Hartford Business Journal

27 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 14, 2022 Corner Office ONYEKA "ONY" OBIOCHA Executive Director CTNext Education: Bachelor's degree in economics, UConn Resident: New Haven Age: 32 Growing Entrepreneurship CTNext's new leader Obiocha, legislature aim to expand state's startup ecosystem By Matthew Broderick Hartford Business Journal Contributor I n January 2020, when Melissa Melonson transitioned and rebranded her marketing agency Lumi Hospitality to focus almost exclusively on the leisure, travel and real estate industries, she could not have imagined the devastating impact the global pandemic would have two months later on those sectors and her young company's bottom line. "Close to 50 percent of my [client] contracts paused … overnight, which was very scary," said Melonson, who founded her company in 2016. Wanting to stay true to her vision while pivoting her business model, Melonson turned to a business mentoring program through CTNext, a state-run organization that helps manage, support and build the ecosystem of startups, new business development and innovation statewide. "We've always been primarily a digital agency with the [vast majority] of our work done online," Melonson said. "But that summer [2020], with approval from the city of Hartford, we started doing [in-person] events, our 'Picnic in the Park' series, which allowed people to gather safely, enjoy live music and enjoy [Hartford's] Bushnell Park." She said the pivot helped her company become more locally known, and by 2021, events and in- person programs drove about 25% of Lumi's revenue. Last year, the company grew from three to eight employees and expects to double its workforce in 2022. "CTNext's mentoring was really helpful at a time when we were trying to figure out how to successfully move forward," Melonson said. Lumi Hospitality's progress — and survival during the pandemic — is a microcosm of the work that Onyeka "Ony" Obiocha, CTNext's new executive director, would like to replicate, while also expanding the scope and diversity of Connecticut's entrepreneurial ecosystems. Those have been largely built over the past five years around CTNext's Innovation Places in Hartford/East Hartford, Groton/New London, New Haven and Stamford, each anchored by core industry sectors. Obiocha, 32, a Windsor native, assumes the reins of CTNext following the state legislature's approval in 2021 of $64.2 million in general obligation bonds over five years to continue funding the organization's operations. Since its founding in 2016, more than 2,100 startup and early-stage companies have participated in CTNext programming, which has created or supported more than 17,000 jobs in the state, according to the group. CTNext has also provided direct grant funding to 300 companies, which has helped leverage more than $67 million in private capital, it said. "I look forward to continuing the success of [CTNext] and incorporating lessons learned from years of working in and around Connecticut," said Obiocha, who has been involved with CTNext as the board chair of its New Haven Innovation Places program. He also founded an Elm City coffee shop. Broad focus Obiocha's experience includes serving as the managing director of the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University and a stint as the director of integrated capitals and learning for the New York-based Heron Foundation, where he helped steward a $350 million endowment aimed at helping communities create social and economic change. Obiocha said one of his top priorities as he assumes his new leadership role is to assess what's worked well and what needs to be improved to better assist entrepreneurs. "We need to have a lot of honest conversations with all stakeholders to make sure we're building what we need in service to [entrepreneurs]," he said. While core corporate and institutional partners like Yale and UConn are vital to the state's innovation ecosystems, Obiocha said he wants to ensure the voice of small startups are heard and the ecosystem is broad enough to attract entrepreneurs beyond the state's core focus sectors. "I want the senior developer at a [startup] tech company to be super excited about the new [startup] coffee shop, … or the underground arts scene," he said. Rishabh Agarwal, founder of Peer Robotics agrees. In November, Melissa Melonson CTNext bond funding authorizations The state legislature in 2021 approved $64.2 million in general obligation bonds to fund CTNext's operations over the next five years. Here's a breakdown of that funding: FY Amount 2022 $200,000 2023 $13.5M 2024 $23.5M 2025 $13.5M 2026 $13.5M Continued on page 28 Onyeka "Ony" Obiocha is the new executive director of CTNext, a state-run organization that helps manage, support and build the state's startup ecosystem.

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