There’s a new job innovation center coming to CT. ‘It provides a great start for people.’
New London is the site of a new Regional Innovation Center, an incubator that aims to nurture startup businesses from around the southeast region and further.
The center is a project of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, and is housed at the Chamber’s new headquarters at 92 Eugene O’Neill Drive. The official opening is Thursday at 5 p.m.
“We felt that the region really needed an innovation co-working location,” said Chamber CEO Tony Sheridan.
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The Chamber began the project four years ago, before the pandemic hit. Then based in Waterford, it started looking around for new premises where it could both base its headquarters and build out an incubator space.
Sheridan said the renovated former bank building in New London is the perfect spot, as the city sees a boost in economic activity from the buildout of offshore wind taking place at the state pier.
“We’re practically across the street from the ferry company, we look down at the offshore wind platform. That’s going to be a 50-year project. The ripple effect for the city will be great,” he said. “One can’t drive around without seeing new blocks of apartments. It’s already happening – I think it’s very exciting for the city.”
The chamber attracted a $1.3 million investment from the state of Connecticut to kickstart the renovation, and fundraised a further $1.5 million, most of it from established local businesses.
“It’s very heartwarming the way some of these companies have stepped up to the plate,” said Sheridan. “It shows a real commitment to the community they live and work in.”
The hub provides co-working space and small offices for up to 30 start-up or small businesses, along with printing and mailing services, a wellness room and a cafe. The building also boasts a large patio and on-site parking.
Entrepreneurs can pay a day rate to use a desk for short periods, or a low, subsidized rent that’s inclusive of utilities if they want to establish themselves on the premises.
“When you come here, you’ll have free internet service, you’ll have free electricity, free heat, and a nice new desk,” said Sheridan. “So all you need to do is do your work. It provides a great start for people. They don’t have to run out and sign a five-year lease and go through all of the other hoops that you have to climb through to set up an office.”
It’s also a short walk from New London’s Amtrak station.
“So if you’re from New Haven and you want to come down here and work with Pfizer or EB or the offshore wind business, we’ll have an office here for you or a workstation,” he said.
The chamber has hired a new manager for the center, Alyce Brown. She most recently ran a federally designated economic development district in north central Washington state.
“A lot of our focus was on small business development, rural communities and how we lift up those micro enterprises and small businesses,” she said. She hopes to do more of the same in Eastern Connecticut. “This project means a lot to me.”
Brown says her first job will be outreach to the region to publicize the center and to assess the needs of local entrepreneurs.
“A lot of your small businesses, they’re working out of their garages, they’re working second jobs,” she explained. “They’re looking for opportunities that are nontraditional and really, in the world that we’re living in right now, where inclusion is such a big factor, it’s how do we make sure everything’s equitable to everyone?”
Brown has already started working closely with the city of New London. “they’re doing some incredible work that’s really going to complement what the Innovation Center is doing.
“I think this community is going to look completely different in the next five years and it’s just going to thrive. And so it’s an honor to be a part of that.”
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Sheridan hopes that the center’s role can be not only as a landlord but as a source of education and support for would-be entrepreneurs.
“So many people start a business and they’re under-capitalized,” he said. “They don’t have a business plan, they don’t test out to see if their product is, in fact, viable and needed.”
Last year the chamber ran an 8-week entrepreneurial academy to teach some of these skills, a course that Sheridan envisages as a regular fixture at the new Innovation Hub.
“We all know, many of these startup companies fail, and it’s heartbreaking because some of them put their life savings into it.”
A 60-seater conference room at the center has already been in use since the Chamber moved its offices into the building, something that Sheridan hopes can provide a link between large, established businesses in the region and the entrepreneurs he wants to nurture.
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“A lot of different local organizations are actually taking advantage of it, Eversource, Orsted and others. The Port Authority is coming in next week, so there’s a lot of opportunity here to bring people together in a business climate and to help the small businesses in turn be successful,” said Sheridan. “So it’s very exciting.”