Entrepreneurship

Startup ‘BeRemote’ Masterminds Stronger Employee Bonds

Posted on by Claire Hall

BeRemote CEO Vivek Nigam
BeRemote CEO Vivek Nigam (contributed photo)

BeRemote’s mission is to transform remote, professional work teams by enhancing engagement using an AI-based social-interaction platform that helps employees build and strengthen bonds within their organization. “Be a team that loves being a team,” is part of the company’s philosophy.

CEO Vivek Nigam, who earned his MBA from UConn in 2003, has 30 years of experience in IT and data strategy roles. He sold his first tech startup to AOL in 2000. Below he explains the company’s approach to team-building and how he hopes it will help transform the workplace.Continue Reading

Connecticut Startup Creates Over-the-Counter Pain Creams Without the Harmful Additives

Posted on by Claire Hall
The Feel Good Lab, a local startup, develops over the counter pain relief products free of harmful chemicals. (Contributed Photo)

Pharmacist Gene Gresh’s customers often asked him what kinds of over-the-counter pain relief products he would recommend.

After looking at the ingredient lists of the leading products, he discovered all contained harmful substances. In good faith, he couldn’t truly recommend any of them.

Gresh, the owner of Pioneer Health Compounding Pharmacy in Vernon, began formulating his own product, using natural ingredients. The new medications, now available from the company he helped create called The Feel Good Lab, are gaining traction in the healthcare market and are now sold in many large pharmacies, as well as online.Continue Reading

Pandemic Won’t Disrupt Annual iQ Competition Because ‘Innovation is Relentless’

Posted on by Claire Hall

friendly woman taking order on phone at restaurant and writing on notepad during the day
(istockphoto.com)

When someone asked Professor Rich Dino if the School of Business’ Innovation Quest (iQ) entrepreneurial competition would be postponed this year due to the pandemic his quick reply was: Of course not!

“Innovation is relentless,” said Dino, program director. “No matter the economic environment, good or bad, entrepreneurship carries on.”Continue Reading

Wolff Family Philanthropy Champions UConn Entrepreneurs with ‘Unstoppable Ambition’

Posted on by Claire Hall

UConn Today – If there is one thing that alumnus Thomas John Wolff ’56 (BUS) knew well, from first-hand experience, it’s that becoming a successful entrepreneur is incredibly hard work.

Wolff, who once owned five businesses simultaneously, believed in persistence, ambition, determination and almost unstoppable drive. He also knew that a great mentor and wise advice can take a young entrepreneur a very long way.Continue Reading

Hartford Has Become One of Top 5 Cities for Techies

Posted on by Claire Hall
Hartford Connecticut
(istockphoto.com)

Hartford is among the Top 5 cities that techies are relocating to in the wake of the global pandemic. Despite rumors that Austin and Miami are luring tech workers, Inc.com is reporting that Madison, Wisc., Cleveland, Sacramento, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Hartford are “winning the war” to attract those fleeing the traditional big-city tech hubs.Continue Reading

Top Management Scholar, Enthusiastic Entrepreneurship Mentor Evan Rawley to Join Faculty

Posted on by Claire Hall


Evan Rawley, an exceptional scholar and enthusiastic entrepreneurship mentor, has joined the School of Business faculty as an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship.

Greg Reilly, the head of the management department, said Rawley will be a tremendous asset to the school.Continue Reading

Alum Who Created ‘Merican Mule Cocktail Company Has Plenty to Celebrate

Posted on by Claire Hall

UConn Today -Sales of ‘Merican Mule premium cocktail have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueling the good spirits of its UConn alumnus co-founder.

“Sales have been shot out of a cannon,’’ says Dean Mahoney ’09 (BUS). “The pandemic posed challenges to people who typically went to bars and restaurants. They wanted a quality cocktail at home, so they shifted their search to liquor stores.Continue Reading

A Taste of Something New! Alumnus Creates Monthly ‘Subscription Box’ Filled with Distinctive Local Goodies

Posted on by Claire Hall
Curated CT provides products from a variety of local sources. Pictured above, is a sample from a previous month. (Contrbuted Photo)
Curated CT provides products from a variety of local sources. Pictured above, is a sample from a previous month. (Contributed Photo)

For more than a decade, alumnus Donald Pendagast ’20 MBA, had been thinking about ways to introduce people to local, small food businesses that they might not try otherwise. In October, his idea came to fruition with the creation of Curated CT, a subscription food box featuring local delicacies, including cheese, coffee, chocolate and sometimes beer. The company is already turning a profit and donates some of its profits to a different local charity every month.Continue Reading

UConn School of Business Receives First-Ever Top 30 Ranking for Graduate Entrepreneurship from Princeton Review

Posted on by Jaclyn Severance

UConn Today – The rankings, released today by Princeton Review and slated to be published in the December issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, included more than 300 applicants, putting UConn in the top 15 percent of all survey participants. For the second year in a row, UConn ranked at No. 46 for undergraduate entrepreneurship and, for the first time, the UConn School of Business ranked at No. 28 for graduate entrepreneurship amidst the competitive field of participants in this year’s survey.Continue Reading

Alumna to Share Mindset Secrets To Help Women Entrepreneurs Prosper

Posted on by Claire Hall
Charlene Walters '92, pictured above, will headline the upcoming xCITE networking event. (Contributed photo)
Charlene Walters ’92, pictured above, will headline the upcoming xCITE networking event. (Contributed photo)

As brazen as it might seem in an uncertain economy, now may be the ideal time for many women to take that giant step into entrepreneurship.

That’s the advice of UConn alumna Charlene Walters ’92, who has created a blueprint for women interested in pursuing their own businesses.

Walters, an entrepreneurship coach, business and branding mentor, and author, will be the keynote speaker at the School of Business’ “xCITE: Women in Entrepreneurship Network” series for women who are, or want to become, entrepreneurs. The event, which will be virtual this year, is from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16. This is the first in a series of programs to connect women entrepreneurs.Continue Reading