Hartford Business Journal

9 Hartford Business Journal | April 5, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com STARTUPS, INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY launched in Hartford in recent years didn't just depend on state funding. They also received corporate support. For example, Startupbootcamp's InsurTech Hub received funding from Cigna, Travelers Cos. and The Hartford, while the Stanley + Techstars Accelerator, focused on advanced manufacturing companies, received backing from New Britain toolmaker Stanley Black + Decker. LeBlanc said insurers didn't renew funding for InsurTech Hub after a three-year contract ended last year. She said the program lost value, since a large part of what Startupbootcamp brought to the table was the ability to travel the world and recruit startups, which wasn't possible during the pandemic. Schlossberg said she thinks the state underestimates how important accelerators are to developing Hartford into a startup-friendly city. She refers to accelerator programs as the "engines" driving Hartford's startup scene over the past few years. State funding for accelerators has been premised on the idea that the money would get the programs up and running, and then success or failure would dictate whether they can continue on their own, Schlossberg said. The programs had been achieving what they set out to do, she added, but because of COVID-related setbacks, they require more funding to continue. Shifting gears Others running accelerator programs in Hartford agree that COVID has posed challenges. Some think they might shift the way they run accelerators to make them more effective in the future. Hartford HealthCare in 2019 partnered with Trinity College and the UConn School of Business to establish the medical technology accelerator run by Startupbootcamp. Dr. Barry Stein, Hartford HealthCare's chief clinical innovation officer, said the health system is still working with startups that went through the medtech accelerator's first and only cohort, including Lineus Medical, which is currently seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for a device that aims to reduce IV complications. But the accelerator program has since evolved. Moving forward, instead of recruiting a specific number of companies to Hartford for a predetermined amount of time, HHC is looking to directly partner with startups trying to solve healthcare- related problems. For example, it recently partnered with tech firm Openwater, which is developing a medical-imaging product able to detect strokes. It also has an ongoing relationship with the Israel Innovation Authority and is working with two startups developed through that partnership. "We are a traditional accelerator on steroids," Stein said. Paul Tyler is chief marketing officer at Hartford-based Nassau Financial Group, and runs the two-year-old Nassau Re/Imagine accelerator, which provides startups in the life insurance, annuity and reinsurance industries with free work space and legal, human resources and business-development services. Before the pandemic, he'd tell startups in the fintech and insurtech spaces they should come to Hartford to be in close proximity to large insurance and financial firms. "We started our program saying, 'come to Hartford, you can bump into an actuary in the coffee shop, you can ride the elevator up and meet all these people,' " Tyler said. "Well guess what? They're not here [right now]." For the rest of at least this year, Tyler said Nassau Re/Imagine will likely focus more on working with startups remotely and connecting them to companies in Hartford. Stanley Black & Decker runs the Stanley+Techstars accelerator out of its downtown innovation center in Constitution Plaza. The pandemic forced the accelerator to host its 2020 cohort remotely, and companies were able to adjust to the new format, said Mark Maybury, Stanley's chief technology officer who heads the accelerator program. Maybury said Stanley+Techstars will keep bringing startups to Hartford, but he's taking a hard look at shifting the accelerator to a hybrid model with a mix of in-person and remote elements. "All physical is not nirvana, and all virtual is not nirvana," Maybury said. "I think an appropriate mix of the two intentionally chosen is the optimum way to go." David Lehman Dawn LeBlanc Dr. Barry Stein 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | Fax: 860.242.8587 pdsec.com 4,000 SF INTERIOR RENNOVATION THINK • PLAN • BUILD Another Successful Project by PDS TRIPOINT PERFORMANCE BASED INSURANCE | AVON, CT PDS served in the role as General Contractor for a two story 4,000 square foot interior renovation of new office space. The renovation was a full gut of the existing facility consisting of new carpeting, wood flooring, ceilings, walls, millwork, doors, painting, toilet accessories, sprinkler, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical. This project was completed within a fast track two month span and finished within budget. SPOTLIGHT ON: COMMERCIAL

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