Connecticut Technology Council

Gov. Malloy: Bioscience in Connecticut Moves Forward

(FARMINGTON, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today signed new legislation creating a $200 million Bioscience Innovation Fund during a ceremonial event at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC). The fund will make investments over the next 10 years in the form of grants, equity investments, loans and loan guarantees to foster innovation in smaller companies.

“Over the last two and a half years, we’ve taken great steps forward in reinventing our economy,” said Governor Malloy. “With the addition of Jackson Laboratories and the investments we are making in our flagship university, we are positioning Connecticut to be a leader in the creation of 21st Century jobs. The Bioscience Innovation Fund will allow us to build on the tremendous progress that’s being made across our state. Little by little, we are turning around years of stagnation and growing jobs for our residents.”

“This project is not only creating jobs, but is creating energy and a momentum that will put Connecticut on track to regain our legacy of economic leadership and innovation,” Lt. Governor Wyman said. “The emerging bioscience industry plays to all of Connecticut’s strengths, and these are the tools and the resources we need to take advantage of those assets for generations to come.”

“The Bioscience Innovation Fund will provide the means to support the translation and commercialization of cutting edge science in such sectors as therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, bioinformatics and testing,” said Claire Leonardi, CEO of Connecticut Innovations, the organization that will administer the fund. “This is a very exciting time for bioscience as the cycle of discovery is ever more rapid. On behalf of CI, I’d like to thank the governor for recognizing the opportunity to build on Connecticut’s incredible bioscience assets. The industry’s future will be driven by innovation, and the fund’s investments will be a catalyst for that growth.”

Prior to the bill signing, the Governor joined legislative and University leaders on a tour of Bioscience Connecticut construction progress at UCHC.

Construction has been underway for the last year at the UConn Health Center to fulfill all aspects of Bioscience Connecticut – a forward-thinking plan championed by Governor Malloy and approved by the General Assembly in 2011 to create thousands of construction and related jobs in the short term and generate long-term, sustainable economic growth based on bioscience research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization.

“The new Bioscience Connecticut fund will build upon the significant investment the state has already made in the UConn Health Center and Jackson Labs,” said Commissioner Catherine Smith of the Department of Economic and Community Development. “The fund will promote economic development by allowing investments in translational research, emerging technologies and new companies. It is a terrific example of how Governor Malloy’s economic development strategy works: combining the resources of the state, the private sector, and our research universities to enhance our position in the bioscience sector and establish Connecticut as a global destination for leading edge medical innovation.”

In the year following its groundbreaking last June, all aspects of Bioscience Connecticut have moved forward on time and on budget. Of note, the project has created about 700 construction and related jobs on the UConn Health Center campus in its first year, including higher-than-required averages for small and minority business participation and 82 percent of all work going to Connecticut-based contractors. The number of construction jobs will rise significantly over the next three years.

“As we move forward with this exciting project, we remain enormously appreciative of the support and confidence entrusted to us from Governor Malloy and the General Assembly,” says Dr. Frank M. Torti, the Health Center’s executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the UConn School of Medicine.

UConn President Susan Herbst noted the vital connection between Bioscience Connecticut, the Bioscience Innovation Fund and Next Generation Connecticut legislation approved this past legislative session that will greatly expand educational opportunities, research, and innovation in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines at UConn over the next decade.

“The University is deeply grateful to Governor Malloy and the General Assembly for their recognition of the University’s role in economic and workforce development,” she added. “There is strong data to support that these initiatives will work. For example, by investing STEM, Next Generation Connecticut will generate $146 million per year in new research expenditures and $285 million in new business activity in Connecticut. In addition, it will create 4,050 permanent new jobs and 30,000 total construction jobs through 2024. This is a model that has worked in other states and is bound for success in Connecticut – along with many other facets of the Governor’s economic development plan.”

In addition, the Governor noted the progress of the new Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, which broke ground in January and is on schedule for occupancy in the fall of 2014. The 189,000-square-foot facility will house research laboratories, offices for scientists and administrators, conference areas to support scientific collaboration, and leading-edge genome analysis technology.

“We are proud to be here and proud to be helping Connecticut build a stronger life sciences industry,” said Mike Hyde, Vice President for External Affairs and Strategic Partnerships as the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine’s. “Meaningful partnerships with institutions of higher learning will allow us to tap into the best minds in the state, so that we can make the medical advancements that will have a direct impact on people’s lives.”

Scientists at JAX Genomic Medicine are building collaborations among doctors, researchers and the biomedical industry to bring research findings into the clinical setting. Their goal is to discover precise genomic solutions to disease, improving care, lowering costs and increasing life span and health span.

The Laboratory has awarded bid packages totaling $108 million for the construction of the new facility. Of that figure, 87 percent – more than $94 million – has been awarded to companies headquartered or with regional offices in Connecticut. JAX has awarded nearly $30 million in contracts to small businesses and minority-owned companies.

Within 10 years, JAX Genomic Medicine will employ at least 300 people. Already, the number of employees has reached 46, including more than 30 principal investigators and scientific staff, all working in temporary space on the UConn Health Center campus. More than two dozen additional employment applications and contracts are in process. About 16 scientific and administrative positions have been filled by residents of Connecticut.

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For Immediate Release: September 4, 2013

Contact: Andrew Doba
[email protected]
860-524-7308 (office)
860-770-8090 (cell)

Twitter: @GovMalloyOffice
Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy

CT NEXT Experiment Casts Entrepreneurial Web Across State

With the state lagging behind in job recovery, Connecticut officials in the months following the 2008 recession weren't bullish on the state's entrepreneurial prospects.

Urged by business groups like the Connecticut Technology Council and Connecticut Innovations, which needed only to look north or south to start-up hotbeds like Cambridge or New York City, policymakers decided the state needed a new approach to develop an innovation economy.

In the 2011 Jobs Bill, the legislature set aside $5 million to fund a network of business consultants, incubators and a pool of innovation vouchers, that is just now starting to gain traction, although its effectiveness is yet to be decided.

The "CTNext" experiment — the moniker that encompasses the effort — focuses on fostering startups and somewhat further along stage-two companies. It has given rise to state-subsidized incubators in Hartford, Storrs, Stamford, Westport and New Haven.

A team of growth advisors tied to each location was hired to work with companies that seemed particularly promising.

The centers can walk an entrepreneur through the application process for vouchers — which can be used for prototyping, market research and intellectual property services — that top out at $10,000.

That network of providers has now worked with, in some capacity, more than 600 startups and granted $307,000 worth of vouchers, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

As both providers and entrepreneurs tell it, CTNext has been a positive step in building a start-up industry. But it's still difficult to assess any return on investment for the public dollars funding it.

Some have also raised concerns that the effort lacks a centralized focus. Opening incubators across disparate parts of the state, critics warn, separates entrepreneurs who should be sharing ideas.

Regardless, CTNext has helped entrepreneurs like advertising executive Carissa Ganelli, founder of software startup LightningBuy, which makes it quicker and easier for consumers to make online purchases using their mobile phones.

Through a chance encounter in Manhattan with Patty Meagher, entrepreneur and founder of the Stamford Innovation Center, Ganelli found CTNext.

LightningBuy, which launched its product in February, is now housed at the Stamford center, paying a reduced rent of $500 a month thanks to state money the center gets through a CTNext provider contract. Five facilities around the state have similar contracts.

Ganelli's company has also received some free legal and accounting services.

That's all been vital to keeping LightningBuy's operations running lean. But what's been most important, Ganelli says, is tapping into a pool of knowledge about other state grants through DECD.

LightningBuy, for example, was awarded $30,000 from the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technologies, and later got another grant from DECD.

Ganelli said Stamford center officials put in a good word for her at the state level, which she believes led to her company getting an award.

"We were really lucky," she said. "It helped us pay bills, develop our alpha and refine our beta."

Ganelli wouldn't disclose if her company is profitable, but she said the free and discounted services she's gotten from CTNext has made her feel more loyal to her home state. She says she'll likely stick around if, or when, LightningBuy, with its six full-time employees, grows.

A growing network of connections

CTNext hopes its website and any buzz it creates will help spread the word to entrepreneurs like Ganelli about its services. Networking has been just as vital.

Like Ganelli, Jason Maloney, co-founder of Fairfield iPhone case maker diffr3nt, stumbled upon CTNext through a chance encounter.

Last September, Maloney was waiting in line at an Apple store to purchase the iPhone 5, which he and his business partner Mark Donne needed as quickly as possible to build a prototype case that fit its dimensions.

Maloney bumped into [Derek] Koch, CEO of Independent Software and a growth advisor in New Haven's CTNext network.

Koch introduced the differ3nt founders to CTNext's programs and services, including a CEO bootcamp, which helped sharpen the entrepreneur's leadership and management skills.

Diffr3nt is also applying for an innovation voucher.

Maloney didn't disclose how many cases diffr3nt produces, but he said the company's sales are funding its operations.

He recently left his job at a major tech company to pursue diffr3nt's future full time.

"As an entrepreneur in Connecticut, there are so many resources out there," Maloney said. "Instead of going to 27 different doors and asking for help, CTNext is the one door I go to, and they know everyone behind those 27 doors."

Serial entrepreneur sees value

Eric Knight has been building companies for years. The UConn alum founded Fairfield's UP Aerospace, which in 2007 launched Star Trek actor James "Scotty" Doohan's ashes into space on a private rocket.

Knight is now entrepreneur in chief of Innovation East, the CTNext region that includes incubator space in Storrs and Groton, and is affiliated with UConn. Knight and his team have worked with more than 100 companies so far, he said.

For Knight, one of the most important things CTNext has accomplished is creating a tighter network of entrepreneurs like himself.

Getting better acquainted with people around the state has helped Knight have a better sense of which combination of advisers might be best to help entrepreneurs.

"This is a really remarkable team across Connecticut," he said.

And it's a fledgling team. In describing CTNext to a newcomer, Knight often calls it "a startup helping startups."

Matthew Nemerson, president and CEO of the technology council, said the idea all along was to try different things and go with what works.

He said the tech council, Connecticut Innovations, and the innovation centers have been comparing notes about results so far, and talking about what seems to be most effective.

One thing that Knight said is working better is his center's process for vetting voucher recipients. A board of reviewers hears entrepreneur pitches at a monthly gathering.

The board can grant a voucher on the spot if the pitch passes muster.

"We really hit our stride with the processing," Knight said.

Knight said developing those types of standards is vital, especially as the program approaches its second round of contracts. CI sent out a request for proposals last month for service providers to represent the second year of the CTNext program.

About $5 million is expected to be up for grabs.

Nemerson hopes the results will build on what's been done so far.

"We need to maintain the statewide relationships that have been created, build on the actual experiences of helping companies, and be very analytical about what happened and why," he said.

DECD will have an open mind to proposals and ideas as the second round of RFPs roll in, said Commissioner Catherine Smith.

Smith said the number of companies formed, and the number that survive, will be key metrics to measure as the program continues.

"It still feels like it's pretty fledgling," Smith said. "The first year has barely moved the needle, but we're moving in the right direction."

Though CTNext will receive another round of state funding in its second year the idea in the long run is for the effort to sustain itself, Smith said. That's something that has been communicated to the various players involved in the effort.

"We have large companies that are interested in innovation and they can help participate," she said.

 

This article is a product of the Hartford Business Journal.

CTNext experiment casts entrepreneurial web across state

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Tech Startup Seeks to Take Guess Work Out of Job Search

Employers want top-notch talent, workers with years of experience and people who have industry know-how that sets them apart from competitors. But hiring managers, experts say, are having a tough time finding the job-seekers they want.

Henning Seip, founder and CEO of SkillPROOF Inc. could be the matchmaker employers and job-seekers are looking for.

For more than a decade, Seip has been developing and honing technology behind his new job search tool, KRAZOOM, which he says matches job-seekers to employment opportunities faster and more efficiently by taking the guesswork out of keyword searches.

KRAZOOM is a database of job postings that allows job seekers to select requirements that match their skill set, instead of typing in keywords in a trial-and-error process, which is how most other online job boards, like Monster.com, work.

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Today, KRAZOOM has over 200,000 daily job postings, but a challenge the company faces is convincing more employers to list open positions. Seip said KRAZOOM will try to attract employers through its partnership with the Stamford Innovation Center, a tech incubator where Seip holds regular workshops on how to overcome the job search process.

Although Seip isn't making money from KRAZOOM yet, he expects to start earning revenue later this year when he starts charging employers to list jobs. Seip wouldn't disclose what he would charge, or what the market potential is for his business.

Peter Propp, vice president of marketing for the Stamford Innovation Center, said Seip's technology has helped startups find qualified job seekers. "With unemployment in the state at 8 percent, jobseekers are looking for new innovative ways to circumvent the job search process," said Propp. "KRAZOOM offers that new solution."

 

Read Becky Bergman's entire article from the Hartford Business Journal here.

Connecticut- Coworking Towards the Future

Finding ways for great ideas and innovative solutions to evolve from brain cells to the store shelves is one of our biggest preoccupations. A recent workplace trend blossoming in Connecticut is looking to provide the facilities, atmosphere, and spirit to assist entrepreneurs in their most basic task- simply getting the work done.

This new paradigm in business workspace, known as coworking spaces, offers standard office staples- tables and chairs, electricity and internet, printing and scanning, and of course coffee- the sort of things you need to function as a budding business, but also a unique community of others in the same situation you’re in. Coworkers by a degree of separation.

Working side by side with other entrepreneurs, freelancers, thinkers, and tinkers allows for a highly fertile and powerfully productive ambiance in which to do, create, change, and sell. Coworking allows you the opportunity to get out of your home, or out of a crowded coffee shop, and become more productive in a real office setting at a fraction of the price. It works on a subscription basis, or alternatively, on a pay-as-you-come system.

Think of it like a gym membership- it makes more sense, for most people, at least, to pay a little bit per month or per year to share the tread mill and the dumbbells with your neighbors at the fitness center than it does to buy your own equipment. The same principle applies to a young company, who wants to have functional business space, yet is unable or unwilling to use precious capital resources to invest in an office of their own, stocked with furniture, rent, and insurance.

Joining a coworking space has been working for many individuals and teams throughout the state. If it sounds like it might be the right fit for you, here is a list of the active coworking spaces available in Connecticut at this time. Check them out to discover more about how the system works, and details on their particular facilities. And if you find a coworking space we don’t know about yet, please let us know! 

Good luck on your entrepreneurial journey!

 

B:Hive Bridgeport	Bridgeport	203-873-2008
reSET Incubator & Coworking Space	Hartford	860.560.9120
Axis901	Manchester	860-647-6029
The Grove	New Haven	203.654.9676
The Bourse	New Haven	203.980.8202
group88	Simsbury	860.658.9777
SONO Spaces	South Norwalk	203 838 5555
Stamford Innovation Center	Stamford	203.226.8701
The Soundview Club	Stamford	203.359.9333

Business Incubator Revs Up at Fairfield University

Up to five local entrepreneurs will get to launch their businesses at the new Fairfield University Accelerator and Mentoring Enterprise when the business incubator program starts up in September.

A collaboration of the university, the Fairfield Economic Development Department and Kleban Properties, the effort offers budding innovators access to discounted services, technology resources, workshops, start-up funding and mentoring from Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business faculty and the area's business community.

The first group of entrepreneurs will be chosen by a panel in a competitive selection process. Panel members will represent the university, Kleban Properties, the town of Fairfield and the area business community.

Construction of the 1,300-square-foot facility, located above the off-campus Fairfield University book store at 1499 Post Road, is under way. It is designed with an open area to promote a collaborative environment, as well as with meeting rooms.

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Start-up companies play a key role in creating jobs and spurring innovation, according to Mark Banhart, Fairfield's director of community an economic development, who said that he expects some of the entrepreneurs to apply for micro-entrepreneur grants offered through his department.

"There's a tremendous wealth of talent and entrepreneurial people in Connecticut, and we'd love to have them come to Fairfield," he said.

For sponsorship and application information, email [email protected]. To apply online, visit www.fairfield.edu/ame.

 

This is an excerpt from Richard Lee's article from the Stamford Advocate.

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Connecticut’s Entrepreneurial Community Wants Your Ideas

      


The following is a press release from Connecticut Innovations, the Department of Economic and Community Development, and CTNEXT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Connecticut Innovations (CI) and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) are seeking creative ideas to improve and strengthen the state’s effort to build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Connecticut. The organizations have issued a Request for Proposals to help Connecticut further engage in innovation. The RFP is open to individuals, large and small companies, non-profits and consortia—from within and outside the state—with a proven record of success and creative ideas to develop the infrastructure and community necessary to support entrepreneurs. The state will invest up to $5 million over the next year in this initiative, called CTNEXT.

A winning proposal will include ideas to:

• Create pathways for entrepreneurs through which events, ideas, technology, industry expertise, services, skill development, talent and capital are easy to find

• Help innovative companies grow faster

• Improve entrepreneur connections with universities, economic development organizations and other private and public resources

• Engage Connecticut’s larger innovative corporations with the entrepreneurial community

• Help Connecticut increase the volume of the success stories it can celebrate and share

CTNEXT, a public-private partnership, has already established great momentum. To date, it has helped fund 11 entities and engaged dozens more to enhance local networks of support for entrepreneurs and connect those networks strategically statewide. And excitement and activity in the entrepreneurial community has reached new heights. In the past eight months alone, over 5,000 people attended more than 150 entrepreneurial community events, and several new co-working spaces were established or expanded.

Still, CI and DECD recognize that there are great ideas that they haven’t heard about which could strengthen the state’s culture of innovation while supporting a platform for addressing today’s toughest challenges.

“Connecticut is rich with innovative individuals, researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs, companies, investors and the organizations that support them.  We are looking for ways to help this talented population be part of a world-class entrepreneurial community,” said Claire Leonardi, CEO of CI.

“If you have ideas, experience and the commitment to develop the infrastructure and community to support entrepreneurs, we want to hear from you,” said Catherine Smith, Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.

For more information or to submit a proposal, visit build.CTNext.com.

Contact:

Casey Pickett Director of Innovation   Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development   860-729-2210 [email protected]

Chris Penner Director, Investments   Connecticut Innovations     860-257-2163 [email protected]

CCAT Expands Office Space in East Hartford

The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technologies is a mixed-setting work space, with offices, laboratories, conference rooms, and other business infrastructure geared towards tech start-ups and related organizations.  Their facilities, located in East Hartford near the base of Founders Bridge, where we at the Connecticut Technology Council make our home, announced Wednesday that they're expanding.

After a restructuring and reorganizing endeavor, CCAT is ready to offer an an additional 2,500 square feet of office and work space on Pitkin Street.  Their press release outlined a plan to add 10 more offices to the more than 30 it boasts now.

CCAT is also the facilitator of the State's Small Business Incubator Grant Program, which can award nascent tech companies with a sum of up to $30,000, if they qualify.

For more information, visit their website and this related article in the Hartford Courant.

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Current State, Future State

CONNSTEP talked with leaders from some of the state's key industries to examine their condition in 2012 - how they have weathered the recent economic slowdown and what is the forecast going forward. While the high cost of doing business in Connecticut and the perennial search for skilled labor is consistent across industries, each of the companies offers a unique perspective, with lessons and cautionary notes that can relate to all.

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Startup Weekend Hartford - September 21-23, 2012

The next Startup Weekend Hartford event is scheduled for September 21-23 at the Hartford Public Library.  The topic for this session will focus on Health & Wellness, with an emphasis on medical devices and new medical technology.

For more details, visit:  http://hartford.startupweekend.org/

Workforce Research Project Update

By Adam Harris
CTC Research Fellow

Having completed our preliminary research into the general trends of engineering and computer science graduation, we are now preparing to transition into the data collection phase of our project. Over the next few weeks, we will examine several perspectives of the perceived paucity of qualified technology employees in the state by reaching out to Connecticut’s employers, recent college graduates, and universities.

We initiated our data gathering process through the distribution of an online survey to the HR Directors of 61 technology-oriented firms. These questions are focused on the methods that companies utilize in their search for labor. Through this set of questions, we hope to build an understanding of how businesses connect with potential employees and whether these firms are constrained by an inadequate supply of highly-skilled workers.

To understand the viewpoint on other side of the employment story, with the help of Connecticut’s universities, we are also seeking to survey recent engineering and computer science graduates. Our goal is to identify the job-search methods and resources that they employ most frequently. In addition, we hope to discover whether these alumni were retained in Connecticut for employment and what factors contributed to their decisions to accept employment either in-state or out-of-state.

Finally, we will begin meeting with the deans of Connecticut’s engineering and computer science schools over the next week. In these interviews, we will discuss the career-readiness of these programs’ graduates, how these schools adapt their programs to keep up to date with the ever-changing technological landscape, and how the universities keep track of their alumni after graduation.

By gleaning information from all of these sources, we hope to gain a comprehensive understanding of the state of technology employment in Connecticut. Our findings will eventually be the basis of a policy paper suggesting how the results of this research might be used to increase graduate retention in Connecticut and better connect employers with highly-skilled technology personnel in our state.