Thinking about what’s important to you may be what we do best
A new year does not change a whole lot for the specifics of running a 16 year old business trade association dedicated to speaking and working for a community of 2,500 very diverse and opinionated technology based companies. Still, changes in the way we talk to each other, using the Internet and communication gadgets and the evolution of the networks that we all find ourselves connected to, means that any organization such as ours is evolving and tearing up and remaking plans on a regular basis.
Our first and most important job is to always bring value to you in exchange for your time, interest and financial support. But we also understand that the range of needs and concerns that exist among our members and within the whole innovation oriented community is vast. In a real sense, our continuous efforts to figure out what is important is probably as significant has providing programs, services and leadership. Because, in our post-industrial, global information and services oriented world the perspective and systemic point of view that we can offer to you and to the State from our constant questioning, analysis and attempts to model what is of value to the tech community is perhaps our greatest on-going value.
Check out our plan, 2010 calendar and value proposition at 2010 Framework Download 2010 Strategic Brochure 6.1
Clearly mostly tech business people are feeling better about the coming year than we did 12 months ago. And yet, even in the worst of last spring, we learned that great entrepreneurs with solid ideas will continue to do well, as will medium and larger firms with good strategies and the ability to execute.
We weathered the last year well While structural changes are certainly warping and pushing Connecticut in new directions, what stands out over the past period of what many are calling the great recession is how little change there has been to most of your actions and enthusiasm.
Investors still are looking for great companies to support, entrepreneurs are still building their firms and policy and talented workers are still seeking the right connections. We didn’t lose a lot of members in 2009, our events went off just as well and if anything the recession caused the phones (more likely email in basket) to be a bit busier as people who are looking for new opportunities looked to tech companies for their opportunities.
What has changed is the realization by politicians and policy makers who may not have paid that much attention in the past to the innovation eco-systems of the state and its tech clusters is that you are the best hope for Connecticut to create new jobs, to keep talents young people here and to have a chance at new revenues to balance the state’s books. Yes, they want your taxes, but that’s a good thing if more companies grow and make money and return a strong ROI for your investors.
A good trade association can figure out what is important in the environment to its constituents even as they are busy doing what they have to grow and survive each day. In 2010 we will continue to do that and then act on it.
2010 will be a wild ride
In the course of thinking about the best way to smooth your way towards success as a Connecticut technology oriented firm, we obviously engage in public policy and the endless dialogue between business and government to both help and not hurt you in your endeavors. In this arena, if you have the stomach and time for it, the coming year will be fascinating.
Not only do we not have open seats for Governor and US Senator, but the realization that coming huge state budget deficits may be caused as much by a chronic lack of growth and job creation as by too much spending are combining to put our community in a interesting position as a constituency that many powerful leaders and would-be leaders want to understand and help.
The Strategic Framework for 2010
The board and executive committee have been working to make the most of the opportunities and challenges that the politics, economics and ideas of the coming year will demand.
1) Use grass roots strength to build the competitive environment for Connecticut
We are going to be more aggressive in writing and propagating our legislative policy agenda and we are going to find ways to engage our members in convincing the elected officials around the state that by supporting technology they are making it more likely that jobs and economic growth will occur. We have already invested in a new grass roots software system Capwiz and we have been working the past few months with legislative leaders as well as likely candidates for Governor. We will also be able to find the kkey bills and meetings digested from the state legislature through our own filtering and focusing eefforts.
So this year will hope to finally deliver on sound ideas such the Angel Investor Tax Credit and large increases in the amount of private and public funding that will be invested in start-up ventures with a goal of increasing the pipeline of high potential firms growing in the state.
2) Building Community
In addition to continuing and in fact expanding our many successful and important programs we are undertaking to expand and perfect three important strategic areas this year. First, we want to produce a better way to keep the tech community connected. We see this happening through better use of the web and PDA Apps for our comprehensive directory, reaching out to a region larger than Connecticut to establish an understanding of clusters and a New England innovation eco-system.
3) Increasing Innovation that becomes entrepreneurship
With IPOs rare, we plan to go back to the successful programs we have done that bring small and larger firms together to share new ideas with those who have customers and products that need them. And, while we will work with the high potential “FastTrack” firms to keep them in Connecticut and well supported as they grow.
4) Tell us what works for you
While everything we do is about promoting innovation and growth in Connecticut, the Technology Council continues to have a unique role of being able to connect many often unconnected parts: we work with the Administration and the Legislature, business partners and social service groups, Democrats and Republicans and companies from every part of the state.
Technology has truly become not a specialized part of the economy; we are now close to the mainstream and the Council in many ways acts as a glue that brings together key pieces of the puzzle for building prosperity and a competitive advantage for the state.
Final thoughts for the New Year
As we thank you for your support and interest, we need to remind you that there is still a great need to make the case for economic growth and the role of technology and innovation as we seek to keep Connecticut a location of choice for high value added businesses.
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