Connecticut Innovations

It’s hard to believe the 2024 Tour de Connecticut is already a wrap. ?? This year’s ride was extra special and we couldn’t have done it without our amazing team, companies, partners, guest riders, behind the scenes crews and more… The fourth and final day started in Madison with our biggest group of guest riders yet! Shoutout to Eric Rosow from Conduce Health and Greg Reilly from University of Connecticut for hitting the road with us. The CI team was also strong in numbers, including new riders Bo Bradstreet, Matt Storeygard, Alison J. Malloy and Jordan Lue. ?? We cycled 24 miles from Madison to Old Lyme, stopping by Black Hall Outfitters to refuel and enjoy the beautiful scenery. As you can see, we couldn’t help ourselves from hopping in a kayak and heading downstream for a quick ride. ?? Once we were back on land, the group continued for another 20 miles to The Branford House on University of Connecticut-Avery Point’s campus to cross the finish line! ?? We were greeted by even more of CI’s team and members of UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) for a panel discussion with two of our founders who have both exited CI’s portfolio and graduated from UConn. Our guest rider Greg Reilly, a strategy professor at UConn, opened with remarks before Maxim Budyansky, co-founder of Avitus Orthopaedics and Peyman Z., founder of Logicbroker took the stage. ?? Shoutout to Douglas Roth for moderating the discussion about the ups and downs of starting, running and selling a company. We really mean it when we say we couldn’t have asked for a better week. ?? This ride always reminds us why Connecticut is such an amazing place to live, work and play. Thanks to all who joined us on the road, at events, or online following along. See you next time! ?? #TourDeConnecticut ?? Matthew McCooe Lauren Carmody Emma Twohill

Yesterday our team crushed day three of the 2024 Tour de Connecticut. ???? Here’s what we were up to: ??? Started the day in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square with our morning guest rider Laura Dinan Haber from Nassau Re/Imagine. ??? Spent some time enjoying the beautiful views at our State Capitol in Hartford. ?? Loaded our bikes onto the oldest continuously operating ferry and cruised from Rocky Hill to Glastonbury. ?? Stopped by to see our friends at Pedals in Durham and refueled with some fresh smoothies and a?aí bowls. ?? Met up with our second guest rider of the day Jason Corsello from Acadian Ventures for a tour of our portfolio company H2O Farm in Guilford. We even got to sample some of their lettuce products. ?? Continued on to Madison for our annual summer portfolio company networking event. Thank you to everyone who attended and keep up the amazing work! Overall, day three was pretty spectacular. Stay tuned for a recap of our final day and finish line celebration soon. ?? #TourDeConnecticut

Welcome (back) to New Haven Justine Lee. ???? We can’t wait to meet you, work alongside you, and see what you will accomplish during your time at ClimateHaven. ??

Want to see more of our day yesterday? Follow along with CMO Lauren Carmody. ?? #TourDeConnecticut

We traversed the state today, being very mindful of the 9/11 anniversary. Shortly after 9:03 a.m., the time the second plane hit, we were passing the South End Station in Hartford and we were cheered on by smiling firefighters. We stopped to thank them for the work they do, acknowledged the weight of the day, and sent our fast friends some pizza as a form of gratitude. #neverforget

After another successful day of the #TourDeConnecticut, we are officially halfway there. Our board chair Michael Cantor joined us for today’s ride, which was jam packed with portfolio company visits and events, starting with a trip to our New Haven headquarters to get amped up with Lenny Kloo from AmpUp. ?? Next, we wheeled downtown to BioLabs for a New Haven Victory Lap panel featuring three incredible bioscience leaders that have all had successful exits from CI’s portfolio over the past few years, including Kevin Rocco of Biorez; Tim Shannon of Arvinas; and Vlad Coric, M.D. of Biohaven. Shoutout to Josh Geballe from Yale Ventures for moderating the discussion and speaking about New Haven’s journey to becoming a bioscience hub. ?? Special guest riders Casey R. Pickett of ClimateHaven; Robert Bettigole and Jonas Clark of Elm Street Ventures; and Deputy Commissioner Paul O. Robertson joined us as we continued on to Cheshire, following the Farmington Canal and stopping for lunch at Viron Rondo Osteria, one of Connecticut’s busiest and most popular restaurants. ??? After meeting with Viron himself and celebrating Paul’s birthday, we made it to Berlin to visit with our portfolio company Bright Feeds and got a tour from CEO Jonathan Fife. Finally, our team trekked on to West Hartford and met with Reid Waldman, CEO of Veradermics. Day two certainly did not disappoint. Back at it again tomorrow! ?? Matthew McCooe Lauren Carmody Douglas Roth Emma Twohill

Connecticut Innovations continues to set a high bar for supporting great startups in a state. Had the privilege to join the first leg of the group’s bike ride across Connecticut to visit portfolio companies. Thanks Douglas Roth, Emma Twohill and Matthew McCooe for letting me literally and figuratively draft off your wheels yesterday and over the last few years.

Yesterday, our investor Connecticut Innovations made a stop at the Budderfly office during their Tour de Connecticut, where team members are cycling 200 miles over four days. The visit provided a perfect opportunity for team building and collaboration. Check out a few photos from their inspiring journey!

Could not have asked for a better first day of the 2024 Tour de Connecticut… ?? We kicked off our annual ride across the state with a panel discussion at The Village Stamford moderated by Alison J. Malloy and featuring leaders from diverse industries across CI’s portfolio, including Peter Londa, CEO and President of Tantalus; Bee Shapiro, founder of Ellis Brooklyn; Brent Montgomery, founder and CEO of Wheelhouse; and Katherine Saunders, MD co-founder of FlyteHealth. ?? Huge thanks to Mayor Caroline Simmons for joining us and giving remarks on the importance of supporting innovation throughout the city of Stamford and beyond. ?? After the panel, we wheeled on over to our portfolio company Arccos Golf to perfect our swing, before hitting the road for a 34-mile leg to Budderfly in Shelton. ????♀? Shoutout to Al Subbloie and the Budderfly team for helping us recharge before heading back out for another 20-mile ride to New Haven, passing through the Derby Greenway Trail, Edgewood Skate Park and more. ?? We made it downtown just in time for our second event of the day to discuss how Connecticut is modernizing and innovating state government. Commissioner Daniel O'Keefe and Matthew Brokman welcomed the crowd, which was filled with state agency partners, key government officials and innovative founders. ???? The discussion continued with a panel moderated by our CEO Matthew McCooe and featuring Secretary Jeffrey Beckham, FlyteHealth co-founder Katherine Saunders and Comptroller Sean Scanlon. Day one will definitely be hard to beat, but we can’t wait for the rest of this week. Don’t forget to follow along on Instagram (ct_innovations) and beep if you love startups! ??

Tour de Connecticut 2024 Day 1?? is a wrap! We visited with our portfolio companies Arccos Golf and Budderfly, and hosted two incredible ecosystem events in Stamford and New Haven. More details on day one coming soon! For now, we’re up and ready for day 2??.