On Friday, July 25th, a standing-room-only group of over 100 business leaders and entrepreneurs from Connecticut gathered at reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, in Hartford CT to participate in a roundtable discussion with U.S. Senators Christopher Murphy and Richard Blumenthal. The topic of the conversation was entrepreneurship and ways the federal government can improve access to the resources needed for entrepreneurs to create become successful businesses. 

Entrepreneurs and business leaders listen as Senator Murphy talks about the importance of fostering a healthy entrepreneurial community.

A panel of business leaders joined Senators Murphy and Blumenthal for the discussion including CEO of The Walker Group and reSET, Kate Emery; CEO of Connecticut Innovations, Claire Leonardi; Vice-President of MetroHartford Alliance, John Shemo; and Executive Director for reSET, Revell Horsey.

Vice President of MetroHartford Alliance, John Shemo; CEO of Connecticut Innovations, Claire Leonardi; Senator Richard Blumenthal; Senator Christopher Murphy; and CEO of The Walker Group and reSET, Kate Emery, start off the discussion by giving an overview of some of the resources already available to entrepreneurs in Conn.

Murphy believes the future of job creation in Connecticut is rooted in healthy entrepreneurship. 

“We have the assets that are necessary for Conn., to outpace the rest of the country when it comes to starting businesses” Murphy said.

 To foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, Murphy asked entrepreneurs to identify their challenges to growth.

Garrett Kenny, Co-Founder of Founders Pomade, said the biggest barrier to growth for his company is access to affordable resources.

College debt was cited as a barrier to new business formation. By enabling more scholarships and grants and reducing the interest rates on existing college laons, Senator Blumenthal believes more people will have the option to invest in new businesses. 

“Small and medium sized businesses are our nation’s primary source for new job creation. New jobs are generated by you, the entrepreneurs, and people cannot become entrepreneurs if they are burdened by college debt” Blumenthal said.

The Roundtable featured several entrepreneurs including, 

Garrett Kenny– Founders Pomade

Keshia Ashe– Many Mentors

Leslie Krumholz– Good Streets

Vishal Patel– A Happy Life

Charlotte Creech– Combat2Career

“The challenge in Connecticut has always been the cost of doing business; the chief assets are our people” Chris Murphy.

Founder of A Happy Life, Vishal Patel, and Co-Founder of GoodStreets, Leslie Krumholz, talk about the challenges they face as entrepreneurs. reSET’s Interim Executive Director Revell Horsey looks on.

CO-Founder & CEO of Many Mentors, Keshia Ashe; Co-Founder of Founders Pomade, Garrett Kenny; and C0-Founder of Combat2Career, Charlotte Creech, listen to the senators talk about ways they believe the federal government can help support entrepreneurs.

Vice President and Director of MetroHartford Alliance, John Shemo, and CEO of Connecticut Innovations, Claire Leonardi, provided the audience with examples of resources for entrepreneurs available through their organizations. 

The Roundtable discussion, hosted by reSET, brought together academics, government representatives, community organizations, and a range of entrepreneurs from across the state to discuss issues relevant to the start-up community. reSET, MetroHartford Alliance and Connecticut Innovations all have an ongoing commitment to entrepreneurship, and support economic growth in Connecticut.