Lamont’s wife, Malloy’s niece help women entrepreneurs
Soon after her husband was elected governor, Annie Lamont vowed to brainstorm how to boost funding for Connecticut entrepreneurs.
Nearly three years later, it’s resulted in a major initiative: Tidal River Investor Network, where women can pitch big ideas for companies to other women who can help bankroll the plans.
Alison Malloy, director of investments for Connecticut Innovations, said Tidal River’s origin flows from an investment forum in Stamford a few years ago, when she and Lamont were the only women in the room.
“Annie looked out across the room and came over to me and said, ‘What are we going to do about this ratio? We really need to get more women in these rooms,’ ” said Malloy, niece of former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. “I said, ‘Absolutely.’ ”
Malloy credited Connecticut Innovations CEO Matt McCooe with finding ways to ferret out more angel investors in Connecticut, as a tactic to boost startup investment in their own backyards. Lamont and Malloy pooled their contact lists and set up an initial Tidal River meeting in Greenwich.
Tidal River angel investors have funded three companies so far — including Owl’s Brew, which established a Stamford headquarters to sell its “boozy tea” — and as of mid-October were in talks with four more.
Tidal River events have since generated consistent attendance of between 50 and 80 women interested in exploring angel investments in startups, with about 120 people on the email list as of mid-October.
“It does not necessarily need to be a woman-led company — we are just looking to fund fabulous companies in Connecticut,” Malloy said. “We do have a focus on women and diversity, but it’s not a mandate.”
Malloy hopes Tidal River can blossom into an entity like Golden Seeds, the New York City angel investment fund that has long focused on women-led startups, or Springboard Enterprises, the Virginia-based organization that helped more than 800 women-led companies to investments and buyouts.
In 2000, Malloy and her brother founded the pharmaceutical label and packaging software firm, Design2Launch, which became among Golden Seeds’ earliest investments in 2005. In 2008, it became one of its biggest successes with a tenfold return after being sold to Eastman Kodak. The year before the Golden Seeds investment, Malloy participated in a startup boot camp hosted by Springboard.
“I was in my 20s starting a software company here in Connecticut — not knowing anything about raising venture capital money and angel money,” Malloy said. “I was lucky to team up with some good investors that took a serious interest. But being a woman and raising VC money in 1999? That wasn’t easy.”
During Dannel P. Malloy’s tenure as governor, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized a tax credit for angel investments in startups of at least $25,000.
“At Connecticut Innovations, we’re working to begin to pull together angel investors and get more ‘check writers’ in the state of Connecticut — get more people interested in investing in startup companies,” Alison Malloy said.
An existing Angel Investor Forum based in Connecticut has more than 60 members, but just one woman on its board of directors — Mary Anne Rooke, who has served as president and as a prominent startup mentor at other Connecticut entities like Fairfield University, Thames River Innovation Place and Mystic River Ventures.
On its website, AIF lists some 30 portfolio companies from Maryland to Rhode Island, but only three cite women as their founders. At least one has significant potential: Cadenza Innovation, a Danbury company that’s a candidate to supply utility-scale batteries to store energy generated by an offshore wind farm, Eversource Energy’s CEO said last month.
AIF board member Doug Campbell said three to five women regularly attend AIF meetings, but he has noticed more Connecticut women entrepreneurs with viable ventures in the past several years. At an entrepreneurship-in-residence program Campbell runs in conjunction with Ferguson Library in Stamford, about six in 10 people who seek tips are women.
Separately, the Stamfordbased Women’s Business Development Council provides mentoring and financial assistance to women startups statewide. And Campbell credited Felicia Rubenstein, the founder of the Hayvn co-working space in Darien that focuses on women-led businesses, with helping marshal support.
“Hayvn has been very successful,” Campbell said. “I think there’s a lot more interest in innovation and women getting more support — it’s probably not where it should be, but it’s getting better.”
Campbell said Lamont’s involvement with Tidal River brings even more visibility.
In addition to Tidal River, a few women have started venture capital firms in Connecticut the past several years. In 2016, Tracy Chadwell led the formation of 1843 Capital in Greenwich with women-led startups as its focus. And in New Haven, Spring Hollis launched Star Strong Capital in 2019 with the same goal.
McCooe, CEO of Connecticut Innovations, said the venture fund is putting a higher priority on investing in startups led by women than in the past — and is seeing more stepping up with ideas.
“Whereas they were underrepresented before, I think we are finally getting closer to 50-50,” McCooe said.