THANK YOU to all who attended the May 23rd Supplier Connection Growth Summit in Stamford and helped make it a resounding success!

2018 Connecticut Supplier Connection Growth Summit

200+ people attended, with 15 trade show exhibitors focused on supplier services, and 3 panel workshops on supplier diversity, cybersecurity and marketing/business development

120+ supplier meetings with buyers in matchmaking and 200+ connections made between suppliers and buyers overall

General Dynamics Electric Boat and Supplier Growth Blair Decker of General Dynamics-Electric Boat presented an amazing keynote address that provided an overview of the growing need for expanded supply chain elements here in Connecticut as General Dynamics Electric Boat continues their tremendous growth.

Registration up 30% since Summit! Help us keep the momentum going by spreading the word to more potential Connecticut Supplier Connection members! The more suppliers that enroll and register, the more other large buyers will join.  Share this one-page summary of the Connecticut Supplier Connection to get more suppliers on board. And make sure you complete your registration profile: Fill in all requested information blocks List your current clients and tell what you are doing for them Post a link to a video or presentation about your business And make sure you check off the box to be contacted by The Business Council of Fairfield County (we run the Connecticut Supplier Connection program) so you will be opted in to emails from us about upcoming events The more buyers can see from you, the more they can include you in upcoming vendor searches.

Success Stories We have heard about lots of follow-up meetings from the Summit. Keep us posted on your success stories from the event and we will include your news in upcoming Supplier Connection newsletters! If you have a story, send it to us via email at info@businessfairfield.com Thank you again and good selling! Gary Breitbart Statewide Director - Connecticut Supplier Connection gbreitbart@businessfairfield.com

Supplier Development Academy On June 21, the Connecticut Supplier Connection, in collaboration with the  CT Small Business Development Center , delivered the workshop Demonstrating Financial Preparedness and Success   at Quinnipiac University. This 2-hour course uses an interactive classroom format to help participants re-evaluate how to present their financials to large buyers. Attendees learned what financial data buyers are seeking, how best to present the data and how to benchmark financials against competition.   Supplier Development Academy workshops are available exclusively to companies that have registered on the Connecticut Supplier Connection website . Watch your inbox for a notice about the next workshop. We will be presenting another Demonstrating Financial Preparedness and Success  workshop in September and are working on a new on-line course to help members to market to large buying organizations. Registered Connecticut Supplier Connection suppliers have also been invited to join workshops presented by The Center for Growth Resources , a collaboration between Connecticut Supplier Connection, The Business Council of Fairfield County and 7 other statewide organizations. Nearly 200 growth companies have attended workshops including: Access to Capital, a panel discussion featuring CEDF, CTSBDC, HEDCO and Webster Bank Strategies and Tactics to Grow Your Business, Presented by CTSBDC Growing Your Business by Contracting with the Government, Led by CTPTAC and SBA Licensing, Permitting and Registering Your Business, Presented by CERC and CTSBDC

Upcoming events of interest

Grow Your Business Online, Small Business Summer School Live Stream Workshop Viewing Party, hosted by The Business Council of Fairfield County, July 25, 11:30AM-1:30PM noon, Landmark Square Conference Center, Stamford. To RSVP send an email to Steven Semaya How To Engage and Position During Government Prospect Meetings, Live Webinar presented by CTPTAC, July 26, 1PM. To register visit: http://ctptac.org/calendar.htm 2018 ScaleUp CT - Take your growing tech-oriented business to the next stage with ScaleUP CT, Presented by the Connecticut Technology Council, October 30, 2018. For more information, visit: https://www.ct.org/events/ We will forward information about more events as it becomes available.

Leadership Investment The Connecticut Supplier Connection is managed by The Business Council of Fairfield County with leadership investment provided by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP.

Need help with Connecticut Supplier Connection? Want to share your ideas with us? Contact Gary Breitbart, Statewide Program Director Connecticut Supplier Connection, gbreitbart@businessfairfield.com