Start-Up Business Accelerator Program Selected to Receive Federal Funds to Expand Impact

For full article details and related content, please click here.

The LaunchPad for Impact is an accelerator program for early-stage ventures that equips entrepreneurs with tools, resources, and guidance to test drive business assumptions and build a business model that delivers peak value and impact. The program, developed and operated in Hartford by reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, has been selected to receive a cash prize of $50,000 from the U.S. Small Business Adminstration (SBA), one of only 80 organizations in the country to be designated to receive the funding.

Selected in the SBA’s Growth Accelerator Competition, LaunchPad for Impact  is the only Connecticut accelerator to receive an award this year. President Obama made the announcement this week from the White House of awards totallying $4.4 million. The award includes a $50,000 cash prize to help fund the Hartford-based accelerator, and provides public recognition. Overall, the recipients represent 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The selected accelerators across the nation serve entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors – from manufacturing and tech start-ups, to farming and biotech – with many focused on creating a diverse and inclusive small business community. “The entrepreneurial ecosystem in America is incredibly exciting and very powerful,” said Javier Saade, Associate Administrator for the U.S. Office of Investment and Innovation. Elsewhere in New England, three Massachusetts programs were selected, as were two Maine initiatives, and one in both Rhode Island and New Hampshire.