Connecticut Technology Council

Entrepreneur's Flourish in New Haven

In recent years, New Haven has been a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity, launching large public companies and small startups. New Haven boasts numerous educational assets, plentiful lab and office space, and a vibrant cultural scene that is attracting young talent interested in working for exciting startups. This trend is exemplified by the popularity of the Grove a shared workspace that serves as an incubator where entrepreneurs can share ideas and networks, and CTech, a technology business incubator managed by Connecticut Innovations. 

Check out a recent article in Fast Company that references CI’s CTech and TechStartinitiatives. 

Matthew Nemerson talks to WNPR about crowdfunding

Entrepreneurs all over the country are buzzing about crowdfunding. A new federal law will make it possible for small companies to attract investors online. But not everyone in Connecticut is thrilled about the new rules. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

Earlier this month President Obama signed into law the JOBS Act, a measure with rare bipartisan support.

 Matthew Nemerson, President of the Connecticut Technology Council, says this new law could potentially speed up the pace of innovation.

“I think what we’re really doing here is reducing some of what have become very onerous costs of going public. And I think we’re looking at pools literally of billions of dollars around the country and around the world that are looking for new technology to invest in.”

To Read the Entire Transcript Click Here.

For more information about Crowdfunding: Click Here

 

 

Connecticut Innovations Makes $500,000 Follow-on Investment in Innovatient Solutions Inc.

 

 

 

Rocky Hill, Conn., April 16, 2012 – Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology-based innovation and economic development, today announced that it has made a follow-on investment of $500,000 in Innovatient Solutions Inc. (Innovatient) of Farmington, Conn., through its Seed Investment Fund. This investment is part of a Series A extension round of $2 million, led by CI and involving company founders and angel investors. In 2011, CI made its first investment of $500,000 in Innovatient under the first part of the Series A round.

Innovatient is developing a patient-centered information system aimed at improving communications between hospital care providers and patients in order to enhance clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction.

“It is highly encouraging that Innovatient’s tool addresses a sizeable and growing market that is being favorably affected by federal mandates on healthcare institutions,” said Claire Leonardi, chief executive officer and executive director of CI. “Our continued support of Innovatient will enable the company to address a portion of this market while supporting Governor Malloy’s goal of promoting innovation in the state.”...................

Click Here to read the Press Release

 

CTC's, Matthew Nemerson Speaks to WNPR from Jinian, Shandong Province, China

Harriet Jones of WNPR reports: Shandong is Connecticut’s sister state and Matthew Nemerson, CEO of the Connecticut Technology Council is among a few of the original delegates from the first mission back in the 1980s to have returned to Shandong this week.

“A very small and hopeful state 25 years ago. Now a larger economy than Germany, it seems.”

Speaking to WNPR from the city of Jinan he says business meetings have been proceeding alongside diplomacy.

For the entire Transcript click here

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In the news: 3/14/2012 article by David Krechevsky, Republican-American -
State, feds to promote Conn. firms during trade mission to China The Republican-American.

3/14/2012 Back to Shandong Province - Opportunity for Tech Firms

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For other articles on this subject

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Matthew Wallace Selected for "Top 25 Newsmakers"

East Hartford, CT,March 27 2012,

Matthew Wallace President and CEO of VRSim, East Hartford, CT has been honored with a recognition byENR/Engineering News-Record in its selection of "Top 25 Newsmakers."

 Matthew Wallace commented on the recognition: "This is quite an honor for me. The fact that ENR/Engineering News-Record included me in its selection of 'Top 25 Newsmakers,'signals that my constant effort to deliver excellent work has paid off. It is gratifying to be recognized in this way."

Following the publication of Matthew Wallace's selection for ENR/Engineering News-Record's Top 25 Newsmakers list, American Registry seconded the honor and addedMatthew Wallace to the "Registry of Business Excellence™." An exclusive recognition plaque, shown here, has been designed to commemorate this honor.

To Read the Entire article click here

Back to Shandong Province - Opportunity for Tech Firms

The Tech Council is looking for a few more firms that may want to have it represent them during a one week swing through China including Beijing, Shanghai and cities in the coastal industrial and technology rich state of Shandong.

If you might be interested, please contact CTC Membership Director, Mike Scricca immediately!  mscricca@ct.org, 860-289-0878, x334

Exactly 25 years ago, the Tech Council’s Matthew Nemerson – then the newly selected President of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce - travelled with Governor William O’Neill and a group of over 25 business and government leaders to our newly designated sister-state of Shandong, China.  This early, but dramatic attempt to cemented strong relations with a similar technology and coastal region of China should have created huge and unique dividends for the state. Sadly, the following administrations after O’Neill did not build on the early openings and the very positive -- and greatly appreciated by the Chinese -- gesture of having our political leader lead the delegation was mostly squandered.

Over the last two decades one member of that first delegation, Marcum LLP Partner John Schuyler, has made many trips to various parts of Shandong and kept the Connecticut name and business community in front of Chinese leaders there. 

Now, with the Malloy Administration taking a new interested in foreign business connections and having endorsed a new official trip to China, Schulyer, Nemerson and another veteran of that first trip, U.S. Department of Commerce international specialist and District Office Director Anne Evans and others will be heading back to China at the end of March representing over 50 of the state’s tech firms looking for investors and strategic partners.

“I’ve been back to China two other times, so I know the amazing changes that have taken place. Still, this will be my first time back in Shandong Province since 1987,” noted Nemerson. “25 years ago we thought we had the upper hand, and came with a long list of interesting Connecticut technologies and we were all trying to sell products that were not available in China into that market. Today we are come as equals, sharing information about growing firms looking for capital investments and global partnerships.” 

Needless to say, Shandong will have changed dramatically in 25 years, while Connecticut probably wishes it could turn some clocks back to the clout and swagger the state had in the mid-1980s. Still, the concept that Connecticut is stronger with close relationships with a dynamic economy halfway around the world has not changed.

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In the news: 3/14/2012 article by David Krechevsky, Republican-American - 
 State, feds to promote Conn. firms during trade mission to China The Republican-American.

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DELEGATE LIST INCLUDES::

John Schuyler, Partner
Marcum LLP

Anne Evans, District Director
U.S. Department of Commerce

Dan Drew, Mayor
City of Middletown

Peter Longo, President and Executive Director
Connecticut Innovations

Matthew Nemerson, President and CEO
Connecticut Technology Council

Deb Santy, Director
CT Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

David Schaffer, Partner
Wiggin and Dana LLP

Jun-Hong Cui, President and CTO
AquaSeNT; Professor, University of Connecticut

Melissa Grosso, Senior International Trade Specialist
U.S. Department of Commerce

Barbara Wright, CT District Export Council Support 

Building a Pipeline of Fast Growing Technology Firms is Again a Top State Priority

Why does the state of Connecticut have some of the best assets for innovation and technology development in the country of all states, but regularly performs far below the levels of expectation for new firm startups and the growth of jobs in medium sized tech firms, those with 10 to 100 employees? 

This fundamental question was the subject the of the CTC’s ground-breaking 2010 study The Connecticut Competitive Agenda Project.  

In 2011, CTC President & CEO Matthew Nemerson and Agenda Project manager Casey Pickett turned the Agenda report into a set of policy suggestions and concepts leading to a road-map for Connecticut to begin turning around the “innovation and entrepreneurship gap” in the state. Pickett was then hired by the Department of Economic and Community Development mid-way through last year to become the state’s Director of Innovation.

Ideas from the CTC Agenda helped secure over $125 million in new funding over the next five years for various innovation and job creating concepts at the October 2011 special “Jobs” session of general assembly.  About $5 million of the funding has been ear-marked especially for efforts to build a strong network of innovation supporters and connected systems throughout the state to make a strong attempt to compete with Massachusetts and New York City for high potential tech startups and to better assist key medium sized firms already here to grow by investing in innovation and other key strategic assets.

The Tech Council has been working closely with the state to play a role in what will be called the Connecticut Innovation Ecosystem. 

We hope to report on exciting news around this two year effort soon.

The Sikorsky Entrepreneurial Challenge, apps due 3/30/2012

The Entrepreneurial Challenge is a competition held by Sikorsky Innovations to identify and support emerging, revolutionary technology in the rotorcraft market. 

Full info, and application at: http://bit.ly/GHoPsv

Friday, March 30th, 5pm, Challenge Question applications due  

The challenge provides an opportunity for entrepreneurial companies to understand some of the toughest issues facing the vertical flight community and identify their technology as relevant to one or more of these issues.

The Challenge is designed to open a clear communication pathway between the entrepreneurial community and Sikorsky Innovations, with the goal of increasing opportunities for collaboration and novel technology integration into current and future rotorcraft products.

The Challenge is open to any small company, U.S. based or international, including newly formed and pre-revenue entities, that meet the requirements defined in the Entrepreneurial Challenge Application Kit.

THE QUESTIONS:
1. How can we make an aircraft more intelligent with wireless sensing?
2. Which adaptive signature control and active survivability technologies can make aircraft operations safer?
3. How do we create and distribute robust, certifiable transportation ‘Apps’?
4. What is the next high power/density energy storage technology?
5. How do we cool future avionic and sensor systems?

Gov. Dan Malloy's Proposal on Changes to the Connecticut Technical High School System (CTHSS)

Gov. Dan Malloy earlier this month proposed legislation making changes to the Connecticut Technical High School System (CTHSS) in order to tailor programming to the needs of employers. In addition to programmatic changes, the governor wants to change the governance of CTHSS to an independent, 11-member board whose members are made by appointment, removing oversight from the State Board of Education. The process would be led by the Department of Education in collaboration with the Board of Regents, Department of Labor and Department of Economic and Community Development.

The governor hopes to put in place reforms that will position the 20-school system to provide programs relevant for high-tech jobs available in Connecticut. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman singled out fields like precision manufacturing, bioscience and fuel cells in a press release. To help the efforts and increase the training and resources available for students, Gov. Malloy would allocate $500,000 in additional funding.

The governor's bill is available at: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2012/TOB/s/pdf/2012SB-00024-R00-SB.pdf.

Attributed to: SSTI (State Science and Technology Institute)

Technology-Based Overview of President Barack Obama's FY13 Budget Request

via SSTI, Federal Budget Special Issue...

"Each year, SSTI provides Digest readers with a comprehensive review of technology-based economic development spending in the the president's federal budget request. The year's edition includes proposed FY13 spending on R&D, STEM education, manufacturing, broadband, small business support, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, innovation workforce initiatives and more. The full report is available for download in pdf format (561 kb).

President Barack Obama's FY13 budget request includes few major changes from FY12 due to the spending cap agreed upon in the Budget Control Act. Funding for most, but not all, TBED-related programs would maintain nearly level funding. The White House is accentuating the budget's generous support for advanced manufacturing, clean energy and STEM education, and again is asking that the R&D tax credit be made permanent. ..."

Click Here for the Full Report

Attributed to: SSTI (State Science and Technology Institute)