About us
This group is operated by Northwestern Connecticut Community College's Entrepreneurial Center as of 11 December, 2023.
Northwestern Connecticut Community College's Entrepreneurial Center
We're a great resource for startups and small businesses! We hope you'll join us and get great help from our community of mentors! We have several ways to get connected and get support:
The Startup Small Business Helpdesk!
Hosted by Entrepreneurial Center Director John Fiorello, the Startup Helpdesk is a virtual entrepreneur roundtable anyone can attend to get help, support, and advice from peers and mentors in the small business and startup space.
Have questions about how to launch a business? Spending most of your time putting out fires instead of working ON your business? Looking to raise funding for your startup? Having trouble understanding your architype customer? Searching for product/market fit?
Drop in and get FREE help! Learn from mentors and peers with years of startup and small business development experience. We host our virtual meetings via Webex.
More information here: www.nwcc.edu/helpdesk
Small Business Seminars!
If you're in Connecticut (we're in the Northwest Corner) you should also check out our FREE Small Business Seminars. They cover a wide range of topics including ecommerce, social media, marketing, HR, business planning, industry-specific training, taxes, incorporation, financing, and other general business topics.
If there's a specific topic that would be helpful for you, just let us know and we'll see if we can find an expert in the field to teach it! Sessions are monthly, typically run 3 hours on a weekday evening, and include food.
For more info: [www.nwcc.edu/sbs ](www.nwcc.edu/sbs)
Northwest Startup Community Nights!
Northwest Startup Community Nights are a chance to hear pitches from several early-stage startups as they share their market, background, customers, and business challenges. When you attend, you get a chance to network with mentors and founders, and then participate in a casual and fun roundtable, small group setting to provide startups help as they fight the good startup fight! You'll provide your expertise, insights, and prodding questions as you help them in their quest for global benevolent world domination!
More info here: www.nwcc.edu/startup
One-on-one mentoring sessions!
Get one-on-one help with our Entrepreneurial Center Director, John Fiorello, virtually or in person, over a cup of coffee or lunch. Feeling stuck? Need to bounce some ideas off of someone? Working through your Business Model Canvas and not sure you understand what a value prop is? These mentoring sessions are wide open and are designed to help you where you're most stuck. They're also a great way to get connected to our community and prep for Northwest Startup Community Nights if you'd like to pitch at an event.
To schedule a session: www.calendly.com/nwcc
One additional note:
All programming by the NCCC Entrepreneurial Center is FREE and will always be free because we believe in paying it forward and providing access to everyone. You should never pay money to get support, pitch opportunities, or advice from anyone in the startup space!
Upcoming events
8
CT State Seminar - Skip The Slop - Marketing For Humans
Market Street Creatives, 100 Lawton Street, Torrington, CT, USTO REGISTER: CLICK HERE
CT State Northwestern Entrepreneurial Center presents the next Small Business Seminar: Skip the Slop - Marketing for Humans
With your inbox flooded with AI-generated garbage, your feed full of robotic ads, and marketing feeling more exhausting than effective… you're still trying to run your business, serve real customers, and stand out in a sea of AI slop. You didn't start your company to sound like a robot. But between your daily operation and the seemingly endless content demands, it's easy to fall into "good enough" AI marketing that doesn't convert. This seminar is your reset!
In Skip the Slop - Marketing for Humans, marketing guru Sarah Blecher will walk through a complete campaign live, step-by-step, using a real local founder's business as the example. You'll discover exactly how to blend smart AI tools with authentic human strategy and engagement, so your marketing finally feels like you and actually works.
This seminar will be taught by Sarah Blecher, former digital strategy leader for a top NYC agency, working with iconic brands like Lancôme, L'Oréal, Pfizer, Quest, and Make-A-Wish. As a consultant for the Community Economic Development Fund (CEDF) and a SCORE mentor, she guides small businesses and entrepreneurs to unlock their potential through strategic digital marketing.
If you have any questions about the event, please email John Fiorello at John.Fiorello@CTState.edu
If you're a startup or small business looking for support or would like to pitch and get great mentor help at a Northwest Startup Community Night, schedule a meeting with John at www.calendly.com/nwcc.
This free event is sponsored by Torrington Savings Bank, and supported by Market Street Creatives, SCORE, and The Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce. A free light dinner will be provided.
TO REGISTER: CLICK HERE
1 attendee
Northwest Startup Happy Hour
The Franklin Lounge, 48 Main Street, Torrington, CT, USWelcome to Northwest Startup Happy Hour!
Northwest Startup Happy Hour is a place for entrepreneurs and startup-adjacent people to connect, relax, network, and get refreshed. Perfect for founders, creators, innovators, builders, and makers, join us to enjoy some libations, network, and chat about what we're building in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Hosted by The Franklin Lounge at 48 Main Street, Torrington (just to the right of the Warner Theater), we meet the first Wednesday of every month from 5-7pm.
Food and drinks can be purchased through The Franklin Lounge, metered parking is available on Main Street (free after 6pm).
If you have any questions about the event, please email Entrepreneurial Center Director John Fiorello at jfiorello@nwcc.edu. If you’re a startup or small business that would like to pitch and get great mentor help at a Northwest Startup Community Night, schedule a meeting with John at www.calendly.com/nwcc.
This event is sponsored by The Franklin Lounge and entrepreneur/owner Matt Cipriano (who also runs Sasso's Coal Fired Pizza right next to this space) and by the Torrington EDC.
1 attendee
CT State Seminar - Nonprofit Ninjas
Norfolk Hub CT, 2 Station Pl, Norfolk Historic District, CT, USTO REGISTER: CLICK HERE
CT State Northwestern Entrepreneurial Center presents the next Small Business Seminar: Nonprofit Ninjas
You've got a mission burning in your heart, a cause worth fighting for and the drive to make a difference in your community. But between the paperwork, the bylaws, the board requirements, and the funding maze... where do you even begin? Whether you're still in the dreaming stage, stuck at the starting line, or launched but still struggling to gain ground, you're not alone and you don't have to figure it out by yourself!
Seasoned nonprofit strategist Amy Wynn will guide you through exactly what it takes to build a nonprofit from the ground up, covering everything from structure and governance to funding and sustainability, using real-world experience. You'll walk away with clarity, confidence, and tools to turn your vision into a thriving organization.
This seminar will be led by Amy Wynn, a consultant with over 40 years of nonprofit experience, including her tenure at The American Mural Project and her founding of the NW CT Arts Council.
If you have any questions about the event, please email Entrepreneurial Center Director John Fiorello at John.Fiorello@CTState.edu
If you're a startup or small business looking for support or would like to pitch and get great mentor help at a Northwest Startup Community Night, schedule a meeting with John at www.calendly.com/nwcc.
This free event is sponsored by NBT Bank, and supported by the Norfolk Hub, SCORE, and The Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce. A light dinner will be provided.
TO REGISTER: CLICK HERE
1 attendeeNorthwest Startup Happy Hour
The Franklin Lounge, 48 Main Street, Torrington, CT, USWelcome to Northwest Startup Happy Hour!
Northwest Startup Happy Hour is a place for entrepreneurs and startup-adjacent people to connect, relax, network, and get refreshed. Perfect for founders, creators, innovators, builders, and makers, join us to enjoy some libations, network, and chat about what we're building in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Hosted by The Franklin Lounge at 48 Main Street, Torrington (just to the right of the Warner Theater), we meet the first Wednesday of every month from 5-7pm.
Food and drinks can be purchased through The Franklin Lounge, metered parking is available on Main Street (free after 6pm).
If you have any questions about the event, please email Entrepreneurial Center Director John Fiorello at jfiorello@nwcc.edu. If you’re a startup or small business that would like to pitch and get great mentor help at a Northwest Startup Community Night, schedule a meeting with John at www.calendly.com/nwcc.
This event is sponsored by The Franklin Lounge and entrepreneur/owner Matt Cipriano (who also runs Sasso's Coal Fired Pizza right next to this space) and by the Torrington EDC.
1 attendee
Past events
251
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