Rewarding Innovation

ewalsh • June 7, 2016

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By Alban Murtishi

HARTFORD — The Impact Challenge, a regional competition in Hartford that funds innovative startup companies across New England, will award prizes totaling $100,000 this year.

The 6-year-old competition was started by reSET, a not-for-profit company that works with entrepreneurs to create socially responsible and profitable startup enterprises. More than 100 companies are participating in the competition this year.

Companies must create an effective business plan that can identify a target market, turn a profit and have a positive impact on the community. The business also needs to prove that its impact will scale up with the amount of funding received.

“The big thing is impact. We’re looking for impact and the ability for the business to create impact, how they measure impact and what is the scale potential of the impact,” said Ben Simmons-Telep, reSET’s interim director of programs.

Last year’s winner, Fresh Farm Aquaponics of Glastonbury, was awarded the top prize of $20,000 for pioneering aquaponic farming, which involves growing vegetables completely submerged in nutrient-rich water.

“We want to create the city that feeds itself. The long-term vision is to create that so our urban populations have enough food, and are producing it, not importing it,” said Spencer Curry, who helped start Fresh Farm Aquaponics.

The prize money allowed the company to develop a smart system to track the growth of the submerged plants from phones and send diagnostic information to help determine what nutrients are needed to add to the water at a given time.

The company hopes to expand enough to create a 6,000-square-foot compound, which could house a farming area and an office in Hartford.

“We want to create a repeatable model that can bring in local people. Anyone can run one of these, because we did, and we had no experience,” Curry said. “We’re looking to create a model that we can then replicate in other locations in Hartford.”

The application deadline for this year is Wednesday. For more information, or to apply, contact reSET at 860-560-9120.

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

By awalsh • October 27, 2025

Special Discount Available for Attendees Purchasing Tickets to Both Events

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.