Graduates are preparing to launch their businesses

HARTFORD, Conn. – Nine Connecticut-based social entrepreneurs who participated in the 2013 Social Enterprise Accelerator celebrated their graduation with a business pitch night on Monday, December 9, 2013 at the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn.

The Social Enterprise Accelerator is a fourteen-week educational program offered by reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust. It is designed specifically for social enterprises, organizations that are structured to solve social and environmental problems through business. Social enterprises have also been described as harnessing market forces for the benefit of the public good more than private gain. During the fourteen-week program, participants learned from a series of business professionals, tested the assumptions in their business plans, developed a multiple bottom line business model, and built strategies to launch their businesses. This was the second cohort of reSET’s accelerator program.

reSET proudly introduced its graduates to Connecticut at the graduation ceremony. “I am very proud of the way that each of the participants presented themselves this evening. They have made noticeable progress over the last fourteen weeks, and I can’t wait to watch their businesses continue to grow over the next year” said Michelle Cote, Director of Programs.

The accelerator graduates and their businesses are:

Stephanie Jarm, RE: Create CT. RE: Create CT is the only community network that helps holistic and alternative health providers expand their business opportunities by connecting them to new customers through an online platform and special event series. stephaniejarm@gmail.com

Diane Stark, Inspire Health. Inspire Health empowers everyday people to transform their health and happiness by providing wellness programs built on proven science, infused with inspiration, and powered by digital technologies. dianstrk@aol.com

Sherill Baldwin, EcoWorks. EcoWorks. Inc. engages in creative garbage solutions, developing waste-based business, community and economic development enterprises that help clean up our corner of the planet. EcoWorks believes that garbage can be fun while moving towards zero waste. redworms@aol.com

Vishal Patel, A Happy Life. A Happy Life provides consumers with high quality, sustainably-sourced coffee and a unique experience that inspires happiness. By reinvesting a percentage of proceeds from sales into building innovative solutions in the origin communities, A Happy Life bridges the gap between poverty and prosperity for coffee farmers in Eastern Africa.
vishal@happylifecoffee.com

Janice Warren, YummyCT. YummyCT connects people in communities underserved by grocery stores and farmers’ markets to a mobile market that carries exclusively Connecticut-grown produce and specialty foods. Janice.warren@broadbrookart.com

Jeffrey Devereux, Hartford Public Club. Hartford Public Club is creating a way for everyone in Hartford to play on the same team. Through events and leagues, Hartford Public Club delivers social, physical activity outlets for adults in Hartford that help to invigorate and fund youth sports. Jeffrey.devereux@gmail.com

Derek Erman and David Rubin, ElectroSpin University. ElectroSpin University is the ultimate fitness and music education institution, providing music services, lighting design, and unique products for colleges, universities, and gym franchises to create fun and effective fitness classes delivered through a mobile application. derek@electrospinu.com & djrubin@gmail.com

The next Social Enterprise Accelerator Program will start in February 2014 and run until May 2014. Online applications will be accepted starting in January 2014. Those interested can learn more about the program at reSET’s website, www.socialenterprisetrust.org.

About reSET
reSET is a nonprofit organization working to build the social enterprise sector in Connecticut. reSET was founded as a result of a community dialogue convened by Farmington businesswoman Kate Emery, CEO of the Walker Group (which is also a social enterprise) after the Enron bankruptcy and the near-meltdown of the US economy. Her question to the hundreds gathered was “isn’t there a better way to do business?” The answer was social enterprise, and reSET was born.

reSET has helped incubate, launch or grow 16 social enterprises, associated with 20 jobs, in the last year. On July 1, 2013, reSET opened a community co-working space at 99 Pratt St., in Hartford. The space welcomes social entrepreneurs, small businesses, freelancers, and visiting business people.

Contact Information:
Meryl Willett, Community Builder Phone: 860-560-9120 ext. 204
MWillett@www.socialenterprisetrust.org