Just a few months out of college last year, Anthony Cuifalo was already starting up his own tech company.
Problem was that he and business partner Brian Smoliga, still a student at Central Connecticut State University, needed a professional environment to build their company, Digi-Wait, which looks to bring efficiency technology to the casual dining scene. So the two fledging entrepreneurs turned to Connecticut Innovations’ new business incubator, CTech.
There, Digi-Wait joins three other Connecticut early stage technology companies sharing 2,500 square feet of office space at CTech, which opened in New Haven last fall. The startups receive technical assistance, pro bono legal advice and access to one of the world’s most innovative hubs, Yale University, all at low-market rents, courtesy of Connecticut Innovations.
“Not only is it a place to work, but you have your own space and it gives you that boost of confidence that someone has taken a liking to your idea,” Cuifalo said.
Business incubators are not new in Connecticut. Yale already has Science Park in New Haven, Central Connecticut State University has the Institute of Technology & Business Development in New Britain and the University of Connecticut offers the Technology Business Incubation Program in Storrs. There is also the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), a nonprofit in East Hartford that operates an incubator program for startups.
However, the CTech program marks a new strategy for Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing. After nearly 20 years of funneling money into early stage and startup technology companies, this is the first time Connecticut Innovations has set aside a commercial space where the startups can operate.
Yale Identified
In late 2007, Connecticut Innovations first explored the idea of creating an incubator, said Joan McDonald, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
McDonald said the draw of being near Yale made this location especially attractive. “It was just an idea that the time has come, we thought opportunity was right,” she said. “We had conversations with Yale and everything just came together.”
If successful, this will be the first of several incubators Connecticut Innovations plans to open across the state. Fairfield County would likely come next, followed eventually by Hartford.
Though the incubator now houses four companies, McDonald said the location likely has space for two more. Ideally, a company can stay anywhere between one year and 36 months before moving out.
Connecticut Innovations sunk about $100,000 into starting the New Haven incubator last year, when the organization made a record $11.5 million in new investments.
The incubator, McDonald said, provides Connecticut Innovations an opportunity to expand its impact in the state by housing companies in which it does not directly invest.
Business Connections
Nate Berger, founder of KnockMedia, which specializes in Web site design, is one of the four businesses housed at CTech. His company is one of two in the incubator not funded by Connecticut Innovations, but he said he gets the benefit of enjoying its business connections.
“It has the portfolio companies, so there’s a huge network in Connecticut I’m getting to rub elbows with,” Berger said.
Just having others around can be a comfort for those accustomed to a larger work environment, as opposed to the two or three people who typically inhabit each office, said Chris Penner, founder of RemoTV, which streams personal media files to other Internet-connected devices.
Additionally, just working with the Connecticut Innovations brings greater market potential, Penner said.
“The nice thing about CTech is it’s tied into the community, and what’s happening in Connecticut is a lot more visible when you’re involved in something like this.”
