Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 27, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 3 CTNext funds free help for 'stage 2' companies By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com A decade ago, personal chef Paul Finney ran a one-man operation cooking meals in the homes of approximately 30 Great- er Hartford clients. Today his Manchester-based company, October Kitchen, has eight employees serving a much larger customer base in north central Connecticut. But Finney's not content to stop there. He wants to double the size of his busi- ness and he's using the help of a former customer to do it. October Kitchen is one of the first few beneficiaries of a new, free consulting ser- vice developed by the MetroHartford Alli- ance with a $100,000 grant from CTNext — the state-funded startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem overseen by Connecticut Innovations. The Alliance used the grant to hire Lalitha Shivaswamy, proprietor of a Simsbury con- sultancy called Helios Management Corp., which she founded several years ago while living in South Korea. She's an Indian native who moved to Connecticut with her hus- band, a United Technologies executive, in the 1990s, attending UConn School of Law and working in analyst and fund-management positions for Citigroup and Horizon Technol- ogy Finance. She's also one of six "entrepre- neurs in residence" in the CTNext universe. The Alliance's contract is one of 23 single- year deals CTNext has with various partners around the state, including individual consul- tants, co-working spaces and other programs. Active grants currently total $2.4 million. Helios' charge is to help Hartford-area busi- nesses — specifically second-stage companies — with strategy, operations and organizational development, marketing and raising capital. Finney's company has grown a fair bit since he first met Shivaswamy 10 years ago, when he began cooking vegetarian meals for her and her husband. October Kitchen now has eight employees, half of them full time, and $1 million in annual sales. October is among Shivaswamy's first cli- ents under the Alliance's free program. She's still seeking more area companies to help. The services aren't just for Alliance mem- bers, but for companies in the Greater Hart- ford area, which consists of Hartford and Tolland counties and some bordering towns. CTNext was founded in 2012 and focuses mainly on aiding Connecticut startups in their earliest stages. But as it evolves, CTNext has recently taken delib- erate steps to help companies that have entered their next stage of development. Those so-called "stage 2" companies have employees and revenue, but they face a new set of challenges and often find it financially dif- ficult to hire a paid consultant to help, Shivaswamy said. "These are busi- nesses that have their head down and are tak- ing on staff for the first time and becoming a full-fledged, revenue-generating company," said Jessica Dodge, a senior associate at CTNext. "It's kind of a different mindset." Another entrepreneur in residence, Gary Breitbart, provides similar services to second- stage companies in Fairfield County under a contract with the Business Council of Fairfield County, Dodge said. John Shemo, the Alliance's vice president and director of economic development, said the grant is helping his organization evolve its service offerings to help both startups and more seasoned companies. The Alliance provided $100,000 last year to reSET Social Enterprise Trust — another CTNext partner — to help build out its pro- grams and media lab for startups, and is also maintaining a regularly updated website, www.innovationhartford.com, highlighting Connecticut entrepreneurial activity. "While we have been focusing on startups in the last two years, we have always had in our minds that if we're serious about creating jobs and capital investment, we have to get to the point where we're supporting second- stage companies," Shemo said. "It's time we wanted to jump into this." Shemo said Shivaswamy was one of several people who applied to fill the consultant posi- tion, and he sees her as the perfect person for the job, given not just her background, but her bubbly attitude about Connecticut. Shivaswamy's as big a Connecticut boost- er as anyone, Shemo said. "I think as a state, we have a tendency to be very self-critical because we are think- ers," Shivaswamy said. "As far as business is concerned, I think any business can sur- vive here." Shivaswamy said she hopes the services she's providing under the grant will help Continued DESIGN/BUILD SOLUTIONS…ONE SOURCE The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For 50 years, our clients have trusted us to manage projects from concept to completion. We are experts in: Design/Build Pre-Construction Services LEED Capabilities 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com License #'s: E1-104939 • S1-302974 • P1-203519 • F1-10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • PLUMBING • SHEET METAL • BUILDING AUTOMATION • FACILITIES SERVICES 196 6-2016 196 6-2016 Fact Box Want to know if your company is eligible for the MetroHartford Alliance's free consulting services? Lalitha Shivaswamy is generally seeking companies with: • Revenue between $500,000 and $50 million; • Five to 100 workers, located in the Hartford labor market, which includes 17 communities in Litchfield, Middlesex, New London and Windham counties. More information on Helios is available at www.innovationhartford.com/is-your- company-poised-for-growth/. The MetroHartford Alliance's CTNext grant is helping Paul Finney's October Kitchen search for new markets. ▶ ▶ ' This has been in my head for two or three years … how do you get from point A to B to C without breaking the bank?' Paul Finney, founder, October Kitchen H B J P H O T O | J O H N S T E A R N S

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