CBIA BizCast

CBIA BizCast

By Connecticut Business & Industry AssociationBusiness
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CBIA BizCast episodes

  • Microboard's Global Humanitarian Mission
    After 40 years in business, Seymour-based Microboard has become known for two things: producing high-quality, high-tech circuit board assemblies and humanitarian missions helping people around the world.
    “There's not enough hours in my day to run this and listen to all that good news,” said Microboard CEO and president Nicole Russo.
    “You know, I just try to fit it all in.”
    26 min
  • Hartford Athletic Scores for the Community
    The Hartford Athletic started playing in the United Soccer League in 2019.
    Chairman Bruce Mandell started the club with his partners as a way to create something for the community and help the city economically.
    “I've always been involved in the community, and I wanted to do something really big for Hartford and wanted to bring people together and have a spot in Hartford to do that,” Mandell said.
    “Whether it's, you know, parents with their kids, or whether it's soccer fans, or whether it's people coming out to have a great time, we got to get our niche, and our fans have been unbelievable.”
    In 2020, the Athletic established the Green and Blue Foundation, raising money to give back to the community in different ways.
    “You know, that feels good to kind of utilize the Hartford athletic brand to support these community elements that really need help,” Mandell said.
    34 min
  • FORGE-ing Startup Success
    Starting a business and launching a new product can be a daunting prospect.
    From creating a prototype to connecting with manufacturers and suppliers, there is a lot for entrepreneurs and startups to navigate.
    That’s where FORGE Connecticut comes in.
    FORGE helps connect innovators with product development assistance, regional manufacturers, and supply chain resources.
    “There’s a lot of great innovation coming out of Connecticut,” said vice president Adam Rodrigues.
    “There’s over 4000 manufacturers in Connecticut. So if we can facilitate these connections that’s really the work we’re trying to do here.”
    29 min
  • Zelman Real Estate Redevelops Connecticut
    Brian Zelman took what he calls a “circuitous” path in real estate.
    “I’ve always been interested in real estate from a young age,” said Zelman, principal of Zelman Real Estate on the CBIA BizCast.
    The Bloomfield native, who now lives in West Hartford, began his career as a residential broker, before migrating to commercial real estate and land development.
    Those developments started in the retail and healthcare spaces, but migrated to multifamily housing.
    23 min
  • Bright Feeds Tackles Food Waste
    Bright Feeds, a Berlin-based startup, is working to solve the food waste crisis by turning unwanted food into high-quality animal feed.
    But for CEO Jonathan Fife, that mission is a long way from where he started his career at an investment in New York City.
    “While I was at the investment firm, I met our co-founder, Tim Rassias, who’s a serial entrepreneur who had started several successful businesses," Fife said.
    “He originally had the idea and got me into this craziness.”
    Fife and Rassias researched the food waste industry, and felt they could develop a technical solution to the problem.
    Now, the company is growing. With more than 20 employees they are quickly expanding their capabilities.
    24 min
  • Lectra Invests in Connecticut
    The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the planes we fly in, and the furniture in our homes.
    We may not often think about how these things are made.
    But that’s not the case for Lenny Marano, Lectra president of Americas.
    “We're a strategic partner to those in the fashion, the furniture, and the automotive value streams,” Marano said.
    Lectra, a Paris-based technology company, acquired Gerber in 2021.
    In April, Lectra officially reopened a manufacturing facility in Tolland. The move came after outsourcing manufacturing to Massachusetts in 2018.
    “Since Lectra bought us, we know that we have a permanent home and we can make long term investments,” Marano said.
    23 min
  • CBIA BizCast: DoorDash Delivers for Communities in Need
    Most people know DoorDash for its food delivery service, but the company does much more than that for its more than 6,000 merchant partners in Connecticut alone.
    In 2018, DoorDash launched Project DASH, a social impact initiative to fight food insecurity.
    Project DASH is a last-mile delivery service allows organizations like food banks to use DoorDash for their deliveries.
    “We do have the logistics and we do have the social impact resources to solve for these problems around food insecurity,” said Christina Kennedy, DoorDash’s government relations lead for New England.
    24 min
  • CBIA BizCast: Virginia's Solution for Small Business Healthcare Costs
    Later this year, the healthcare landscape for Virginia small businesses and their employees will change dramatically when they gain access to broad new options for affordable, quality health insurance.
    “This is a game changer,” said Democratic state Senator Monty Mason, a key figure behind bipartisan legislation permitting what are known as association health plans.
    “I think this has the capacity to be one of the most consequential pieces of legislation as far as impact on people."
    Healthcare costs jumped by 6% last year in Connecticut—more than $2 billion—and state lawmakers are now considering legislation similar to the Virginia law.
    HB 6710 continues to move through the General Assembly, clearing its latest legislative hurdle May 1 when it was approved by the Appropriations Committee with overwhelming support.
    35 min
  • Leander Dolphin's Path to Success
    Shipman & Goodwin managing partner Leander Dolphin’s career as an attorney is marked by numerous successes.
    However, law wasn’t always part of her career aspirations.
    “What I wanted to do when I went to Wesleyan was I wanted to be an English professor,” she says.
    “I wanted to write books. And I wanted to focus my study on African-American literature, particularly by women.”
    But Dolphin’s plans began to change when an advisor told her that while she was talented, she lacked discipline and should consider doing something else.
    29 min
  • Unlocking Connecticut
    For best friends Lora Karam and Beverly Canepari, traveling around Connecticut is more than just a hobby, it’s a growing business.
    Karam and Canepari are the creators of Unlocking Connecticut, a website and social media pages devoted to highlighting the best places to visit, shop, and eat around the state.
    Karam said their goal is simple, “promoting small business and having fun at the same time.”
    “We try to keep it light and engaging and spreading the message of businesses in Connecticut,” she said.
    Website: https://unlockingconnecticut.com/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unlockingconnecticut/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unlockingconnecticut
    21 min

About CBIA BizCast

From the publisher's feed

A podcast for the business-minded in Connecticut. Interviews consist of business and community leaders who are shaping the future of Connecticut’s economy. The CBIA BizCast provides new content every other week, introduces members of the business community, and tells stories about how businesses are innovating and growing in Connecticut!