Chamber honors top entrepreneurial ideas

New London ― It was the final Pitch Night, but this wasn't the World Series and no one was going to be crowned world champion.No, on this Tuesday night at the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut's Regional Innovation Center, entrepreneurs both young and old were pitching some of the most promising business plans to come out of an eight-week program in which they explored ideas in areas such as food, travel, hospitality and product services.And the winner from the chamber's 2024 Entrepreneur Academy class turned out to be Jenny Blanchette of Norwich, owner of Orange Elephant Press, a new company intended to help people understand disabilities and integrate disabled people into the workforce. Blanchette, walking with the aid of two crutches, was all smiles as Tony Sheridan, president and CEO of the chamber, handed her the Most Promising Venture Award at the conclusion of the evening."I've had a lot of harebrained ideas in my time," Blanchette said after posing with a jumbo $2,000 check she won for taking home first place. "I'm just so happy to have my existence really validated in this way. It means so much."Other winners on the night were Miriam Headlam, who won the $1,500 second prize for pitching a company called Angelic Hall and Events, and Chris and Talita Stackpole, owners of Lady Copacabana Authentic Brazilian, who received $1,000 for third place."There's no better place to be in business than in eastern Connecticut right now," Sheridan said. "This is a very important program, and its the only one of its kind, by the way, in the state of Connecticut.""New London is the best place to start and open your business," Mayor Michael Passero told the crowd of local business people who showed up for pitch night and got a chance to cast their votes for the most promising new enterprise. "This is the place to be. ... We have a storefront waiting for any of you folks and we'd love to get your business off to a great start."This was the chamber's second Entrepreneur Academy class. In its inaugural year in 2022, about half as many entrepreneurs participated as the 32 who showed up Tuesday. In 2023, as the chamber was moving to new headquarters on Eugene O'Neill Drive and the Innovation Center was being developed, the academy did not come together, but Sheridan said is expected to become an annual event in the future.A total of 87 applicants were culled down to 40 participants at the beginning of the free program sponsored by Liberty Bank, with the first session held Sept. 10. The chamber said all the sessions were well attended as participants learned about accounting, marketing, pitching ideas, legal entities, access to capital and other key aspects of starting a small businesses.Entrepreneurs pitched their ideas at tables with displays showcasing their business plans, which included Grind Hard, a gourmet mac 'n' cheese and traveling bar pitched by Kassandra Chyinski of New London, meant to service special events; Hibernia Travel, pitched by retired Pfizer Inc. scientist Paul Nugent, specializing in cultural and historic tours of Ireland, and Cafe Cloud, pitched by Norwich cottage industry baker Eudora Poe, who is best known for her Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and frequently can be seen at the Norwich Farmers Market. "By coming in here, I heard from people who had had a business who could tell you all the do's and don'ts," said Chyinski."The entire course has been tremendous," Nugent added.Tania Maduro, starting a company called Wanderlust Sisters, said she was glad to come to the academy because it made her get serious about the travel idea she's been kicking around in her head."It feels wonderful to get everything written down," she said.The winning enterprises won grants from the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (seCTer),funded by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. For more information, visit ChamberECT.com.Several businesses involved in the pitch night are already in their nascent stages, including Mr. Mango, a new smoothie and ice cream enterprise run by Julio Cruz, doing business as Coco Loco LLC, that is expected to launch next March at the New London Shopping Center near Staples.Chamber officials said this Entrepreneur Academy was far more diverse than their previous one, with well over half the businesses being offered by women and minorities. "This is my dream," said the second-place winning Headlam. "I came here to this country to make it better, and through my food I think I can do that."l.howard@theday.com