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CTNext
developing companies feel welcome in Con-
necticut, and ultimately stay and flourish here.
Targeting a new market
Finney reconnected with Shivaswamy on
Facebook recently, after she and her husband
returned to Connecticut from living and work-
ing in Singapore and South Korea for five years.
They discussed the consulting business
she had founded overseas, the Alliance con-
tract and how October Kitchen had evolved
from an in-home model to a chef service that
prepares meals from scratch in its Manches-
ter kitchen, and then packages and delivers
them to customers' homes in under 24 hours.
As Finney recalls it, Shivaswamy told him
that he should consider adding a shift and run-
ning his business around the clock. They also
plotted carving out a new niche in the corpo-
rate sector.
Right now, October Kitchen's clientele is
mainly senior citizens and busy residents
who find it difficult or too time-consuming
to prepare meals on their own.
Finney said his business has strict stan-
dards about healthy meals and portions.
He forbids adding too much salt to meals,
or delivering food too high in fat content. A
nutritionist reviews his menu.
But with Shivaswamy's help, Finney has
envisioned a new potential market.
Many companies, or their insurance
plans, reimburse workers for some or all of
the cost of a gym membership. The theory
is that exercise leads to better health, which
leads to lower medical costs.
What if, Finney wonders, those companies
or insurers reimbursed employees for order-
ing healthy meals from a service like his?
The two are trying to figure out the best way
to test the idea with one or more companies.
There will be hurdles, such as convincing
employers and insurers to give the idea a shot.
"That's going to be hugely challenging,"
Finney said. But he plans to leave many of
those details to Shivaswamy.
Meantime, Finney is about to kick off a
$75,000 expansion/redesign of his Manches-
ter kitchen, including purchase of a high-end
oven that can steam, bake and roast food and
give him added capacity.
He's also focused on increasing the amount
of retail sales out of his Manchester facility.
If everything goes as planned, Finney
could hire five more people before year's end.
And two years from now, he hopes to add a
second location, perhaps in the New Haven area.
"This has been in my head for two or three
years," he said. "How do you get from point A
to B to C without breaking the bank?" n
