Hartford Business Journal

2014 | Doing Business in Connecticut 19 Conor Horrigan, owner of Half Full brewery in Stamford. By Christina H. Davis W hen Conor Horrigan was starting his business, Half Full Brewery in Stamford, he had done his homework. Two year's worth of homework through the full-time MBA program at the University of Connecticut School of Business. But all the coursework couldn't pre- pare him for the costs associated with building out his 5,400-square-foot brewery. Horrigan said compared to other brew- eries, Half Full spent four times as much on getting their facility up to code, including $50,000 on fire proofing the building. Luckily, Horrigan had a bit of an insur- ance policy that helped him get through those early days of escalating costs — a $100,000 state grant. Horrigan said the funding from the state allowed the management team at Half Full "to be more confident." "We could focus on building the busi- ness, instead of cost cutting due to the expense of the build out," he added. e money allowed the fledgling company to hire three full-time and one part-time employee. Today, the 2-year-old company's beer is on tap at bars across the state as well as West- chester County. Available funds Half Full is just one of more than 1,000 companies in the state that have taken advantage of the Small Business Express, or EXP, program, which was created in 2012. So far, a total of $136 million has been awarded through EXP, which has supported the creation or retention of more than 14,000 jobs in Connecticut. While EXP has been a boon for small businesses in the state, it's far from the only program businesses can take advantage of. Another program that supports the more traditional manufacturing infrastructure in the state is the Economic and Manufacturing Assistance Act, or MAA. Uncasville-based omas G. Faria Corp. received $3.5 million in MAA funds that helped the company, which makes high precision gauges, acquire a New Hampshire company and relocate that business to Con- necticut. e funds also helped the company modernize its equipment and systems. As part of the loan agreement, 50 percent of it will be forgiven if Faria can increase rev- enues by $5 million and add 85 employees. "We're on our path towards doing it," said David Hickey, president and CEO of Faria. Overall, Hickey is impressed with the support Faria has received from the state of Connecticut. "It shows that the state is concerned about companies of our size," he said. In addition to the programs like EXP and MAA available through the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), there are also financ- ing opportunities available to businesses through Connecticut Innovations, a quasi- public agency. CI's equity programs are generally geared towards early-stage or seed capital invest- ments. In all cases, CI partners with venture capital firms, making the organization a great starting place for any entrepreneur looking to enter the Connecticut VC market. "We are part of the catalyst," said Claire Leonardi, president and CEO of CI. In addition, CI also has a loan program that targets mature, established businesses, 85 percent of which are manufacturers. CI also works to help companies land federal SBIR grants, has a fund for bioscience companies and is in charge of CTNext, a program focused on supporting entrepreneurs in the state. With all those programs, CI has grown in recent years, according to Leonardi. "We are much larger than we were two years ago," Leonardi said. "We've more than doubled our investments." ❑ ›State Incentives Key state incen ves Visit ct.gov/ecd for more information on these and other incentive programs. A rich ecosystem of support for businesses has developed in Connecticut, providing easy access to capital to help both new and existing businesses grow PHOTO/COURTESY EXP — The state's small business express program, was ini ally a two- year, $100 million program, but it was so successful, it was extended by another two years and $160 million. CT Next – launched in October 2012 as a public-private partnership to spur development of new products and technologies. It's overseen by Connecticut Innovations (www.ctinnovations.com). First Five – Economic incentives to drive large-scale investments and business developments. First Five projects have received $88.6 million and leveraged more than $813 million in private investment to retain 2,638 jobs and create between 1,000 and 2,408 jobs.

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