For some startups, disruption begins a home. The Feel Good Lab has been on a multi-year journey that has yielded some tough lessons that have made them a better, stronger competitor in the natural pain relief market.

Episode 152: Breaking Into The Pain Relief Market with The Feel Good Lab

Connecticut has a reputation for making a great deal of things, from complex aerospace components to tobacco. But coffee? That's not exactly in our wheelhouse - though Sasha and Ian Fay of Ovelle Coffee are bringing their family heritage of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee back to Connecticut.

Episode 151: Bringing family heritage to Connecticut through Coffee

CTStartup is BACK after an extended break, and we're stepping things up with a new recording studio, new sponsors, and exciting new guests. We are kicking things off by interviewing Hayley Segar of OneWith Swimwear, a new bathing suit brand disrupting the market with swimwear that feels as great as it looks.

Episode 150: Changing the Bathing Suit Narrative with OneWith Swimwear

Eric revisits reSET the place that helped get him and his business started so many years ago. He speaks with Stefanie Robles, who heads the food incubator program at reSET, which seeks to give food startups a path to building a sustainable business plan in 8 weeks.

This episode sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 149: Revisiting reSET and their innovative food incubator

Web3 is the hot new term floating around the web describing a more decentralized internet future where big companies hold less sway. Eric speaks with Henry Quinn and Jake Burden of CT3 DAO and how they are hoping to bring some of that vision and tech to Connecticut.

This episode sponsored by Connecticut Innovations and CTNext.

Episode 148: Innovating a Web3 Future in Connecticut with CT3 DAO

In this episode we speak with Jon Winkel, CEO of The Stamford Partnership, which has led the creation of numerous programs from concept through launch-and-scale. Jon now focuses on leading The Partnership into a position of national significance for the region's core industries; finance, insurance, digital media, and CPG.

Episode 147: Jon Winkel is driving innovation with The Stamford Partnership

From Y2K solutions to coining the phrase "broadband", Richard Guha has had an interesting career as a startup entrepreneur. Take a listen as he talks about what it means to be an EIR and why he remains so bullish on Connecticut.

Episode 146: Sitting down with TIPP's Entrepreneur-in-Residence Richard Guha

As we approach the end of our Stamford series, we take a look at StamfordNext - a program for finding, funding, and helping elevate the next generation of startups in Stamford.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations

Episode 145: Finding & Funding the next generation of Stamford Startups

This is the second part of our series where Eric interviews students from TIPP's Startup Studio program in Stamford.

This episode sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 144: Sitting down with the students of Stamford's Startup Studio Part 2

In our last episode, Eric found out what the Stamford Startup is. In this episode, he speaks with some of the young entrepreneurs who make up its first cohort.

This episode sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 143: Sitting down with the students of Stamford's Startup Studio - Part 1

The Stamford Startup Studio is a two-semester entrepreneurial working co-op experience for undergraduates and eight students will be working together to create technologies & products for the real estate and construction industry. Eric speaks with Tara Watrous about how this unique program is leveraging Connecticut's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 142: Bringing young entrepreneurs together through the Stamford Startup Studio

Data is the future, and UConn is working with CTNext and StamfordNext to create a unique pilot program with a multi-component initiative around data science. Tune in to hear from Executive Director Dan Schwartz on why Stamford is poised to be the next big data startup hub, and how this program is laying the foundation for bigger things to come.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 141: Creating a data technology hub with the Stamford Data Science Initiative

Wave Aerospace is a perfect example of how the state is helping to bring entrepreneurs together in the creation of a startup ecosystem. Tune in as Eric interviews co-founders Mark Strauss and Steve Bofill about how they're tackling the hardware side of the drone industry from right here in Stamford, CT.

Sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations

Episode 140: Navigating the Future of Drones with Wave Aerospace

In our next eposide of the TIPP series, Eric speaks with Wendy of futuresTHRIVE, an early intervention mental health screening tool for youth. Eric and Wendy discuss the unique challenges of approaching adolescents mental health in a world with so many stigmas still attached.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and CT Innovations.

Episode 139: Taking on Adolescent Mental Health with futuresTHRIVE

UCONN's TIP program has proven wildly successful helping fledgling entrepreneurs take flight, and it's recent expansion into Stamford is already bearing fruit. Join us for a conversation with the people who make TIP tick, Mostafa Analoui and Margaret Feeney, and how they are working to grow Connecticut's startup ecosystem in one of our state's biggest cities.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 138: TIP Digital's Expansion Into Stamford Already Bearing Fruit

CTStartup has been around for quite some time now, and we have talked with many guests who have done many great things. One of our first guests, Matt Cremins, has returned to CTStartup with a new idea on how to bring civility back to social media with his partner Keith Fox and their startup, CivilTalk.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations

Episode 137: Revisiting A Previous Guest and Civility on Social Media

For the final episode in our Hartford series we return to Upward Labs, Hartford's premier coworking space and business cohort. We cover how they survived the pandemic while continuing to help entrepreneurs thrive in Connecticut's capitol city.

Episode 136: Moving Hartford Upward with Upward Labs

Any podcast on businesses in Connecticut HAS to discuss innovation in insurance, and on this episode, Eric and Ojala kick off a discussion with two of Hartford's insurance innovators. Join us for a conversation with Cigna, a Hartford insurance staple for decades.

This episode sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Episode 135: Talking Insurance in the Insurance Capital

This episode is a bit different! Eric takes some time to talk with author and entrepreneur Amos Schwartzfab, who co-authored "Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability Into Your Business." Built on decades of experience across hundreds of companies, Levers condenses the essentials of creating a metrics-driven company into five core workshops to help startups recognize their potential. 

Sponsored by CTNext and CT Innovations

Episode 134: Building Repeatability with Author Amos Schwartzfab

While some companies were relocating out of Connecticut, Stanley Black & Decker has been recommitting to the state it has called home for over 160 years. On this episode we speak with their Vice President of Business Development Marty Guay, who discusses navigating a global Fortune 500 company through a global pandemic, the sharp rise of DIYers stuck at home, and his optimistic outlook on Connecticut.

This episode was sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

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