PRESS RELEASE: Winners of reSET’s 2018 Venture Showcase Revealed

ewalsh • May 11, 2018

–Three Connecticut Startups Awarded $20,000 in Unrestricted Funding–

 

(HARTFORD, CONN., MAY 11, 2018) – reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust (www.reSETCo.org), whose mission is advancing the social enterprise sector and supporting entrepreneurs of all stripes, revealed the winners of its 2018 Venture Showcase last night at the YG Club at Dunkin’ Donuts Park to a sellout crowd of 225.

 

The annual event recognizes the talented entrepreneurs and innovative businesses that have just graduated from reSET’s nationally recognized accelerator. 18 early stage enterprises graduated from the recent cohort, and last night, eight finalists competed for $20,000 in unrestricted funding.  The applicant pool for the latest class was the most competitive yet with 110+ submissions from allover the world. 

 

The entrepreneurs pitched their business models to an audience of founders, investors, and community and corporate stakeholders. An esteemed panel of judges, including Claire Leonardi, Former CEO of Connecticut Innovations; Alan Mattamana, Partner at Fairview Capital Partners; and Lalitha Shivaswamy, President of Helios Management Corporation, selected the ultimate winners.  Recipients of the competition’s various awards are listed below.

 

 

reSET Impact Awards:

 

$10,000

Loki

http://www.loki.live

 

$6,000

Florapothecarie

http://www.florapothecarie.com

 

$4,000

Bare Life

http://www.eatbarelife.com

 

 

Superlative Award:

 

“Most Improved Pitch”

FieldOwler

http://www.fieldowler.com

 

Other finalists: 

 

CNG Fit, LLC / Fit Party Me

http://www.fitpartyme.com

 

Lioness Magazine

http://www.lionessmagazine.com

 

Noteworthy Chocolates 

http://www.noteworthychocolates.com

 

RecordME

http://www.recordme.com

 

SKYWIREme 

http://www.skywireme.com

 

The Accelerator program and Venture Showcase was made possible by reSET’s partners and sponsors: CTNext (Platinum Sponsor), The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (Platinum Sponsor), Travelers (Platinum Sponsor), The Walker Group (Founding Partner and Gold Sponsor), Bank of America (Gold Sponsor), The Hartford (Silver Sponsor), GoodWorks Insurance (Silver Sponsor), and People’s United Community Foundation (Bronze Sponsor). SnapSeat Photo Booths also provided in-kind services. 

Since 2013, reSET has graduated 105 companies from its accelerator program and has awarded more than a quarter of a million dollars to scaling ventures.


About reSET

reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the social enterprise sector. reSET serves all entrepreneurs, but specializes in social enterprise ― impact driven business with a double and sometimes triple bottom line. In addition to providing co-working space and accelerator and mentoring programs, reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges. reSET’s goal is to meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level.

By awalsh February 13, 2026
Dear reSET Community, The Board of Directors today announces the departure of Sarah Bodley as Executive Director of reSET in a planned transition later this year. The Board has immense gratitude for Sarah and all her contributions over the years. Over the last seven years, Sarah has built an amazing foundation for the organization and she leaves reSET in a strong position for continued growth and service. Sarah joined reSET in 2018 and over the past seven years has solidified and expanded reSET’s mission of supporting impact-driven entrepreneurs throughout Connecticut. Here are a few key highlights from Sarah’s time here: Facilitated the acquisition of Collab New Haven, expanding reSET’s footprint to a statewide geography and further enhancing our mission Developed and implemented new core programs including the award-winning Food Incubator, as well as the Food Accelerator, Retail Incubator, Measure What Matters, and Digital Marketing Mastermind Established reSET as a founding partner of the Hartford Culinary Collaborative, enabling greater connectivity and cooperation among food-centric support organizations in our region Doubled the organization’s budget to over 1 Million Dollars, securing multi-year State government grants Won the prestigious Neighborhood Builders Award from Bank of America, and the Leadership Greater Hartford Polaris Community Award in 2022 Established an endowment fund thanks to support from the Zachs Family Foundation to support the long term sustainability of reSET’s mission Over the coming months, we will be continuing our search to find reSET's next Executive Director. Sarah will stay onboard through June to ensure a smooth handoff to our next leader, and will be available as a resource throughout 2026. It is the Board of Directors’ priority, along with Sarah's, to make this transition as smooth as possible to continue the great work Sarah has helped us do over her tenure. The Executive Director’s Job Posting can be found at this link, and we invite you to keep in mind any potential candidates in your community or network that you think might be a great fit. The Board of Directors wishes Sarah the best of luck in her future endeavors. We are appreciative of the dedication and enthusiasm she has given to reSET over the last seven years, particularly navigating our organization seamlessly during the historic times of the pandemic, changes in administration, and an ever-evolving landscape of opportunity for entrepreneurs. We are confident that with Sarah’s support, this transition will be a smooth one for our Connecticut entrepreneurs, partners, and generous supporters. We look forward to continuing our growth and to serving our mission of supporting the social enterprise sector. If you have any questions or concerns during this transition, please don’t hesitate to reach out via contacting admin@resetco.org to get in touch with the board. Sincerely, Ali Lazowski + Dave Menard, co-chairs, reSET Board of Directors
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