Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/992084
15 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2018 2018 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 15 Connecticut is already home base for many companies that operate on a global scale, including well-known consumer brands. Just one example is Priceline, an online travel booking company that got its start in Norwalk in 1997. The company became known for its "Name Your Own Price" system, in which travelers would name a price for hotel rooms, airline tickets, car rentals and vacation packages without knowing the identity of the company they were making the purchase from until the sale was complete. It gained fame with company spokespeople that included William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Kaley Cuoco. Today it is wholly owned by Booking Holdings. Another Connecticut-based global enterprise is Edible Arrangements. The company got its start in 1985, when Tariq Farid bought his first business, a West Haven flower shop, while he was still in high school. In 1999, Farid used his floral-industry experience to create a whole new kind of bouquet, made of chocolate-covered fresh fruit, and opened his first Edible Arrangements store in East Haven. One year later, a Boston-area resident discovered the shop and convinced the owner to franchise the business. The first franchise opened in Waltham, Mass., the following year. Five years later, the 500th franchise location opened in Chicago. Today, the company has more than 1,200 locations all over the world, but the company's headquarters remain in Wallingford. Another Connecticut-born global franchise is Subway, the brainchild of then-17-year-old Fred DeLuca. DeLuca wanted to become a doctor and needed a way to pay for his medical education. A friend suggested he open a submarine sandwich shop, offered to become a partner and loaned him $1,000 to get started. The first store opened in Bridgeport in 1965. In 1974, with 16 Subway shops open, the pair decided to franchise. Today, Subway has 44,000 locations around the world. Some of the major international headquarters in Connecticut – with revenues of more than $10 billion, as listed in the Fortune 500 – include: Aetna ($63.155B, recently bought by CVS Health), United Technologies ($57.244B), Cigna ($39.668B), Charter Communications ($29.003B), Hartford Financial Services Group ($18.3B), Xerox ($17.126B), Synchrony Financial ($15.122B), XPO Logistics ($14.619B), Stanley Black & Decker ($11.407B), Priceline ($10.743B), and Praxair ($10.534B). Attendees at a recent World Affairs Council of Connecticut (WAC) event included local business leaders as well as honorary consuls and consul generals representing a variety of countries. Front row, from left: Shameem Ahsan (Bangladesh); François M. De Visscher (Belgium); Ambassador Fernando Barreto (Brazil); Dana Bucin (Romania); Megan C. Torrey, CEO of WAC; Raja Ali Ejaz (Pakistan) and his wife; and Cristina Velásquez (Ecuador). Back row, from left: Eduardo Gonzalez (Peru); Devi Prasad Misra (India); Dr. Daniel Weiner, UConn Global; Darek Barcikowski (Poland); Samuel Amoako (Ghana); Dr. Christopher Ball (Hungary); Rokuichiro Michii (Japan); Gregory Boyko (Japan); David Griggs, CEO of MetroHartford Alliance; and Rebecca Nolan, vice president of global business development, MetroHartford Alliance. Devi Prasad Misra, consul of India (Trade, Commerce and Education), speaks to the World Affairs Council of Connecticut on the strategic trade relationship between India and Connecticut.