it really means they can’t afford you and they’re not the type of customer you want.

10. Value your time. Don’t allow other people to waste it.

11. The universe will give you what you need exactly when you need it.

12. “When you get, give and when you learn, teach.” – Maya Angelou

Find out more about Carmen Veal

READ: Woman Entrepreneur, Innovator, Event Strategist
VISIT: carmenveal.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

For more information about Carmen’s Brown Skin Women blog

VISIT: brownskinwomen.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

Learn more about how Carmen launched Goal Digging Women

VISIT: www.goaldiggingwomen.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram

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Retention, Expansion, Attraction… Business Creation

June 12 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: business expansion, business retention, community, economic development, entrepreneurs

Courtney Hendricson is Vice President of Municipal Services at the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.

We all know the foundation of local economic development as business retention, expansion and attraction. But an exciting new dimension to our traditional definition of economic development is “business creation.” What we mean is assisting entrepreneurs in our communities. What are we doing to engage and support the home-based businesses, the small one- and two-person shops, the folks who are baking, tinkering, consulting, and landscaping—who are experts in their skill but perhaps don’t know much about how to set up and grow a business.

We are seeing communities take cool and creative measures to provide support to this growing business sector. Some are providing co-working space, some are providing “office hours” to help early-stage entrepreneurs navigate the process of forming a business. Some are providing legal counsel, IT support, accounting, and bookkeeping. Helping individuals go from an idea to a company is an exciting pursuit and one that more and more municipalities are realizing is critical to their local economy.

I encourage you to think about ways you can help “create” business in your town or city. A few suggestions:

Hold an event that brings entrepreneurs together for networking with one another and with town leaders. Have a speaker or a panel focused on how to start a small business or financial resources aimed at home-based businesses.
Ask local attorneys, accountants, or IT experts to donate a few hours a month for entrepreneurs to ask questions about starting up.
Ask an owner of an empty storefront if they would be willing to use the space for a co-working center that provides meeting rooms, a copier, and other office-type resources that startups often need but can’t afford on their own.
Meet with the entrepreneurs in your community to ask them about their goals, how/when they plan to expand and then help them find the right space in your community that meets their growing business needs.

Contact me to brainstorm ways to help support new businesses in your community.

About the Author
Courtney Hendricson is Vice President of Municipal Services at the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC).

Prior to joining CERC, Courtney served as Assistant Town Manager in Enfield, CT and as Economic Development Director in Farmington, CT. She also was the director of community development for Connecticut Main Street Center.

Courtney currently serves as board president of the Connecticut Economic Development Association (CEDAS) and immediate past president of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW CT). She is past chair of MetroHartford Alliance’s Regional Economic Development Forum, past co-chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) P3 Retail Program in Connecticut, and a graduate of Leadership Greater Hartford’s QUEST leadership

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Entrepreneurs Offer Thoughts for Improving Startup Climate

June 04 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, Department of Economic and Community Development, entrepreneurial insights, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, Hartford

This article originally appeared on HartfordBusiness.com on May 30, 2018

SPENCER CURRY, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, TRIFECTA ECOSYSTEMS

Spencer Curry is Co-Founder and CEO Trifecta Ecosystems.

Spencer Curry, co-founder and CEO of Meriden-based Trifecta Ecosystems, an aquaponics technology company and indoor farm, said finding the right investors—those who can bring more than money to the table, including experiences complementary to the company—can be difficult.

Connecticut has some incredible expertise in a few specialized silos, Curry said, adding, “It’s not a barrier, but it’s an opportunity to both develop those silos further but also expand them to increase the breadth of companies that can succeed here.”

His company has enjoyed some welcome, smaller investments, including a couple $30,000 convertible notes with angels that were key, “but then when we went back looking for more money to grow further, we couldn’t find that higher dollar amount that we needed,” he said.

“So, having people who can stomach either larger investments or a larger flock of angels who are able to band together more effectively, I think, is critical,” Curry said.

Because Trifecta Ecosystems needs a lot of hardware, it requires substantial capital and the company is close to a deal for a couple million dollars from a Connecticut investor, he said.

“That being said, it was very much luck of the circumstances that we found this group and it’s taken us well over a year to develop it to this point,” too long for most startups, Curry said. The company was able to get through, but the time required to find financing in the state significantly impacted its ability to grow, he said.

Find out more about Trifecta Ecosystems

READ: Trifecta Ecosystems Co-Founder Shares Updates About the Startup
VISIT: trifectaecosystems.com
FOLLOW: Facebook| Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

ADAM LAZAR, FOUNDER AND CEO, ASARASI

Adam Lazar, founder and CEO of Danbury-based Asarasi, which bottles pure water from maple sap (pure plant-based water remains after all sugar is extracted from the sap) said state Department of Economic and Community Development grants and loans tied to job production over a certain time frame aren’t necessarily realistic for startups. While such funds are helpful, startups create opportunities and grow jobs later, he said.

His company declined a DECD loan approval, he said, but was grateful to receive $150,000 in CI pre-seed funding. Getting follow-on investment, though, along with the right angel investor can be challenging, Lazar said. He’s received most of his angel investments from the United Kingdom, California, and New York.

He praised incentive programs like START-UP NY, which helps new and expanding businesses through tax-based incentives and innovative academic partnerships, including the opportunity to operate tax-free for 10 years on or near eligible university or college campuses in New York state.

“It really helps foster business growth in those economic zones,” Lazar said.

READ: Asarasi Shares Updates About the Startup
VISIT: asarasi.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

RICHARD PORTELANCE, FOUNDER AND CEO, CAREERPATH MOBILE

CareerPath Mobile Founder and CEO Richard Portelance (left) and Managing Partner Ben Grinnell.

Richard Portelance says Connecticut’s investor community is highly focused on biotech, leaving few resources available for other sectors, forcing in-state companies to look outside the state for investment opportunities.

The New Milford founder and CEO of CareerPath Mobile—a platform billed as enabling college career-planning teams to effectively connect and communicate with students to help them tackle their career-planning objectives in an organized and manageable way—has gotten all his company’s funding outside Connecticut, which he said could affect its ability to stay here. It’s seeking ed-tech funding in Boston and New York and he said a Boston opportunity could mean moving the company there.

Citing InsurTech Hartford’s advocation for that industry, he said “birds of a feather need to flock together and form mass to attract” investors. The state’s small enough for a group to form and demonstrate opportunities for investors, he added.

As for the state, it needs to continue to build educational hubs and incentivize businesses to amass around those hubs, Portelance said, citing successful models in Boston, North Carolina and elsewhere.

“We should pick three areas—Hartford, New Haven and Danbury—and invest in those areas and build up infrastructure and support,” he said.

READ: Social Impact Startup Engages Students in Career Development
VISIT: www.careerpathmobile.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter

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A Conversation with MetroHartford Alliance President and CEO David Griggs

May 18 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: Connecticut, CT, economic growth, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Greater Hartford, Hartford, innovation, MetroHartford Alliance

MetroHartford Alliance investors gathered on May 5 at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts to welcome the Mr. and Mrs. David Griggs to Hartford. (Photo courtesy Nick Cinea Photography LLC)

David Griggs was named President and CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance in February 2018. Since then, he’s been hard at work listening to the needs of the region and emphasizing the MetroHartford Alliance mission. Innovation Destination Hartford Website Curator Nan Price sat down with David to learn more about his efforts and vision for the organization and region.

NAN PRICE: You have an impressive history of fostering job creation and economic growth in your prior roles as Vice President, Business Investment and Research at the Greater Minneapolis St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership and Business Development Director with Buffalo Niagara Enterprise. How do you plan to bring those types of initiatives to Greater Hartford?

DAVID GRIGGS: I plan to follow a lot of the same processes used in both Buffalo and Minneapolis St. Paul, which were research-driven.

It starts with understanding our sales and value proposition to the industries we’re trying to attract. And then ground that in solid research and run it through a robust marketing campaign, which includes a lot of feet on the ground visits to companies where there are site selectors and corporate influencers.

The goal is to not only deliver a message, but get feedback about our message, which we can then refine and re-calibrate. Then we can continue to go out to the market with a message about why you should consider Hartford as a place that meets your business needs—whether that is early-stage or growth.

NAN: It’s interesting you used the word “message.” I read you’re on a mission to “globalize the region’s economic message.” What does that mean? What is Hartford’s message and how can we get the word out?

DAVID: In terms of what we do at the MetroHartford Alliance, we are developing a unique message that is relevant to the Hartford region. Again, we need the research. We know we’re great in the insurance and financial services, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing industries, but we don’t have enough data to support what exactly about each of those industries is great here.

For example, what part of the future of insurance will be done here? Regarding aerospace, we need to find holes in our supply chain. We can do to a lot of research to understand the opportunities and then effectively take those opportunities and deliver them to a global marketplace.

Our focus needs to be less convention and visitors bureau-type messaging about Hartford being a great place to live, work, or play. It needs to be more of a focused message to very specific industries about why they need to be in Hartford if they want to prosper in the U.S. marketplace in their industry.

NAN: How can Hartford attract global companies to the region?

DAVID: The startup scene becomes extremely important to Hartford as we look at delivering a global message and trying to attract global companies. Sometimes startups are acquisition targets. It’s no surprise companies will buy startups because they see an innovative approach to an issue they’re trying to resolve. Other times, companies will buy small startups and allow them to continue doing what they’re doing but with a larger war chest behind them.

Here in Hartford, you’re seeing a lot of the same activity. I’m starting to go through a process to begin to talk to everyone and catalog all the activities happening in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The MetroHartford Alliance needs to be able to adequately speak about the activity in our region, pull it all together, and build a regional message we can push out to the world about all the activities going on—and there are a lot. Hartford is a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, and we need to tell that story.

NAN: That’s the overall mission of the MetroHartford Alliance and Innovation Destination Hartford: Showcasing our resources and making people aware of everything that’s here in Hartford—and why this is a great place to not only start your business but to stay and grow your business.

DAVID: Absolutely agree. We need to catalog all of it. We also need to show we’re capable of helping companies grow, which is hopefully the next step for a lot of companies that go through these accelerator and incubator programs, to get to a point where they need to scale up. Some regions do really well helping companies scale up and some don’t. The ones that don’t lose all the momentum they’ve got with their startups because they will move to another city that can help them scale up.

Again, we need to have a complete ecosystem for companies to begin their journey and find all the help they need as they go through the beginning challenges of launching a startup to a point where they need help and expertise to scale up. We need to have those resources here in our community as well.

Hartford needs to have the complete ecosystem—and we can’t have the complete ecosystem for every possible company in every possible industry. We need to figure out what we’re really great at and make it greater. Not necessarily put all our eggs in one basket, but maybe have five eggs we’re incubating as opposed to trying to incubate hundreds of possible companies.

NAN: With regard to higher education, how can we retain students and encourage them to become a part of the community here in Greater Hartford?

DAVID: The generation coming out of school now wants to feel they’re part of something bigger, that they are helping to make change, and that what they’re doing actually matters.

Hartford is a great place for people with those types of focus because a little bit can go a long way here. And when people feel they are part of something bigger than themselves they will stay.

Getting undergraduates from the University of Connecticut, Trinity, the University of Hartford, and other schools entrenched in the future of our region by getting them involved with our companies and our nonprofits is in some regard key to us being able to retain them after graduation, which is what we want to do.

Exporting all our knowledge is not a good plan for the future. Figuring out how we’ll retain the talent coming out of the universities and colleges is important. That is our future.

And it’s no different than what we need to do to attract companies. We need to find out what they want. We need to find out if our region can support what they want. And we need to promote it. If it’s people we’re trying to attract, we need to understand what they want in their community and what will entice them to stay here and contribute to our community.

With both companies and people, we need to understand what they’re looking for. Do we have it? Can we develop it? If so, how do we market and sell it? And, how do we present it to them in a form they can consume? Because everyone consumes information differently. Some people read the newspaper. Some people get their news from social media. So, we need to know how our target market consumes data and then provide them with a message they’re looking for in those mediums.

NAN: As far as attracting people, why did Hartford choose you, and why did you choose Hartford?

DAVID: I think coming from a market like Minneapolis-St. Paul, the similarities between our two markets are there. We both have globally leading industries. We both had marketing campaigns that weren’t necessarily being run by us within our region. With Minneapolis-St. Paul, the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa and others were telling our story to business prospects, because Minneapolis-St. Paul wasn’t out aggressively and actively telling their story. Minnesota was. Minneapolis-St. Paul wasn’t.

It’s very similar to what we have here, where the state of Connecticut is telling the story, but Hartford as a region hasn’t been. So, we have been relying on others to tell our story the same way Minneapolis-St. Paul was allowing others to tell theirs.

I would imagine that had something to do with why Hartford chose me.

When I was working in Minneapolis-St. Paul within six years, we took the market from zero to arguably being one of the leading economic development organizations in the country. In that time, we attracted a good number of jobs to the market and increased the awareness and perception of the market. The same game plan can be done here in Hartford. Economic development is a team sport, and it is vital that we partner with our business community to attract talent here and retain what we have in this market.

I can’t guarantee the thousands of jobs we were able to attract in Minneapolis-St. Paul, it’s a smaller market and the opportunities scale accordingly. But, the activities and the process would remain the same and the expected outcomes should be fully and measurably the same.

NAN: And the other side of the question—what drew you to Hartford?

DAVID: For all the same reasons I was attracted to Minnesota. Professionally, I want a challenge. I want to show my value and, in a market like Minneapolis-St. Paul, I was able to show my value.

I truly believe that here in Hartford the wave has already formed. And this is what you want, isn’t it? As the wave has formed and you can see it, you want to get on top of it, but to do that you’ve got to be in a spot where maybe nobody else saw it. But I see it. We have all the assets in place to make Hartford one of the most viable business communities in the country.

The things we have going on in Hartford are all the right things a region needs to do to create a wave and to reinvent itself—or at least reposition itself. That’s where we are here in Hartford, and I am proud to be a part of that vision.

So, why would I be attracted here? Well, why wouldn’t you be attracted to Hartford? When you do the proper analysis and you see the potential, you want to be a part of it.

NAN: In terms of leadership and developing a company culture, any advice for others?

DAVID: I’m in a position to take not give.

We’ve got great people who work at the MetroHartford Alliance. They want to do great things—and they’re certainly capable of it. My job is to simply empower them to do great things and give them the resources, so they can be all they want to be and do all the things they want to do for our region.

If I’m successful, it won’t be because of me. It will be because of all the people who work here, who partner with us, who we work with, and who we follow. The MetroHartford Alliance doesn’t always have to be a leader. We can also support and partner on initiatives that further grow the Hartford Region. We need to play our role, and that role can evolve. We can and will evolve as an organization.

I’m trying to do a lot of listening and then pull what I’ve learned back into the organization, because there’s not a cookie-cutter solution. We can’t just take what we had in Minneapolis-St. Paul and put it in Hartford. What this is will be a uniquely Hartford solution. It will take a uniquely Hartford approach.

It will take us a little time to make those evolutions. It’s not even as much an evolution as it is shifting our focus a little bit from what we were doing a year ago to what we could be doing a year from now. It will take small course corrections as opposed to a complete reversal.

Our mission hasn’t changed. The MetroHartford Alliance is still out trying to attract jobs, talent, and capital to our region. The approach we’ll take to accomplish those goals will shift a little bit. But the mission hasn’t. I think that’s important to note.

Learn more about the MetroHartford Alliance

VISIT: www.metrohartford.com
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

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Hartford’s Groove Is Coming Back!

May 14 2018 Innovation Destination: Hartford Entrepreneurial Insights 0 comments Tags: advanced manufacturing, community, Connecticut, entrepreneurship, Hartford, innovation, Leadership Greater Hartford, MetroHartford Alliance, reSET, technology, Upward Hartford

One year ago, I wrote in the Hartford Business Journal that “Hartford stands at a tipping point: Bankruptcy? Revival? Or both?” And I focused on how common negative perceptions must be rebutted. David Griggs, the new President of the MetroHartford Alliance, observed recently in his debut presentation before 400 business and community leaders that “a community’s positive self-image is key to advancing economic revitalization.”

In tours of Hartford that I lead regularly for Leadership Greater Hartford, we see so much positive change in the last year that the city’s future looks brighter than in decades. The dramatic transformation underway makes Aetna’s departure announcement last year seem like a bad dream. CVS, Aetna’s expected new parent, understands Hartford’s strength as an insurance “center of excellence” where Aetna will thrive. The threat of the city’s bankruptcy is now history, and the state and major insurers are ready to bolster Hartford’s fiscal position.

In a fascinating twist, today’s rapidly expanding entrepreneurial spirit strongly recalls 19^th-century Hartford. Historians today call Hartford the innovation epicenter, the “Silicon Valley,” of 19^th-century American industrialization. Between the birth of the U.S. patent system in 1790 and 1930, Connecticut residents were awarded more patents per capita than anywhere else in the United States.

Today, numerous new “incubator/accelerator” launching pads build upon Hartford’s traditional strengths in insurance, financial services, and advanced manufacturing and production. The University of Connecticut and the University of Hartford have collaborated with business leaders on the Downtown InsurTech program that launched the StartupBootcamp accelerator. Working with Techstars, Stanley Black & Decker’s Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Downtown will accelerate its global Industry 4.0 “smart factory” initiative, and UTC has opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing innovation center at its Pratt & Whitney campus in East Hartford.

Upward Hartford and reSET Social Enterprise Trust exemplify the think tanks that assist entrepreneurs, large and small, in launching new cutting-edge products. Their rich menu of services includes funding sources, mentoring, periodic competitions and public recognition. reSET is unique in stimulating new enterprises that serve the common good.

National publicity about Connecticut’s highly skilled and educated workforce, Hartford in particular, is reinforcing the city’s momentum. Connecticut boasts New England’s highest percent (72%) of advanced manufacturing jobs. Fortune magazine reported that the Hartford metro area has America’s fourth highest number of digital tech-related jobs. And with more than 50% college-educated millennials, the Hartford area ranks sixth in the nation. It is understandable why Infosys announced plans for a major tech/innovation hub in Hartford that will create 1000 high tech jobs by 2022.

Job training, strategically focused on present/future workforce needs, is fast complementing Hartford’s many corporate and pubic internship programs. Goodwin College exemplifies institutions with specialized degree programs in manufacturing technology and other jobs in highest demand. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has announced major grants to boost employment among Hartford residents and an innovation grant to the Hartford Public Library’s “Crossroads to Connectivity Project” that narrows the city’s “digital divide.” These kinds of efforts reach down to the Hartford Boys & Girls Clubs, which initiated a new program to promote college/career readiness.

The vitality of Hartford as a place to live, work and play continues to unfold in highly visible ways. CIL’s renovation of the historic Capewell Lofts, their housing/retail plans at the Main/Park street entrance to Park Street’s vibrant Hispanic commercial area, and Spectra Boutique Apartment’s unique amenities (including a theater) that will be replicated in the apartments being created at Pearl and Trumbull streets are transforming housing in the city.

Complete new multi-purpose neighborhoods are on the drawing boards adjacent to the Dunkin’ Donuts Stadium and along Capitol Avenue. New residents and the 3,000+ members of the new Downtown UConn Hartford campus community are generating more “feet on the street.”

Merchants and Downtown institutions are responding; TheaterWorks plans a $ 2.5 million renovation, and free admissions are available to the Wadsworth Atheneum and to Hartford Stage in partnership with Hartford Public Library. Infinity Music Hall and Sea Tea Improv Comedy Theater are huge draws, and new restaurants like The Republic, Sorella, and Spectra Café are three of many.

This dynamic transformation is strong fodder for revamping our historic self-image. And that strong and proud belief in who we are will be the foundation for more ambitious and comprehensive goals than ever before.

About the Author
Greg Andrews is the Program Director for Leadership Greater Hartford’s Executive Orientation Program and Hartford Encounter Tours.

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