Markeshia Ricks Photo
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy took a tour Friday of a “young, vibrant and walkable” urban tech hub creating jobs — central New Haven.
Technolutions and Continuity, two Elm City software companies that are helping universities and small banks use technology to improve their businesses, opened their doors to Malloy and a crowd of state and city officials.
Malloy’s first stop was to Technolutions headquarters on Church Street to meet with CEO Alexander Clark (pictured at left in the photo) and a few of his staff members who have, on the strength of word of mouth alone, managed to convince most of the top 20 universities in the country to handle their admissions process.
The company’s headquarters now occupies two floors of the building at 234 Church St. It is looking at a third as it continues to expand its staff of about 30 employees. Though the company also has a presence in another hub of hipster life, Portland, Oregon.
“We’re not just able to attract talent from within Connecticut, but we’re bringing people from other places,” Clark said. “New Haven is young, vibrant and walkable. “
City Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson (pictured talking to Malloy) said the city is developing a reputation for a growing group of small companies that are using technology and the internet to transform how traditional businesses operate.
“New Haven is becoming a center for this kind of niche industry,” he said. Steven Fontana, the city’s deputy economic development director, added that the Elm City has developed a reputation as “a supportive environment where you can do well professionally and personally.”
On that note, Malloy and crew took a walk around the corner to Elm Street to visit Continuity, a software company that is helping small to mid-sized banks and credit unions comply with the more than 1,000 government regulations.
CEO Andy Greenawalt (pictured speaking with Malloy) said New Haven, in particular, has “a great tech scene,” but the state as a whole has a good environment for startups like his. Prior to starting Continuity, he was able to secure funding from Connecticut Innovations for another business that he helped start that is now the cybersecurity arm of British Aerospace. New Haven-based Continuity also was started with the help of Connecticut Innovations; today it serves more than 200 small-to-medium banks and has about 60 employees with plans to reach 100 by mid-2016.
“We launched this business in 2008, in the mouth of the recession,” Greenawalt said. The company has been named to the Marcum Tech Top 40, which recognizes the fastest growing companies in Connecticut, and the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies.
Malloy praised both companies for the work they’re doing and even joked that he should bring them in to help the state reorganize and be more cost efficient. He also pointed out that the state has created 33,000 new jobs in the last 12 months. “We’re having our best year,” he said.
“They’re growing here in New Haven which is quite the hub for some these activities, particularly on the entrepreneurial side,” Malloy said of the businesses. “It’s one of the things that we’re trying to feed through our economic development programs.”