Community Resources
All entrepreneurs need a community and a plan of action.
We take an ecosystem-level approach to our work. Our goal is to ensure entrepreneurs have a system of enduring support — including connecting entrepreneurs to other free programs in the Greater New Haven community. See below for a growing network of verified service-providers ready and equipped to support entrepreneurs.
The KNOWNpreNeurS Growth LaB | KNOWN
The KNOWNpreneurs Growth Lab program is a free 16-week mentorship & training cohort for minority-owned businesses in the Greater New Haven Area. It is designed to specifically support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) owned businesses. As such, the program curriculum and mentors have been chosen to effectively help grow BIPOC-owned businesses in the Greater New Haven area.
BIPOC-owned
Annual revenues greater than $50,000 and less than $500,000
Must be in a growth phase of business
Building a positive reputation in the Greater New Haven area
Time Commitment: 2-3 hours per week
Group Classes: Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Duration: Dependent on cohort
DNA of AN ENTrepreneur | City of New Haven Small Business Resource Center
The Small Business Resource Center is a “One Stop Shop” where new entrepreneurs and current business owners alike can obtain support and services that will support business start-ups and growth. The SRBC provides opportunities for individualized in-person advising and also for more in-depth training modules.
One of their offerings includes The DNA of an Entrepreneur program that offers participants free workshops on incorporation, financing, business planning, marketing, social media, go-to-market strategies, and more. Review a brochure about SBRC here.
Contact: Cathy R. Graves, crgraves@newhavenct.gov.
Academy for Small Business | LIBERTY BANK
The Academy for Small Business is a comprehensive training program. While the ASB offers small business owners this comprehensive training program, Liberty Bank also offers a $5,000 line of credit to qualifying small business owners in CT who complete the program! The ASB is all part of Liberty Bank’s effort to support economic growth in the CT communities they serve.
Contact: (844) 359-7402
IVES Square | New Haven Free Public Library
Ives Squared is a center for innovation and collaboration at the main downtown New Haven library that opened summer 2018. Ives Squared is designed to inspire and augment the vibrant civic and entrepreneurial culture of the New Haven community with the Tinker Lab, a makerspace; the Exchange, for co-working, entrepreneurship, and small business development; the Switchboard, for in-person questions and information; and a Café.
Their offerings include office hours with their Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Creative-in-Residence, numerous digital tools, and much more.
Contact: Jennifer Gargiulo, Manager of Ives Squared
The Black Business Alliance (BBA)
The Black Business Alliance (BBA) seeks to empower, guide, promote, enhance, collaborate and grow small- and medium-sized Black and minority-businesses throughout Connecticut and nationally by addressing the gap in business access to funding, educational resources, and statewide capacity building.
Their resources include supporting with access to capital and financing, hosting events to increase business networks, and business counseling.
Contact: Anne-Marie Knight, annemarie@bbusinessalliance.org
Business Advisor | Connecticut Small Business Development Center
Connecticut Small Business Development Center’s trained and experienced full-time advisors work with a variety of small businesses in all industries and stages of development by providing no-cost advisory services. They provide:
Comprehensive business assistance
Exclusive market research reports and management tools
Connection to public and private resources and support
Online no-cost business training courses
Contact: Joseph Williams, joseph.williams@uconn.edu
Health Haven Hub
Health Haven Hub provides programs and a global network to early and seed-stage start-ups in downtown New Haven. Their goals are to (1) Identify, support, and advance early-stage healthcare technology companies; (2) Promote sustainable, long term, technological growth in New Haven and the State of Connecticut; and (3) Partner with global and local academic institutions, governmental agencies, private industry and colleagues in venture capital and technology.
Included in their offerings is iHaven, a program for college student entrepreneurs — see here.
If you are a program or organization that would like to be added to this list of resources, email us at team@collabnewhaven.org.