"We're trying to bring in new ideas, new energy into the state," said Matthew McCooe, chief executive officer of Connecticut Innovations, which sponsored "VentureClash."
Standing before a panel of six judges and an audience of more than 100 at the Yale School of Management, founders from 11 companies, including eight from outside the U.S., had 10 minutes to pitch their story in "Shark Tank" fashion. Winning companies will be required to employ more than half their workers, with some exceptions for a sales force, in the state and establish a headquarters in Connecticut.
In addition to Canada, competitors from Belgium, England, France, Hong Kong, Ireland and Israel included digital health and financial technology companies, which are considered to have strong growth potential in Connecticut.
Dream Payments of Toronto, a high-tech financial services company, won top honors and a state commitment for a $1.5 million investment. Brent Ho-Young, the chief executive officer and co-founder of the 2-year-old company, said gaining access to markets and financial institutions south of the Canadian border is as important as the state investment.
"The U.S. is on our road map," he said.
Second place and a $1 million investment went to Hubbub, a British company that mines social media data for fundraising.
Thomas DeLuca, founder of AMP Credit Technologies, a Hong Kong-based company linking banks to underserved small businesses, told the judges his timing was off — he started his business in 2009, at the start of the recession.
"We took our time and worked our way through it and we're better off for it," he said.
DeLuca's company, which patented a technology for credit assessment and other financial tools, won $500,000 as a runner-up in the competition. Other winners taking home a commitment for a $500,000 investment include:
- Streamdata, a French financial services data company.
- BondIT, an Israeli startup that provides custom bond portfolios using data.
- LindaCare, a Belgian company that provides software for monitoring patients.
"Connecticut is an innovation center and we have the tools to help," he said.
The governor's appearance coincided with the state's announcement of September jobs numbers that show continued sluggishness in the labor market. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.4 percent, from 5.6 percent, and the labor force grew by about 2,000.
But it marked the third consecutive month of more job cuts than jobs created, and just 5,000 jobs created over nine months. It highlights the challenges state officials face as they try to spark investment and job growth, particularly in small companies that drive significant employment.
The finalists were whittled down from 165 startups from 20 countries that sought to compete, McCooe said. A group of venture capitalists worked with Connecticut Innovations to select the finalists based on financial data and other information.
Jo Tango, founder of Kepha Partners, a Boston venture capital firm managing $200 million, was one of the judges. He said companies are evaluated on their product, the passion and expertise of the team running the enterprise and the market where the product or service is sold.
Top prizes in the six figures are substantial for a startup, he said. It could finance marketing, product development and other efforts to boost profitability.
"It buys a lot of pizzas and pingpong tables," Tango joked.
Gareth Mann, co-founder of Digital Contact Limited of Kent, England, said the pitch to judges is a first for his company that sells social media data to customers seeking a competitive edge. Previous encounters with potential investors were one-to-one meetings, he said.
Winning the contest would provide a "U.S. hub" in addition to a monetary prize, he said.
©2016 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
