reSET Honors Capitalism That Does Good

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HARTFORD — A contest for small businesses that are organized to make the world a better place will announce 12 New England companies as finalists this week.

The awards are given by Hartford-based reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust. The finalists were chosen from 121 entrants — up from 73 last year, when there were 10 finalists.

The first-place winner, who will be announced by reSET at a ceremony Oct. 29, will receive at least $15,000 in no-strings-attached funding. Five other winners will also receive at least $1,000.

This year marks the first time companies headquartered outside Connecticut were allowed to compete, and three of the 12 were from other states. There were entries from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and a finalist from Massachusetts. New Hampshire and Rhode Island, reSET said.

Companies that are still only an idea, with no sales, are eligible, as are companies with hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual sales. Nonprofits that have enough sales so that the revenue is more than the donations that support the mission also can enter.

Of 44 companies that have made the organization’s honoree list from 2011 to 2014, 36 still are in operation, reSET said.

The contest is capped at $1 million in revenue. Rosie Gallant, program manager at reSET, said companies larger than that “are probably more viable businesses,” and therefore don’t need seed capital or advice that comes with the honor.

Several of this year’s finalists have won money in other contests, including Bridgeport’s Dream See Do, which won $5,000 in a New York City data competition, and Glastonbury’s Fresh Farm Aquaponics, which received $10,000 from Connecticut Innovations.

ReSET, which operates an incubator for social enterprise startup businesses, moved earlier this year from Pratt Street in downtown Hartford to two floors of light-filled, open-floor-plan space on Park and Bartholomew streets in a former industrial building that also houses interior design firms. The location includes co-working space and a “Business Factory.”

Anyone can vote for their favorite at this link: http://www.theimpactchallenge.org/peopleschoice

This year’s finalists include:

Movia Robotics, a Hartford company that makes software and a robot that helps autistic kids learn social skills.

Asarasi, a Ridgefield company that makes sparkling water from the water left over after making maple syrup.

Dream See Do, which wrote an app that helps teens explore career paths and build skills.

Daily General Counsel, a Brookline, Mass., company that offers one-day legal services to Massachusetts small companies.

Bookbugs, an online children’s bookseller in West Lebanon, N.H., that donates a book for every three sold.

The Providence Granola Project, a granola manufacturer that hires refugees who have not worked in the U.S.; the organization is owned by a nonprofit that underwrites the 40 percent operating loss

Lotus Nomads of Cheshire, an online directory of hotels and restaurants that it deems socially responsible.

Freshfarm Aquaponics, which grows food and educates children about sustainable farming.

ParrotMD, a UConn student startup that has developed a prototype speaker to help illiterate patients take medications correctly.

Hartford Prints, a letterpress business on Pratt Street in Hartford that aims to build community spirit in the city.

Planet Fuel, a Fairfield organic juice producer.

Hugo and Hoby, a New Haven startup that intends to start selling sustainably made modern furniture.