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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m For more B2B news visit SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 Volume 24, Number 43 $3.00 Subscribe online H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L Who are the best business-to-business companies in Greater Hartford? Go to HartfordBusiness.com/bobpoll to place your votes today! Polls Close: October 14th CONTINUING and GRADUATE EDUCATION For Professionals and Executives Index ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 20 ■ The Lists: PGs. 12, 16 ■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 24 ■ Corporate Profile: PG. 26 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 28 FACES OF BUSINESS Hartford's Archivist Despite pressures from the digital-information age, Frank Valente Jr. said his Hartford paper storage company still has a bright future. PG. 3 EXECUTIVE PROFILE Startup Culture Find out what inspired Kurt Barwis to bring a startup culture to Bristol Hospital, which he has led to fiscal stability since being named CEO in 2006. PG. 5 Entrepreneur 'pitch' culture spreads across CT By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com G lastonbury resident Marien Zanyk walked on stage at a UConn auditorium in Farmington this month and looked out at an audience of more than 60 investors, bankers, attorneys and other supporters of the state's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The former real estate investor and medical device saleswoman with a pathology doctor- ate didn't hesitate, launching into a two-min- ute presentation about her free-form exercise device and why investors should back it. "It's really nice to introduce you to Wil- lowWORX," said Zanyk, displaying a deck of slides featuring pictures of the 40-pound, tree-like device, which she's pitching as a bet- ter and less costly alternative to heavier and more expensive weights and exercise machin- ery. "It is truly exercise inspired by nature." Zanyk's confidence on stage at the Cross- roads Venture Group (CVG) event belied the personal significance of the moment. It was the first time she had ever formally pitched her 2014 invention to a crowd, she said. Zanyk wasn't getting investment offers that night, but she hopes to soon. Lucky for her and others, thanks to groups like CVG, the Angel Investor Forum, Yale Entrepre- neurial Institute (YEI), and others, Connecti- cut entrepreneurs have more opportunities today than ever before to hone their pitches Continued on page 22 Glastonbury's Marien Zanyk said her WillowWORX device, which she recently pitched to investors, is inspired by the Mountain Laurel tree, which she used during workouts to help her recover from Lyme Disease several years ago. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D I n today's competitive business world, the need to build and expand job compe- tencies and professional know-how has never been greater. This week Hartford Business Journal features a special focus on continuing and graduate education. We explore trends impact- ing higher education, including the growing number of degree and non-degree programs for entrepreneurs, as well as increasing efforts to attract international students to business schools and colleges. PG. 9 EXPANDED FOCUS