FORGE Innovation Nights CT

Nov. 21, 2024 – We spent the night with some of Connecticut’s brightest and most enterprising minds! FORGE teamed up with Innovation Nights to show off physical products from amazing local companies at Innovation Nights Connecticut.

It was a chilly, rainy day at GE Appliances’ CoCREATE Facility in Stamford, CT. But the arrival of more than 140 local investors, suppliers, manufacturers, political officials, startups and ecosystem collaborators turned it into a warm haven for innovation.

The night started with tabletop startup product demos, networking, displays from FORGE partners and catered food and drink from local chef Ivan Romero, the Culinary Director at CoCREATE. The guests looked around at the demos, makerspace, CoFab Microfactory and GE Appliances demo kitchens with awe.

Ten startup demos

These startups demonstrated their physical products at Innovation Nights CT:

Andros Innovations Incorporated – Andros is building reactors to make ammonia production cheaper and more energy-efficient.
CellsBin – CellsBin uses cutting-edge photonics, microfluidics and AI to detect, isolate and analyze rare cells to revolutionize precision oncology, immunotherapy and drug discovery.
CT3D – CT3D’s advanced manufacturing technology can be used to innovate, design, iterate and fabricate an idea into a finished piece.
Floe, Inc. – Floe provides a safer, more efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional rooftop snow and ice removal methods.
Genwright B. Corp – Genwright B. Corp is addressing the climate problem through the creation of super-insulative windows and other innovative hardtech products.
GREENBOX, Inc – GREENBOX’s mission is to enable urban people to grow fresh vegetables in their own living space or available structures by providing distinctive products and services.
Mobabbi LLC – Mobabbi is a children’s product company on a mission to make parents’ lives easier while also helping to save money and protect the environment. It is the maker of the EC Potty, the first complete potty-training solution.
OHM Dynamics – OHM is a groundbreaking technology that celebrates the complexity of fitness training and performance. By giving the user control over resistance, speed and path of movement, OHM eliminates the constraints of conventional training equipment and unlocks the freedom we experience naturally in sport and life.
StarCube – StarCube’s compact, nuclear microreactors are designed to be factory manufacturable, transportable and inherently safe. They offer a highly efficient and scalable energy solution, providing consistent and dependable power for critical infrastructure.
ZANEEZ® Health – ZANEEZ’s AnkleSTONE is the first and only all-in-one orthopedic device developed to provide foot and ankle pain relief.

With physical demonstrations, attendees inspected the fresh vegetables growing from Greenbox’s display and checked out CT3D’s 3D-printed watches. OHM even helped the crowd get their pump on with their kinetic resistance exercise technology.

Laron Burros, CEO and Founder of Andros Innovations, said, “Getting to see people and teams FORGE has connected us to in-person really takes us to the next level as we build relationships with vendors and suppliers.”

At their demo tables, FORGE partners showed the numerous ways they support the Connecticut innovation and manufacturing ecosystems.

Thank you to all our partners!

Words from our featured speakers

Trinell Ball, FORGE CT Program Director, welcomed the excited crowd. He introduced Ron Fernandez, Engineering Director of GE Appliance’s Stamford CoCREATE Facility.

Fernandez talked about how CoCREATE was designed “by makers, for makers” and about how important it is to foster innovation.

FORGE President and Executive Director Laura Teicher spoke, saying, “Together, we are proving that Connecticut is not just a place where ideas are born — it’s where they thrive, grow and scale.”

Innovation Nights founder Bobbie Carlton told Innovation Nights’ origin story. In 2009, she launched a monthly event to generate excitement about innovators’ companies. She urged attendees to spread the word about the innovative startups at Innovation Nights CT. She said, “When they win, we all win.”

Keynote Dan O’Keefe, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (CDECD), emphasized Connecticut’s commitment to supporting innovators and the growing hardtech ecosystem in the state. He spoke on how manufacturing is not just important, but existential to the state’s economy.

Teicher shared details about the launch of FORGE’s Product Development Grant program supported by the CT DECD’s Manufacturing Innovation Fund (MIF). These, as with all of FORGE’s grants, provide innovative CT-based hardtech companies with non-dilutive funding to address a critical funding gap for a specific product development challenge. O’Keefe announced the recipient of the program’s first $30,000 grant, Floe. Floe cofounder David Dellal took the stage to accept the funding, thanking FORGE and the state of Connecticut.

Pitching for funding: the three finalists

Floe’s grant was not the only non-dilutive funding FORGE awarded at Innovation Nights CT. Next on the agenda was a cleantech pitch contest for $24,000 in funding prizes, supported by a private cleantech-focused foundation.

Andros Innovations, Genwright and StarCube presented their pitches, vying to impress the judges and the audience. The audience sat in rapt silence as the founders described their products and how a Product Development Grant would help their businesses reach critical next-product milestones. Each startup had four minutes to pitch, then four minutes to answer the judges’ questions.

Judging the contest were:

Joshua Baptiste, Pearse Bertram Sales and Marketing Manager
Dave Carson, Burt Process Executive Vice President
Jessica Dodge, CTNext Managing Consultant
Andrew Forbes, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Business Development Specialist, Connecticut Consortium for BIPOC Technologists

The judges assessed the pitching startups based on their value proposition, presentation, problem and scope, product development challenge, and the impact of the funds.

The FORGE team announced the judges’ choices and awarded giant checks to:

1st place, $10,000 of non-dilutive funding: Andros Innovations
2nd place, $8,000 of non-dilutive funding: GenWright
3rd place, $6,000 of non-dilutive funding: StarCube

Congratulations to the winners! The FORGE team can’t wait to see and support what you achieve next with this funding.

Ming Hui, Mobabbi founder, said “I was one of the recipients of the Product Development Grants from the FORGE CT launch pitch competition last year… The grant I received went into helping me fund my prototyping. That’s tremendous.”

Thank you again to GE Appliances, Innovation Nights and our partners, ecosystem collaborators and the startups who demonstrated and pitched at Innovation Nights CT.

“If you are a business startup, an entrepreneur, a product designer or product developer, you need the help of FORGE. They will be able to inundate you with such support, you’ll be wondering what took you so long to reach out to them,” said ZANEEZ founder Marien Zanyk.

It’s true, we are here to help! If you’re a startup, manufacturer, innovation ecosystem organization or potential sponsor interested in learning more about or getting involved with FORGE, contact us today.