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PRESS RELEASE: Winners Announced at 2022 CT Entrepreneur Awards; Leading CT Entrepreneurs Recognized for Growth, Innovation, and Achievements by Community Voting, Global Jud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts:
April 4, 2022 Bernard Kavaler, bernard@express-strategies.com 860 729-3021
Fred Welk, f.welk@cedf.com 860 918-5878
Mike Roer, Roer@www.entrepreneurshipfoundation.org 203 520-8051
The Connecticut Entrepreneur Awards announced an impressive array of 12 category winners, along with 23 runners-up, during the 2022 Connecticut Entrepreneur Awards, which were presented during an in-person awards ceremony which highlighted the accelerating growth of the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The 6th Annual event celebrated Connecticut’s leading entrepreneurs, ventures, and the varied ecosystem elements throughout the state that support and encourage them. The awards ceremony highlighted businesses, organizations, and individuals from communities all across Connecticut, pursuing business opportunities across many sectors and industries.
The awards presentation was held at Paier College of Art in Bridgeport on Friday evening, April 1.
“The quality and quantity of the award recipients and all the finalists this year reflects the incredible growth of the entrepreneurial community across Connecticut,” said Mike Roer, coordinator of the CT Entrepreneur Awards program. “We appreciate the enthusiasm in the nominating and voting process, and the innovative work being done by scores of impressive finalists, individually and collectively, in a variety of disciplines. Together, they all have a strong impact on our state and its communities, and that’s good news for Connecticut this year, and years to come.”
Prior to the awards presentations, four pre-program workshops were conducted, followed by networking amongst the more than 100 attendees, and a conversation with Onyeka Obiocha, Executive Director of CT Next, the organization responsible for fostering entrepreneurship, startup and growth-stage businesses while cultivating a robust innovation ecosystem on behalf of the State of Connecticut. Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal was also in attendance, congratulating the award recipients.
Public online voting began in mid-February and concluded on March 6; a winner and honorable mention recipients in each of 12 categories were announced at the awards ceremony. The winners were:
| CATEGORY | WINNERS |
|---|---|
| Entrepreneur (Scalable Business) | Taylor Bidmead - Taysway Fitness |
| Entrepreneur (Venture) | Nutmeg + Honey |
| Entrepreneur (Main Street) | Jamie D'Agostino - Netology, LLC |
| Entrepreneur (Social Enterprise) | Mary Ruth Shields - United Sewing and Design |
| Entrepreneur (Student) | Infinitely - Nimra Karamat and Ashley Cardenas |
| Community Builder | Women's Business Development Council |
| Space for Entrepreneurs | West Hartford Coworking |
| Entrepreneurship Program | Startup Incubator - Wesleyan University |
| Capital Provider | Latin Financial LLC |
| Economic Development | CT SBDC |
| Education Organization | Goodwin University Entrepreneurial Network |
| Corporate/Institution | Nassau Group - Community Engagement Program |
Also receiving recognition in the 2022 CT Entrepreneur Awards were:
Entrepreneur (Main Street):
2nd Place: Connor Clark - LIFT Performance; Kristen Threatt - Eat Up, LLC
Honorable Mention: Vanessa Sena - My Local Chefs; Sara Gutis - Curvy Cupcakes and Confections; Yahaira Rodriguez - Only Smiles Adult Day Services
Entrepreneur (Social Enterprise):
2nd Place: Wilner Joseph - Hoops 4 All
Entrepreneur (Scalable Business):
2nd Place: Andrea Hawkins - Leading Culture Solutions
Honorable Mention: Dawn Reshen-Doty - Benay Enterprises; Luis Sebastian Cardona -
Papichulo Style; Heather Skaaning - Coaching with Heather
Entrepreneur (Venture):
2nd Place: Chill Out
3rd Place: Emerge Connecticut Inc
Economic Development:
2nd Place: Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District
Education Organization:
2nd Place: Creative Hearts Learning Academy
3rd Place: Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement
Entrepreneurship Program:
2nd Place: Masheen, LLC
Honorable Mention: Food'n'Bev CT Accelerator
Space for Entrepreneurs:
2nd Place: The Hive Chester
3rd Place: MOCO
Capital Provider:
2nd Place: Umergence
Community Builder:
2nd Place: BPT-OIC, INC.; KNOWN Coworking
Honorable Mention: University of Connecticut
The 6th Annual CT Entrepreneur Awards are a product of the CT Entrepreneur Event Organizers consortium, an all-volunteer cooperative effort of people and organizations that host and facilitate entrepreneur-facing events in Connecticut. (A list of affiliated organizations can been seen at www.ctentrepreneurawards.com.) The CT Entrepreneur Awards have been held annually since 2017, coordinated by volunteers and led during the first five years by founder Bill Kenney.
Program sponsors for 2022 include: Imageworks, Murtha Cullina, Entrepreneurship Foundation, Valuation & Transition Strategies, Community Economic Development Fund, and Keating Agency Insurance.
Proceeds from the CT Entrepreneur Awards fund entrepreneurship programs through the Entrepreneurship Foundation, the non-profit partner http://www.entrepreneurshipfoundation.org.
After being nominated, nominees were reviewed to ensure they met criteria for the awards, and remaining nominees were then asked to provide information that would give community voters more information about their endeavors. Those submissions, as provided, appeared on the website to inform voters.
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