CTStartup Podcast

Customer retention is a major issue for insurance companies, as is insurance fraud, and figuring out how to separate the good customers from the bad is worth billions. That is where Aureus Analytics comes in, using predictive analytics and machine learning to deliver insights to help insurers maximize customer lifetime value while providing a better customer experience. In this episode Ojala sits with owner Anurag Shah to discuss how he is helping reshape the insurance customer experience.

Being the insurance capital of the country, it should come as no surprise that Hartford is home to numerous insurance startups. Enter InsureTech Hartford, a community organization founded and run by insurance professionals, bringing this community together and promoting the entrepreneur ecosystem.

This episode sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations

How do you become a 163 year old startup? It may seem like an oxymoron, but when it comes to reinventing itself, Nassau Re has made a name for itself in very short order. Tune in as Eric and Ojala discuss the ups and downs of insurance, finance, and supporting the Hartford startup ecosystem.

This podcast is sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

Launching a business - especially a food business - in the middle of a pandemic is a bold move. But that is exactly what the long-anticipated Parkville Market did in 2020, bringing its vision of a food hall to Hartford's hip Parkville section. Tune in for an exciting look at how this blooming business overcame so much and has reenergized an entire neighborhood.

As we continue our Hartford Innovation Places series, we revisit a familiar name in the capitol startup ecosystem - reSET. The home and starting point of many great and innovative companies, reSET has become a hub of entrepreneurship in Hartford. In this episode we interview reSET's executive directory Sarah Bodley for a look at what in the incubator's pipeline and future.

This episode sponsored by CTNext and CT Innovations.

When the Innovation Places project was first announced, it was no surprise that Hartford was selected as one of Connecticut's designated innovation hubs. Several years later, the Innovation Places project has poured millions into growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state capitol, and we've interviewed several companies and organizations that have benefitted from this effort to bolster local startups.

Our journey begins with Launch Hartford, the organization managing the Innovation Places project, as we discuss how this program has helped jumpstart local business activity despite the unplanned pandemic.

This episode was sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.

The pandemic made it difficult to get together, but people always find ways to connect. And for the first time in awhile, the CT Startup Podcast gang is back together, with Eric, Chris, Dave, and Ojala touching on the pandemic's effects on business in CT, how the workplace is evolving, and whether CT is more blue collar than white collar in the post-pandemic world. Plus, Ojala put's Chris in his place (as usual), so this is one episode you don't want to miss!

Recreational weed is big business, even though it remains illegal at the Federal level - which makes working with traditional banks a bit...difficult. But Mike Kennedy of Green Check Verified has stepped in to offer these businesses a better way to bank while minimizing the time, cost, and risk required to maintain compliance.

Few people can tell it like it is when it comes to doing business in Connecticut the way Mark Lassoff can. Founder of Framework Tech Media and longtime web/mobile development instructor, Mark reflects with Eric on the past decade of working in Connecticut, the struggles and triumphs that have marked his career, what the future holds post-pandemic, and why he's ready for a new adventure in a new place. 

This episode is sponsored by CTNext and CT Innovations.

We have all seen businesses and flyers advertising for ISO ratings - and yet despite it being seemingly everywhere, many businesses don't actually know when they need ISO certification, and what it's used for. Enter Benjamin Trow of ISO Pro, who explains in fascinating detail the process and power of proper ISO ratings, and what businesses ACTUALLY need them.

This podcast sponsored by CTNext and Connecticut Innovations.