FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Reisner (ereisner@resetco.org)

2 Winners Will Take Home Crowdsourced Cash Award at Community Pitch Challenge Hosted by reSET in Partnership with Murtha Cullina LLP

HARTFORD, CT, FEBRUARY 14, 2020 – On April 2 at 5:30 – 8 pm reSET presents our quarterly Community Pitch Challenge (formerly called Flight Night) in partnership with Murtha Cullina LLP. The event provides an opportunity for community members to pitch their business ideas and receive feedback from expert judges and the audience. Two cash awards are crowd-sourced from ticket donations, giving the community a chance to invest in the top local business!

All types of businesses and start-ups are welcome! This is an open forum for budding entrepreneurs to share their business with investors, business experts, mentors, and friends. reSET specializes in mission-driven businesses, so if the business is addressing a social or environmental need, even better!

How does it work? Businesses will have just 5 minutes to prove their concept is ready for an investment. Both the panel of expert judges and the audience will offer valuable feedback at the end of each pitch. The Audience and the judges each choose a business that demonstrates unique value, marketability, and scaling opportunity. The two winners will take home a cash award raised by ticket sales. Tickets are $10 suggested donation and all proceeds go towards the cash award.

At the last Community Pitch Challenge in November 2019, the Audience Choice Award went to Andrew Slaiby, founder of Tip$. Tip$ mission is to increase generosity by providing a digital tipping platform that allows a hotel guest to tip their room attendant virtually, since many hotel guests no longer carry cash. When asked what he would do with initial startup investment, Andrew responded “In order to improve operational efficiency and scale, we need to develop our platform. The first use of funds would be to replace our hotel guest payment screen: Today we are utilizing a 3rd party to provide [an interface] that sits on top of the STRIPE payment processor. If we develop our own interface, we will avoid the 3rd party transaction fees and have a better user experience.” 

“The idea is to give people a pre-pitch opportunity,” said David Menard, reSET Board Member and partner at Murtha Cullina, one of the event’s sponsors. “For some people it’s their first time speaking in public and their voices shake. We consider that a success — we are building up the ecosystem and providing community and support.” (9/20/19 CT News Junkie)

Many of the presenting entrepreneurs continue to receive support from reSET after the pitch event to continue building their confidence as business leaders including participation in the Impact Accelerator program, a four month mentorship and technical support program aimed at scaling local business. All reSET programs are free to the community and funded through generous partnership from foundation and corporate partnerships.

More details regarding the Community Pitch Challenge, including how to register to pitch and attend can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-pitch-challenge-tickets-94185175395

About reSET

reSET’s mission is to advance the social enterprise sector in CT through programming, access to capital, and advocacy. reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges.

By designing business to focus on both purpose and profit, innovation is unleashed and profit is a means to solving problems. reSET offers an intensive, four-month Impact Accelerator that has won an SBA award, and a structured summer internship program for undergraduates, and recently launched a Food Incubator for early stage ventures. We offer co-working space, workshops and networking events. Our mentor network and SBDC advisor provide affordable access to a wide range of expertise for startups.

About Murtha Cullina LLP

With more than 100 attorneys in six offices throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, Murtha Cullina LLP offers a full range of legal services to meet the local, regional and national needs of our clients. Our practice encompasses litigation, regulatory and transactional representation of businesses, governmental units, non-profit organizations and individuals. Core practice areas include litigation, insurance recovery, labor and employment, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, construction, energy, health care, trusts and estates, intellectual property, real estate, land use and retail and hospitality. 

Murtha Cullina is the exclusive member firm in Connecticut for Lex Mundi – the world’s leading network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in 100+ countries worldwide; and the exclusive Connecticut member firm of State Law Resources, an international network of independent law firms. For more information, visit www.murthalaw.com.