Millennials Make the Most Money in Massachusetts; Connecticut Ranks 16th

If you were born between 1982 and 2000, and you live in Massachusetts, you’re making more money, on average, then people of your generation living elsewhere in the United States.  If you live in Connecticut, there are 15 states where the average salary for millennials is higher. Based on U.S. Census data analyzed by the website howmuch.com, the average salary for millennials in Connecticut is $69,600, compared with $80,307 in Massachusetts.  The states in between, reaching the top 10, are Minnesota ($77,090), North Dakota ($76,836), Washington, DC ($75,220), Maryland ($74,737), New Hampshire ($73,941), Wyoming ($73,345), Alaska ($72,374), New Jersey ($72,150), and Virginia ($71,397).

Also ahead of Connecticut are Utah ($71,284), South Dakota ($70,989), Nebraska ($70,870), Washington ($70,441), and Iowa ($69,739).

The analysis points out that millennials “are the most diverse generation in American history, more of them went to college than previous generations, and they are now the largest contingent in the workforce. Many of them also graduated in the middle of the Great Recession, which economists believe might have a lifelong impact on their wages.”

Geography also plays a role, according to the data.  The South, for example, “clearly stands out as a lackluster region for millennials in the labor market.”  In the Upper Midwest, salaries tend to be higher, and the same is true for much of the Northeast.

With the exception of Washington State, much of the west coast does not stand out.  “This highlights the fact that big tech companies are creating great jobs for a select group of skilled workers,” the analysis points out.

Millennials are making the least amount of money in Florida ($54,889), Mississippi ($53,269) and New Mexico ($51,893).

The data used is 2016 median household income for 25 to 44 year olds, taken from Census data and adjusted by Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parity data, the most recent and comprehensive available.

Failures in Federal Housing Policy Focus of Media Investigation, Hartford Concerns Highlighted

An NBC News investigation of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has found that more than 1,000 out of HUD’s nearly 28,000 federally subsidized multifamily properties failed their most recent inspection — a failure rate that is more than 30 percent higher than in 2016, according to an analysis of HUD records. When NBC broke the story last week of the agency’s dismal record of responding to conditions that at times have been described a “life-threatening,” the example cited most prominently was in Hartford.

The news report stated that “A federal housing inspection in February confirmed living conditions were abysmal … throughout the 52-unit Section 8 development known as the Infill apartments. The property scored only 27 points out of 100, far below the 60 points needed to pass the mandatory health and safety inspection.”  Infill is located in Hartford’s North End. 

“More than nine months after the inspection, federally mandated deadlines for action have come and gone, and residents say little has changed,” NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reported, despite “citations for exposed wiring, missing smoke detectors and bug infestations,” noted that “the Infill units racked up 113 health and safety violations — including 24 that HUD deemed ‘life-threatening.’”

“In one of Hartford’s poorest neighborhoods, a three-month investigation by NBC News found that HUD failed to comply with federal laws requiring prompt action against the owner of a property that authorities knew was unsafe, unhealthy and in disrepair, according to documents released through the Freedom of Information Act,” Gosk reported.

While the agency pointed out that 96 percent nationwide passed inspections, NBC reported that “HUD’s enforcement office, tasked with going after the worst landlords, now has the lowest staff levels since 1999, according to a federal watchdog.”

“In the case of Infill, though, HUD acknowledged that the landlord failed to deliver,” NBC News reported. “The owner provided certain assurances to our field folks that, in the end, did not happen,” HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said in an email to NBC News. “That hasn't stopped the federal subsidies,” NBC News reported.

"It's a flow of money that continues to come," AJ Johnson, a local pastor who has helped the tenants organize, told NBC News.  “Whether it’s indifference or incompetence, the Trump administration’s failures in Connecticut and around the country cannot be excused. Someone must be held accountable,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who led previous efforts to strengthen the HUD inspection process, NBC News reported. “Secretary [Ben] Carson owes it to these families to present a concrete plan for how he will make this better, and how he’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Infill’s owner, meanwhile, is “set for years to come,” the NBC News report concluded.  “In July 2017, just seven months before the failed inspection, HUD renewed its contract with Isaacson for 20 years — a deal worth over $14 million.”

The NBC News investigation was reported, in addition to Gosk, by Suzy Khimm, Laura Strickler and Hanna Rappleye, and included interviews with numerous tenants of the property and other individuals in Hartford and Washington.

Blockchain Gains a Foothold on Connecticut Campuses

Blockchain is soon to arrive on Connecticut’s college campuses, with new initiatives imminent at Southern Connecticut State University, University of Saint Joseph, and the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus. A six-week boot camp for individuals who would like to widen their computer programming skills to include Blockchain – a cutting-edge form of encryption technology – has been developed at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.  The SCSU Blockchain Academy launches on January 23 and runs though March 6.

Blockchain refers to the technology behind the development of secure digital databases that are accessible to the public, but cannot be altered by anyone other than the person posting the data. It is a shared, distributed ledger that improves the process of tracking and recording a transaction.  Blockchain can be used for a variety of purposes, including financial transactions, supply chain management, luxury goods or anything of value. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies use this technology.

“Southern intends to become a leader in educating people about the ‘Internet of Value,’ which is the fastest growing market the world has ever seen,” said Colleen Bielitz, SCSU associate vice president for strategic initiatives and outreach. A promotional video posted by Southern (below) has already been seen more than one thousand times.

“Blockchain is going to be increasingly important to businesses, and during the next decade is expected to have a major impact on the economy and the world. The goal of this academy is to grow the community of decentralized application developers and to make New Haven a hub for Blockchain technology and innovation as companies look to take advantage of this growing market.”

The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) announced last week that it has developed the Greater Hartford area’s first two-part certification program for future blockchain technologist, in collaboration with DappDevs, which is also collaborating with Southern and UConn.

President Rhona Free, Ph.D., remarked, “With this certificate program, USJ continues its commitment to providing educational programs aligned to our regional economy. The Greater Hartford community will benefit from this newly-created training program that offers skill development and career advancement in blockchain application development.”

The USJ pre-certificate program geared toward faculty, current college students, and college graduates in the Greater Hartford region, begins on Feb. 2, 2019, and runs over four weeks as one three-hour evening session per week. The full certification program is a six-week session that runs from March 5-April 11, as two three-hour sessions per week.

UConn’s Connecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI) is sponsoring the creation of a blockchain chapter in Stamford in order to facilitate the development of an education-based micro community designed to connect decentralized application developers. This community, in hand with Stamford’s established financial enterprises, will play a key role in further establishing Connecticut as a USA crypto capital, according to the university’s website.  UConn is offering a two-day Blockchain Development course, with its partners, DappDevs and the Werth Institute.

UConn’s first-ever blockchain symposium was held in Stamford in August.  The conference drew top scholars and Ph.D. students Stanford, Princeton, Virginia Tech, and from 10 nations, including England, Israel, Switzerland, China and Norway. State-run news agencies from Vietnam and China also covered the two-day event, called “Blockchain Technology & Organizations Research Symposium.”

These initiatives reflect that blockchain is increasingly taking academia by storm, not only in Connecticut but across the nation.  This past summer Columbia University and Stanford University both launched blockchain research centers, following in the footsteps of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Digital Currency Initiative, which launched as part of the MIT Media Lab in 2015; MIT was among the first institutions to create such a program, according to industry publication Inside Higher Ed.

The Center for Blockchain Research at Stanford University launched in June.  Miami University launches a course in blockchain technology for undergraduates in the Spring 2019 semester.  Montclair State University’s center for continuing and professional education recently spearheaded the launch of three professional blockchain certificates -- one covering the basics, one for developers and one focusing on applications of blockchain in the financial sector.

https://youtu.be/_8X_wr1tCNI

Girls With Impact, Girl Scouts Collaborate to Increase Entrepreneurship Among Teen Girls

In an effort to get girls career-ready, Connecticut-based Girls With Impact, the nation’s only tech-enabled entrepreneurship program for teen girls, is launching a partnership with Girl Scouts of Connecticut to enable girls to parlay their cookies experience into their own businesses. “Entrepreneurship is one of the four programmatic pillars that comprise the Girl Scout Leadership Experience,” said Mary Barneby, CEO for Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “We welcome the opportunity to partner with Girls With Impact to provide our older Girl Scouts with a ‘virtual MBA’ in developing their own business plans. We are creating the next generation of female leaders and programs like this give our girls a real edge and help them become more confident and career-ready.”

Girls With Impact CEO Jennifer Openshaw says her goal is to train 10,000 young women as entrepreneurs, equipping them with the skills to start businesses or serve as innovators within corporate America.

Girl Scouts members will be entitled to participate in the Girls With Impact Academy – a 12-week “mini-MBA” program, valued at $2,000, that equips girls with business skills. The program, now in its third year, has helped some past participants to earn full scholarships at top colleges. Sessions are offered throughout the year, with various schedules. The reduced fee for Girl Scouts will be just $450, and scholarships are available.

It is both a skills-builder and confidence builder, critical for teenage girls as they navigate their teens and look forward to careers.  Openshaw points out that only 6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women and just 36 percent of entrepreneurs are women.  Those are statistics she hopes to change.  The after-school, extra-curricular program has seen exceptional results in confidence, empowerment, college prep and career readiness, including STEM areas.

“Girl Scouts is one of our nation’s most powerful leadership training grounds for young women,” said Openshaw. “We’re thrilled to support Girl Scouts as it seeks to modernize and remain relevant for young women in the new global economy.”

Girl Scouts of Connecticut serves over 26,000 girls and over 12,000 adults giving girls the skills they need to empower themselves for life. Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world, Girl Scouts learn five essential skills that they will carry with them for a lifetime: goal setting, decision making, business skills, money management, and people skills.

Through the Digital Cookie® platform, Girl Scouts are able to take their cookie businesses online, using their own personal website to reach customers across the country, experiencing true enterprise. Barneby called on girls to bring a friend to Girls With Impact and “build your network for tomorrow.” She says the tech delivery enables girls to connect with others nationwide and build that support system so critical to career success.

Girls With Impact, a nonprofit, is the nation’s only entrepreneurship program just for teen girls, delivered live from the home or road. Applications are accepted at  www.girlswithimpact.com.

Institutional Investors, Including Connecticut, Seek to Influence Firearms Industry

A coalition of global institutional and private investors, including the $35-billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF), has announced plans to be guided by a newly developed set of principles developed to encourage a “responsible civilian firearms industry.”  The guidelines, established as part of their “fiduciary responsibility,” aim to encourage the firearms industry to address gun safety issues. Since the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy, Connecticut State Treasurer Denise Nappier has engaged with companies in which the State invests that manufacture, distribute and sell guns and ammunition, raising the business case for reasonable regulation of firearms and ammunition sales in order to mitigate the potential long-term business risk posed by high rates of mortality that are attributed to the misuse of firearms, according to the Treasurer’s Office.

“The proliferation of gun violence is not only a public health issue but also a business risk issue, both of which are central to our fiduciary role as long-term institutional shareholders,” Treasurer Nappier said.

The launch of the Principles for a Responsible Civilian Firearms Industry by investors with combined assets under management of more than $4.8 trillion builds on the Treasury’s engagement effort.  Among the institutional investors signing on to the new principles are funds in states that have seen headline-raising mass shootings, including Florida and California, in addition to Connecticut.

The principles would apply to public and private companies that are involved in the manufacture, sale and distribution of civilian firearms, officials said.  They are focused on reducing risk, which is a priority for institutional investors who have a fiduciary obligation to invest pension assets prudently and to monitor and manage risks.

Over the past decade, shootings involving multiple victims have been on the rise with 2017 being the worst year on record. It is estimated that in 2017 alone, excluding suicides, more than 15,000 people were killed by guns in the United States including students, teachers, and law enforcement officers, according to Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organization that tracks media and law enforcement reports of shootings.

This year there have been several shootings resulting in multiple fatalities at schools, bars, religious institutions and other places where large numbers of people congregate.

“We must do better,” Treasurer Nappier said.  “We must continue to speak out, contribute constructively to the public debate over this important issue, and achieve the outcome for which we all strive: the safety of our communities and of all our citizens.”

The five principles serve as a conversation starter for investors to use when engaging companies to be active participants in protecting and enhancing long-term portfolio values by ensuring risks are being appropriately monitored and addressed.  The five principles include:

• Principle 1: Manufacturers should support, advance and integrate the development of technology designed to make civilian firearms safer, more secure, and easier to trace.
• Principle 2: Manufacturers should adopt and follow responsible business practices that establish and enforce responsible dealer standards and promote training and education programs for owners designed around firearms safety.
• Principle 3: Civilian firearms distributors, dealers, and retailers should establish, promote, and follow best practices to ensure that no firearm is sold without a completed background check in order to prevent sales to persons prohibited from buying firearms or those too dangerous to possess firearms.
• Principle 4: Civilian firearms distributors, dealers, and retailers should educate and train their employees to better recognize and effectively monitor irregularities at the point of sale, to record all firearm sales, to audit firearms inventory on a regular basis, and to proactively assist law enforcement.
• Principle 5: Participants in the civilian firearms industry should work collaboratively, communicate, and engage with the signatories of these Principles to design, adopt, and disclose measures and metrics demonstrating both best practices and their commitment to promoting these Principles.

“More companies are recognizing that we do not need to work through these issues as adversaries, because we are not.  We share a common interest in their future growth and success, and in promoting the sustainable health of the economic, social and environmental framework within which they exist,” Nappier said.  “Our investments and the future well-being of millions of American pension fund beneficiaries are dependent on responsible corporate governance and citizenship of the portfolio companies in which we invest, but we also can influence it.”

Signatories, besides the CRPTF, include: the California Public Employees Retirement System; the California State Teachers’ Retirement System; the Florida State Board of Administration; the Maine Public Employees Retirement System; the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System; Nuveen, the asset manager of TIAA; OIP Investment Trust; the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund; Rockefeller Asset Management; the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System; State Street Global Advisors; and Wespath Investment Management.

The principles were conceived earlier this year when Harvard University Advanced Leadership Fellow Christianna Wood and Christopher J. Ailman, chief investment officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), convened a group of asset owners, asset managers, and financial institutions to design pragmatic principles for portfolio company engagement in the firearms industry that both gun manufacturers and retailers could embrace.

“The objective of the initiative was to mitigate reputational and financial risk in the investment portfolio. We believe these principles will help to ensure the long-term financial health of the civilian firearms industry and where possible, allow for continued investment/funding of companies within the industry,” the coalition said.

“These principles are an engagement solution to divestment and meant to stimulate productive dialog within the industry. Working together, we can build and leverage solid relationships as we make progress toward mitigating risks, not only to the civilian firearms industry, but also on behalf of our investments,” Ailman said.

Treasurer Nappier said that the Treasury will use the principles as a foundation for conversation and collaboration with the companies in the gun industry in which the CRPTF has investments.  Nappier will conclude 20 years as State Treasurer in January.  She did not seek re-election, and will be succeeded in office by Shawn Wooden, who was elected by Connecticut voters earlier this month.

Credit Card Balance? CT Residents Have Nation's Second Highest, on Average

With the holiday gift-giving season on the horizon, the sound of credit cards are being pulled from wallets and numbers being typed into online sites is also upon us. Before those bills even come due, Connecticut residents have a head start in building credit card balances. Connecticut residents have the highest average credit card balance, at $7,258, in the continental United States.  Alaska, at $8,515, is the only state where residents have a higher average balance in the U.S.

Rounding out the top ten are Virginia ($7,161), New Jersey ($7,151), Maryland ($7,043), Hawaii ($6,981), D.C. ($6,963), Texas ($6,902), Colorado ($6,718), and Georgia (6,675).  New York is next at $6,671.

The states with the lowest credit card balances overall are Iowa and Wisconsin, with an average of $5,155 and $5,363, respectively.

Connecticut average credit card balance - $7,258, - is not only second highest in the nation, but the average number of credit cards owned by Connecticut residents is 3.23, which ranks fifth among the states.  The states where people opened the most credit cards were New Jersey and New York, with an average number of 3.49 and 3.34 cards per person, respectively.

On the state’s average income of $70,121, which is second highest in the U.S., the average credit card balance is 10.35 percent of income.  Because of Connecticut’s high average income, the percent of income average is fourth lowest among the states.

The analysis, by the financial website Upgraded Points, used data of average credit card balances from Experian’s State of Credit: 2017, and data of average annual income by state in 2017 from research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The analysis notes that “for the 58.8 percent of American households that pay off their balances in full, credit card debt is not a problem. But the other 41.2 percent carry some amount of debt every month and must pay interest fees.” In 2017, overall American credit card debt, according to Upgraded Points, broke through the $1 trillion mark and set an all-time high. The last time credit card debt was over $1 trillion was right before the Great Recession in 2008. In 2017, a survey by Pew Research found that only 46 percent of Americans made more than they spent.

The data indicates that states near the coasts tend to have the highest absolute credit card balances. “The only two states in the top 10 that aren’t by the ocean are Texas and Colorado.  States in the Midwest tend to have the lowest average credit card balances. Only three states in the bottom 10 were not in the Midwest: West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi.”

Danbury Leads CT in 5-Year Job Growth; 41st in Ranking of 50 States’ Leaders

When job growth is measured over the past five years, Danbury leads the way in Connecticut. An analysis of changes in employment figures between 2013 and 2018 from the 381 metropolitan areas defined by the U.S. Census Bureau focused on the leading city in each state, and ranked them. The analysis, by the website howmuch.net, found that Danbury - which saw job growth of 6.6 percent - outpaced Connecticut’s largest cities, but that the leading city in 40 of the 50 states had a stronger track-record.

The leading cities in five-year job growth were Lake Charles, LA: 28.3%; Bend-Redmond, OR: 26.6%; Elkhart, IN: 24.0%: St. George, UT: 23.4%; Greeley, CO: 21.1%; Gainesville, GA: 20.9%; Fayetteville, AR: 20%; Boise City, ID: 18.6%; Austin, TX: 18.4%; and Reno, NV: 18.0%.  The analysis notes that the top cities “are truly remarkable job markets at the center of the recovery, perhaps because they were hardest hit by the recession.”

The standing of Austin, Charlottesville and Nashville are noted for “a reputation as fun destinations with music and tech scenes. They are mid-sized cities with universities, hospitals, and large well-known employers. These are the ingredients for long-term economic growth and positive employment numbers.”

“In many ways, Danbury is the forgotten city in Fairfield County up north here,” P.J. Prunty, executive director of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, told the Danbury News-Times earlier this year. “These statistics show that people are attracted to a city that has opportunity and good employment. It’s growing, and that’s a good thing. People are voting with their feet by moving here.”  Back in April, the Danbury Labor Market Area had the lowest unemployment rate of the nine LMAs in the state. The Danbury LMA outpaced the state and national unemployment rates, the News-Times reported.

Leading the way in the five-year analysis, released this month, are Barnstable in Massachusetts, at 13.7 percent employment growth; in New Hampshire it is Portsmouth at 10.1 percent, in Rhode Island, Providence/Warwick at 7.7 percent; Maine the greatest job growth has been in Portland/South Portland at 7.1 percent.  Vermont is the only New England state with a leading city growing jobs at lower rate than Connecticut’s – Burlington/South Burlington at .8 percent.  Only Alaska and Wyoming are lower, rounding out the 50 states.

Also noted:  “Some places are factory towns with unsustainable growth rates. Others are truly remarkable places to live with thriving, growth-oriented economies, and still others are barely seeing any benefits from the economic recovery.”

Will 2019 Legislature Ban Pet Leases? CT Would Be 4th State to Approve Ban

New York became the third state earlier this year, following Nevada and California, to enact a law restricting or prohibiting pet leasing, apparently a growing trend – and concern - across the country.  The law was approved last month and takes effect in December. Connecticut considered a ban on pet leasing during the 2018 legislative session.  A proposal was approved in the Senate, but was not considered by the House of Representatives, according to a report released this month by the state Office of Legislative Research (OLR). 

The Federal Trade Commission explains that “pet leasing is a relatively new industry. It relies on a financial product – a consumer lease – that is commonly associated with cars, furniture, and heavy equipment, not with puppies, parrots, and other pets. As a result, most people considering buying a pet are not expecting to be handed a lease.”

“There can be complications,” the FTC points out. “If the customer misses a monthly payment, the leasing company can repossess Fluffy, Fido, or Cookie the Cockatoo. And, if the animal gets lost, stolen, or dies, or if the customer can no longer keep the pet, the customer can still be required to make payments through the end of the lease period or pay a hefty early termination fee.”

These concerns, and others, are leading an increasing number of states to consider laws to govern – or ban – the practice.  Last month, published reports indicate that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed a lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court on behalf of residents of Hopatcong, New Jersey, against a local pet store and another in Virginia. The lawsuit challenges the lease agreement.

Earlier this year, CBS News published a story about the practice, citing a Connecticut pet store’s practice that irked a local resident.

“Here's how it works: pet stores lure customers in with a cute but expensive pet. Then the customers sign what they believe is a loan that will allow them to make low monthly payments for the pet,” the CBS News report explained.  “But it's not really a loan; it's a lease. And customers often don't realize it until it's too late.”

The Connecticut law proposed earlier this year “generally would have voided any pet lease entered into on or after October 1, 2018,” according to OLR.  It stated that “Anyone taking possession of a dog or cat under such a contract would have been (1) deemed to be the animal’s owner and (2) entitled to the return of all amounts paid under the contract.”

Nevada law prohibits a person from offering to lease any living animal or goods intended for personal, family, or household use, including pets, according to the research published by OLR. California law, effective on January 1 this year, applies to dogs and cats and points out that the consumer taking possession of the dog or cat under such a contract is deemed the animal’s owner, voiding any lease agreements.  The New York law prohibits a contract for buying or financing a dog or cat that includes any provisions that authorize using the dog or cat as security and allow the lender or seller to repossess the animal if the buyer fails to make payments under the contract.  The law does not prohibit buying a dog or cat through an unsecured personal loan.

CT Utility Costs Are 4th Highest in the Nation, Analysis Shows

Connecticut residents pay an average of $496.07 for utilities per month, the fourth most expensive average utility bill in the nation, according to a new analysis.  Hawaii tops the list with the highest average utility cost, $730.86 per month, followed by Alaska, at $527.96.  On the other end of the spectrum is Idaho, which has the lowest average cost at $343.71. Electricity costs are significantly higher on the East Coast, according to the study by move.org, released this week. Seven of the top ten states with the most expensive utilities are on the Atlantic Seaboard.  In addition to Connecticut, those states are Rhode Island, ranking third at $521.98; New York ($477.31); New Hampshire ($477.02); Massachusetts ($469.13); Vermont ($468.30) and Maine ($464.45).  The only other non-Atlantic coast state to land in the top 10 is South Carolina ($473.78).

The analysis noted that “electricity costs are mostly to blame for Connecticut’s high overall utility bill, but its natural gas costs are much higher than most as well at an average of $114.11 per month.”  In two key categories, Connecticut had the third highest electricity rates and the 14^th highest natural gas rates.

The survey broke down each state’s utility costs into a handful of distinct categories: Electricity, Natural gas, Internet, Cable and Water. [State-by-state information was unavailable for cable and water, so the analysis used the national averages to supply those figures for each state.]

The average cost of cable is $100, but that may change as more people cut their cable cords and switch to streaming services, the analysis noted.

In addition to Idaho, the least expensive utility costs can be found in Utah, Montana, Washington (State), Nevada, Louisiana and Oregon, according to the move.org analysis.

National Startup Analysis Sees Potential, Standout Efforts Underway in Hartford

A new analysis of the status of the business startup community in six American cities – including Hartford – has found that Connecticut’s Capitol City has “strong startup potential,” and in some ways is already standing out among peers and competitors. Startup Genome, with support from the Kauffman Foundation, selected six U.S. metropolitan areas that are not in the top 40 most populous and which have been faring less well economically than the country as a whole for a deeper analysis.  In addition to Hartford, the analysis includes Albuquerque, Fresno, New Orleans, Reno and Springfield, MA.

“In each of these metros, efforts are underway to support entrepreneurs, create more startups, and generate stronger economic trajectories. Like many other American cities (and elsewhere), they’ve been through economic ups and downs and now see startups as their next best hope for sustainable and broadly-shared growth,” the report, released this week, points out.  Startup Genome works to increase the success rate of startups and improve the performance of startups across more than 30 countries.

“Every startup ecosystem shows room for growth and improvement, and Hartford has key strengths to build on. The city's strong heritage in insurance is already being leveraged by many stakeholders and the ecosystem is clearly attracting experienced talent to start and join companies,” Dane Stangler, president & chief policy officer of Startup Genome told CT by the Numbers.

In Hartford, reSET, which specializes in encouraging and assisting entrepreneurship and social enterprise, was among several local partners with whom Startup Genome worked to gather data from more than 300 respondents.  Additional partners were the MetroHartford Alliance, Wesleyan University, UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Upward Hartford,  as well as Launch EZ, the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce and others.

“More broadly, Hartford shows greater diversity than peer ecosystems and already has a few hundred startups operating. By continuing to strengthen the local culture and focusing on startup success in key areas, the Hartford economy will enjoy higher levels of job creation and growth,” Stangler added.

Hartford and the other cities were determined to be in the Early Activation phase of the Ecosystem Lifecycle, with a mix of prominent attributes and areas with potential yet to be realized.  In its analysis, the report indicates that “just in the span of a few years the startup scene has exploded,” in Hartford, noting that:

• investors and experts in Hartford provide more hours of help to founders than in the other cities, and more than the global average. (Experts include university faculty, corporate employees, mentors, and others.)
• nearly four in 10 founders in Hartford are women, which is twice the global average across all ecosystems in the Startup Genome database.
• 11 percent of startup founders in Hartford are immigrants, the second-highest in the sample.

“We’re so grateful that Startup Genome was able to include Hartford in its recent analysis of early-stage ecosystems, thanks to support from the Kauffman Foundation,” said reSET Managing Director Ojala Naeem.  “Our great city is too often overlooked, and with local and state funding being what they are, national attention on all of the amazing businesses making an impact here is more important than ever. We have so many smart and motivated entrepreneurs who are worthy of investment consideration. They just need a spotlight.”

The comprehensive assessment of Hartford’s ecosystem also noted that “Hartford’s [startup] founders claim to have the right ambition to go global,” concluding that “Hartford’s startups have more potential to strengthen Global Market Reach and Global Connectedness.” In a number of areas analyzed in the assessment, Hartford is seen as having potential to strengthen the local startup community, its reach beyond Hartford, and the demographic of startup teams.

During the past seven years Startup Genome has provided a way for entrepreneurs everywhere to “tell us about their journeys and their regions - giving their local expertise a voice at the policy-making table.” The organization’s primary research with founders, supplemented with secondary research and data from global and local partners, helps create the world’s most comprehensive research on startups. Approximately 10,000 startup founders fill out global survey providing direct input each year.

“Hartford has some record of successes – generating more will help ecosystem size and performance,” Startup Genome observed in its assessment of Hartford.