reSET to Host Two November Events Celbrating Connecticut's Next Generation of Food and Retail Entrepreneurs Making an Impact

awalsh • October 27, 2025

Special Discount Available for Attendees Purchasing Tickets to Both Events

HARTFORD, CT – October 27, 2025 – reSET is thrilled to invite the community to two exciting events in November showcasing the innovation, social impact, and entrepreneurial spirit driving Connecticut's local economy forward.

Foodie Demo Day

Date: Monday, November 10, 2025
Registration: https://bit.ly/foodiedemo2025

Join us on Monday, November 10th for Foodie Demo Day at Parkville Market in Hartford for the ultimate celebration of Connecticut's next generation of food entrepreneurs. This exciting evening will spotlight 11 incredible local businesses graduating from the Food Accelerator program.

Guests will enjoy an immersive experience filled with tastings, live demos, and inspiring stories that highlight the creativity, culture, and community impact driving Connecticut’s growing food scene.⁠

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Connect with local founders, community partners, and potential investors while exploring opportunities for collaboration. Plus, vote for your favorite entrepreneur with the Audience Choice award and contribute to the prize pool! Come hungry, network freely, and help us celebrate the future of food in Connecticut!⁠

Parkville Pop-Up and Pitch: A Floor-Plan Retail Incubator Event

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2025
Registration: https://bit.ly/popuppitch25

On Tuesday, November 19th, celebrate the graduation of the 2025 Retail Incubator cohort with an evening of pitches, community, and commerce at Parkville Pop-Up and Pitch at The Lyceum Resource & Conference Center in Hartford.

Hear the business pitches and shop the pop-up marketplace, featuring products from the graduating entrepreneurs. Attendees will have the opportunity to vote for the Audience Choice award winner who will receive a direct micro-grant, funded by your contributions and Investor Ticket purchases. Come ready to eat, connect, shop, and support Connecticut's next generation of retail leaders.

Special Dual-Event Discount

Planning to attend both events? Save with our special dual-event discount! Save $10 by selecting the "Dual Event Pass" ticket option on either event page. For more information please visit https://www.resetco.org/events.

About the Floor–Plan Retail Incubator

The Floor–Plan Retail Business Incubator is now in its fifth year as a partnership between reSET and Hartford-based Breakfast Lunch & Dinner, a community activation studio. The three-month program provides entrepreneurial technical support to early-stage retail businesses, helping participants understand customer needs, define pricing strategies, address key legal and financial topics, and prepare for new market opportunities. Entrepreneurs gain insights from industry experts, access a supportive community, and receive practical tools to enhance their business acumen. At the conclusion of the program, participants are eligible to apply for a $700 small business grant, made possible through funding from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

About the Food Accelerator

The 12-week hybrid program provides participants with hands-on business support, expert mentorship, and community connections through weekly workshops and implementation sessions. Topics covered include operational management, financial literacy, and brand advocacy. The financial literacy component of the program is supported in partnership with Liberty Bank and Connecticut Small Business Development Center (CTSBDC). Upon successful program completion, each entrepreneur will be eligible to apply for up to $7,000 in capital made possible through a grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and a business credit line through Liberty Bank. Since launching in 2023, reSET's Food Accelerator has supported Connecticut food entrepreneurs in building systems and strategies to scale beyond handling everything themselves, with many alumni going on to secure additional funding, expand operations, and deepen their community impact.

About reSET

Founded in 2007, reSET is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Hartford, CT, whose mission is advancing the social enterprise sector and providing inclusive entrepreneurial support across Connecticut. In February 2025, reSET acquired New Haven-based Collab, combining complementary strengths to create a more robust ecosystem for impact-driven entrepreneurs throughout the region. reSET specializes in social enterprise — impact-driven businesses with double or triple bottom lines — providing coworking space, accelerator programs, and mentoring services that inspire innovation and community collaboration. To date, reSET and Collab have assisted over 500 small businesses to start and grow with impact, and reached thousands more through low-touch supports.

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Leadership Transition Announcement: reSET Executive Director to Step Down in 2026

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

Applications Open for Spring 2026 Impact Accelerator

By awalsh • February 10, 2026

Inviting Impact Entrepreneurs Into Transformative Growth

reSET Announces Pitch Competition Winners from Fall Food Accelerator and Floor–Plan Retail Incubator Programs

By awalsh • November 25, 2025

21 Businesses Participated, Gaining Valuable Impact-Driven Business Training

reSET Announces Second Food Accelerator Cohort

By awalsh • October 1, 2025

11 Impact-Driven Food Businesses Ready to Scale Operations and Community Impact

reSET Announces 5th Cohort of Floor - Plan Retail Incubator Featuring 10 Emerging Entrepreneurs

By awalsh • September 22, 2025

Program Partnership with Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Supports Early-Stage Retail Businesses with Social Impact Focus

reSET Food and Retail Programs Featured in Radio Interview

July 7, 2025

Listen in to the replay of John Voket of Connoisseur Media's interview of reSET Food Program Manager Katrice Claudio and Program Manager Ndubisi Okeke that aired on Sunday July 6, 2025. They talked about the reSET programs that are enrolling for the fall--the Food Accelerator for food businesses looking to scale, and the Retail Incubator for early stage product-based businesses looking to ramp up for holiday markets in Connecticut. Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8745230-reset-fall-program-preview The interview aired on the award-winning "For the People" show on Sunday, July 6 on WEBE 108 FM, STAR 99.9, WPLR FM and THe VOICE of Connecticut and on the podcast.