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2017 | Doing Business in Connecticut 67 SPONSORED PROFILE with eight foreign compa- nies represented in the final round. Taking first place was Canadian startup Dream Payments, the creator of a payments cloud that delivers mobile point-of-sale and pay- ment acceptance solutions to business customers. The final presentations and judging for VentureClash 2017 will take place at Yale University on October 20. Detailed information about the competition and last year's winners can be found at http://ventureclash.com/. Domestic Early-Stage Companies Benefit from CI Programs CI also offers financ- ing and strategic support to early-stage, high-tech startups already located in Connecticut, and other U.S. companies that are willing to move here. To accelerate the growth of companies and entrepreneurs, CI pro- vides guidance, resources and networks. Among its success stories are Alexion, Cara Therapeutics and CuraGen (now Celldex). In addition to capital, CI offers portfolio companies access to entrepreneurs in residence. Early-stage companies cannot always afford to hire the talent and experience needed to grow a company. The Executives in Residence (EIR) program embeds professionals, often former C-level executives, into the companies in our portfolio. EIRs add value in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing, sales and operations, and remove the financial burden from a portfolio company. EIRs can join a portfolio com- pany team anywhere from a month to complete short- term projects to as long as a year for larger, strategic projects. Innovation Ecosystem Offers Helping Hand New businesses and entrepreneurs also benefit from the experience of others. That's why Con- necticut developed CTNext, a public-private partnership and network of mentors, coaches, entrepreneurs and service providers. Now a wholly-owned subsidiary of CI, CTNext equips entrepre- neurs with resources and guidance to accelerate their growth. "Connecticut is a great place to do business, with plenty of resources to grow a company and easy ac- cess to major markets," said Matt McCooe, CEO of Connecticut Innovations. "Our job is to help compa- nies unlock their potential through strategic support and capital assistance." For more information about Connecticut Innovations, call 888.337.5454 or visit www.ctinnovations.com. WNPR's Harriet Jones interviews Keynote Speaker Scott Case at the 2016 VentureClash finals event. VentureClash is Connecticut's $5 million venture challenge focused on early-stage companies. The top investment award–winning team of VentureClash 2016, Dream Payments of Toronto. VentureClash 2016 attracted nearly 200 applicants from 20 countries around the world.