Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1403552
26 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AGUST 23, 2021 FOCUS: Banking & Finance By Zachary Vasile zvasile@hartfordbusiness.com W hen TOMO Networks was getting off the ground last year amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it likely had the connections and resources to set up a home base wherever it wanted. A real estate-focused financial technology firm founded by former Zillow executives, TOMO's principals have links to Seattle, where Zillow's corporate headquarters is located, and the company could have opted for the hustle and bustle of Manhattan or Brooklyn. When it was time to set down roots, however, TOMO selected Stamford. "It comes down to one word — talent," said co-founder and CEO Greg Schwartz. TOMO's team wanted to be near New York City, Schwartz said, and Stamford's transportation infrastructure will allow the firm to attract highly-skilled workers from the city and surrounding metro area. "We just met more and more talented folks living in places like Brooklyn, with one or two kids and very intense careers, who were ready for a change," he said. "We're in a position to draw people from New York or Boston who just don't want to sit on the train every day." Fintech industry officials, as well as the state's boosters, have been making a similar case for Connecticut, pointing to its concentration of finance and insurance companies, well-educated workforce, quaint communities and high quality of life. Remote work opportunities, greatly expanded by the still-roiling pandemic, mean that employees can keep their fast-paced, competitively-paid city-based jobs while enjoying the advantages of the suburbs, they said. "Hartford, and Connecticut generally, have an extraordinary opportunity," said Peter Denious, Talent, quality of life, incentives boost CT's growing fintech industry president and CEO of AdvanceCT, a nonprofit that works closely with the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to engage and recruit businesses. "We have a real value proposition for people who don't want to pay New York, San Francisco and Boston rents." Changing a reputation Connecticut is now home to numerous fintech companies, including Glastonbury-based Payrailz, Continuity in New Haven Greg Schwartz and Carey Armstrong are the co-founders of real estate-focused financial technology company TOMO, which recently announced it will move its headquarters to Stamford. Cromwell-based fintech Payveris is in the process of being acquired for $152 million. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED HBJ FILE PHOTO