Flight NightOn the evening of Thursday, March 5th, over 100 people braved an impending snow storm to watch seven Connecticut start-up teams take the stage to pitch their businesses. An audience of community members, investors, business experts, mentors, friends and family packed into the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network’s high-tech Learning Lab  to witness the culmination of reSET’s 16-week LaunchPad for Impact business accelerator.

The start-ups hail from a wide variety of sectors, including IT/Tech, Health/Life Sciences, and Sustainable Food Systems. Despite the diversity, each of the start-up teams shared a commitment to using their businesses as a vehicle for creating positive impact in their communities. These social ventures not only strive to create jobs through successful and profitable businesses, but also to deliberately use their businesses’ impact to improve the world around them.

In defiance of the weather, the event took on a Hawaiian theme. A panel of Hawaiian-shirt-clad, lei-adorned, expert judges offered real-time feedback on the entrepreneurs’ pitches. The atmosphere was energetic yet relaxed, with plenty of opportunity for audience engagement, networking and delicious pizza.

Hosted by reSET and Murtha Cullina, Flight Night is designed as a series of open forums in which start-ups take the stage and pitch their businesses to an engaged audience. The event provides an opportunity for businesses to share their vision and receive valuable feedback and connect with people and resources. The night is designed to shine a spotlight on the growing community of social enterprise start-ups in CT, as well as celebrate what it takes to get on stage and pitch.

If you are an entrepreneur interested in pitching, please contact Rosie Gallant, Program Manager, at rgallant@socialenterprisetrust.org

Sign up to attend the next Flight Night on June 11th, we look forward to seeing you there!