State Treasurer, Senator Visiting POTOO

Treasurer’s Economic Listening Session Turns to Tech on Industry Trends & Growth Opportunities in CT’s Economy

HARTFORD, CT ― Today, Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden and State Senator Bob Duff convened technology business leaders along with state and local economic development officials for a roundtable discussion on advancing innovation and the state’s tech sector. The Treasurer’s tech biz forum in Norwalk was a stop on his Economic Empowerment listening tour, designed to elicit feedback on ways to strengthen Connecticut’s economy and the financial wellbeing of residents, families, and businesses.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg rated Connecticut in the top five innovative economies in the country. The state’s scoring looked at the presence of science, technology, engineering, and math workers, the density of tech companies, and research and development capabilities.

“Connecticut has a long legacy of innovation,” said State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden. “I’m interested in ways we can continue to further enhance and grow Connecticut’s emerging tech sector, create more digital jobs, and continue to move the state’s economy in the right direction.”

“We heard from innovative Connecticut companies and why they are located in Connecticut. From our talent workforce, quality of life, good schools, exciting urban centers, and access to New York City, we live in a state where businesses can thrive,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff. “It’s always important to listen to those who have started businesses from the ground up, especially in the tech sector, which is a fast-growing sector of our economy. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts, our local government partners who participated, and to Treasurer Shawn Wooden for organizing.”

Hosted at POTOO Solutions—recently named the fastest-growing company in Connecticut—the forum profiled a number of issues, from access to capital and workforce needs to the role data analytics is playing in driving business decisions.

“POTOO sees Connecticut, and Norwalk specifically as a hub for a high tech startup and is proud to be part of the community,” said Fred Dimyan, CEO and co-founder of POTOO Solutions.

Joined by local and state public officials and economic development leaders, participants in today’s tech biz roundtable included CEOs from POTOO Solutions, Phlatbed App, Bestest App, and TaxCloud. In addition to the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and the Norwalk Economic and Community Development Office, the UConn Center for the Advancement of Business Analytics contributed to the conversation on strengthening the state’s tech ecosystem.

Treasurer Wooden also serves on the Board of Directors of Connecticut Innovations, the state’s strategic venture capital arm and is the leading source of financing and ongoing support for innovative, growing companies. It stimulates high-tech growth by investing in early-stage Connecticut technology companies, university/industry research collaborations, and technology transfer and collaborating with government, business, nonprofit, and academic organizations to advance technology growth.

About the State Treasurer’s Economic Empowerment Listening Tour

The purpose of the statewide Economic Empowerment listening tour is to tap into the knowledge, insights, and feedback of different industry and community voices on ways to strengthen our economy and the financial wellbeing of families in Connecticut. The tour is covering a variety of financial issues including workforce development & job creation, K-12 financial literacy education, personal finance, retirement security, college financing, homeownership, business startups & entrepreneurship, community banking, credit counseling & tax assistance, among other economic issues. Feedback from the listening tour will inform the work and priorities of the Office of the Treasurer.

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