Making the Inc. Magazine list of 5,000 fastest growing U.S. private companies is a big thing. So, as you can imagine, we were thrilled to see that CI portfolio company Perimeter eSecurity of Milford made the list! Congratulations to Perimeter!

Additionally, former CI portfolio company Open Solutions of Glastonbury made the list.

At the time CI invested in both companies, they were small and fledging. It is a great accomplishment to see both of these companies become so successful! Their success clearly demonstrates that the investments CI makes and the work we do are important to Connecticut’s future economic growth.

According to the Hartford Courant article “Connecticut’s Fastest Growing Private Companies,” published on August 25, the rankings in the Inc. Magazine list were based on sales growth by percent from 2006 to 2009.

Here is a link to the Hartford Courant article, which highlights a number of Connecticut companies on the list.

Peter Longo
President & Executive Director

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It’s not every day that I have the opportunity to convey information about Connecticut Innovations over the radio. But on Sunday morning, both Charlie Moret, our managing director of business development, and I were featured in an interview with John Voket of Cox Radio. He quizzed us about the new CTech IncUBator at the University of Bridgeport, which is now open for business and accepting tenant applications.

CI, the University of Bridgeport and The United Illuminating Company partnered to make this technology business incubator possible.

The CTech IncUBator at University of Bridgeport is interested in attracting up to six  tenants. Who’s eligible? Entrepreneurs and emerging companies interested in commercializing technology in the information technology, digital media, advanced materials, and clean technology sectors, as well as other technology industry sectors.

To hear more about this Bridgeport-based technology business incubator, please click through to the full radio interview, which also includes an interview with Gad Selig of University of Bridgeport. The interview was featured on both WPLR’s “For the People” show (99.1 FM) and Star 99.9’s “Public File” show.

Peter Longo
President and Executive Director

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There is encouraging news for entrepreneurs who launched new businesses during the current recession… Their firms tend to show “resilience in job creation and durability.” 

In an article published recently by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Robert E. Litan, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, notes, “Even starting a company during a recession adversely affects the new firm for only a limited time…While a recession has a negative effect on a company’s employment in its first few years, a recession does not impose lasting consequences on startups…Firms started during the current recession can expect their employment to catch up with longer-term companies in the years to come.”

Read more in a new study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, “After Inception: How Enduring is Job Creation by Startups?”

Peter Longo
President & Executive Director

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Data speaks volumes. A recently released study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation highlights data that proves existing firms are net job destroyers and new firms (startups less than one year old and new locations) are net job creators. The study analyses 28 years worth of data (1977-2005) from the U.S. Census Bureau.

This is all the more reason for us to strengthen our support of emerging companies in Connecticut.

Interestingly, the Kauffman Foundation’s press release notes, “Because startups that develop organically are almost solely the drivers of job growth, job-creation policies aimed at luring larger, established employers will inevitably fail, said the study’s author, Tim Kane, Kauffman Foundation senior fellow in Research and Policy.”

Here are links to the Kauffman Foundation’s press release about the study and to the study itself, “The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction.”

Peter Longo
President & Executive Director

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Our new fiscal year, which began July 1, is off to a great start! Last week we announced the completion of our first two investments of the year – one in a software company that is new to CI’s portfolio, Weston Software Inc. of Westport, and the other in an existing bioscience portfolio company, Cara Therapeutics Inc. of Shelton. The former investment was a Series A and the latter a Series D – two ends of the venture investment spectrum. Together these investments will put to work nearly $800,000 of capital from CI.

Based on our current pipeline of investment opportunities, it appears that our investment activity level this year will likely be strong – on par with last year. We look forward to keeping you apprised of our new investments as the year unfolds.

Peter Longo
President & Executive Director

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Last week we launched a new Connecticut Innovations initiative, the Angel Investor Tax Credit Program, which is aimed at helping small businesses in Connecticut by stimulating investments in them by angel investors. The program, administered by CI on behalf of the state of Connecticut, was created by Public Act 10-75, An Act Concerning the Recommendations of the Majority of Leaders’ Jobs Growth Roundtable, which was signed into law on May 6.

Under the program, eligible angel investors may take a credit against Connecticut state income tax for certain investments made in qualifying businesses. Investments must be at least $100,000, and the tax credit equals 25 percent of the cash investment, up to $250,000. You may find additional details about the program at the newly launched Web site www.ctangeltaxcredit.com.

Coincidentally, I recently came across a VentureBeat article in which one of Boston’s top angel investors, Will Herman, shares some investment guidelines for would-be angels. It is evident that he is enthusiastic about being an angel investor and, with over 60 angel deals under his wings, he’s got plenty of wisdom to share.

“I invest because I have a blast doing it,” says Herman. “It’s about 75 percent of the fun of running the company yourself with only 5 percent of the stress. I get to meet smart, energetic people with great visions and boundless energy.”

Here is a link to his VentureBeat article “Guidelines for potential angel investors.”

Peter Longo

President & Executive Director

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It’s always helpful to glean pearls of wisdom from someone who has in-depth knowledge about a topic of interest to you. If you are interested in securing investment capital for your entrepreneurial venture, you may wish to review a list of pointers offered by Darrin Redus, chief economic inclusion officer of JumpStart, a nationally recognized nonprofit that secures and provides resources for entrepreneurs. He has sat through numerous presentations by entrepreneurs seeking new investments – and has summarized in a recent blog post his top ten tips to help entrepreneurs raise capital.

A few of them may resonate with you, so take a look… Here is a link: “10 Tips in Preparing for Investors.”

Peter Longo

President and Executive Director

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A recent Harvard Business Review blog post by Anthony Tjan emphasizes that CEOs must focus on three things: planning, selling, and executing. To do a good job at all three, entrepreneurs must “assess [their] own entrepreneurial aptitude and effectiveness” and then “quickly fill the gaps with the best talent [they] can find.” In other words, they must build teams to complement their own strengths and weaknesses.

This is great advice for entrepreneurs. Hear more about the importance of planning, selling and executing in Mr. Tjan’s blog post.

Peter Longo

President and Executive Director

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Richard J. Anthony Sr., founder of The Entrepreneurs Network, had this to say about human resource management: “Even for early stage companies, human resource management should be a priority; as important as managing any other resource needed for success.”

In his recent blog post on the National Association of Seed and Venture Capital Funds (NASVF) Web site, Mr. Anthony elaborated on this theme, citing seven deadly sins that entrepreneurs commit when hiring and proposing solutions for each. The sins range from hiring “on gut and instinct” to giving employee benefits business to relatives.

Mr. Anthony offers valuable pointers; I would urge entrepreneurs to read his brief piece. Here is a link: “Seven Deadly Sins Entrepreneurs Commit.”

Peter Longo

President and Executive Director

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Posted under Message from the President, Uncategorized

A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) in cooperation with the Temple University Fox School of Business has shown that seed-stage funding is on an upward trend this year compared with 2009. Findings from the 2010 survey of NASVF members include:

• The percentage of venture and angel funds focused on investing in seed-stage companies has increased approximately 40% this year over 2009.
• 51% of the survey respondents plan to invest in more companies in 2010 than in 2009.
• The number of funds expecting to be able to raise new money in less than one year increased approximately 40% this year over 2009.
• 33% of the survey respondents reported that their average investment was between $500,000 and 1,000,000 versus 18% in 2009.

As noted by a professor at the Fox School of Business, the survey “shows the overall pick-up in the confidence that fund managers seem to have in seed stage companies.”

This is good news for our earliest-stage portfolio companies who may be seeking co-investors.

Peter Longo
President and Executive Director

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Posted under Message from the President