The Stamford Partnership held the inaugural Room for All event at the Palms Nightclub on July 20. Set in the evening to the sounds of smooth jazz and conversation, Room for All was designed not only to provide a networking event for early and mid-career entrepreneurs from across Stamford and the surrounding area, but also to improve access to the resources available to small-business owners and those who aspire to become self-employed.
“You know that song, ”˜I wanna be in the room where it happens”™ from Hamilton?” said Isis Goulbourne, the founder of Stamford Events and the head of community for the Stamford Partnership, to the event audience. “We sat down and asked how we can create a room where stuff is just happening.”
“You want to find grants and resources and all of the things that you might see other business owners getting that we just don”™t know how to get access to,” Goulbourne added. “Our idea was to bring everybody together in one space along with some of those resources, and also to bring everybody together because a strong network is necessary for a really thriving business community.”
“We are bringing together members of the entrepreneurial and smallbusiness community with the sole goal and focus to connect them to free resources that already exist and have been available for many years throughout Stamford and Fairfield County,” said Kate Berg, operations director of the Stamford Partnership.
Representatives from Advance CT, the Woman”™s Business Council and the Small Business Development Center were present to meet with those in attendance and help them understand the benefits they can access through their various organizations.
Two breakout sessions held in the private rooms followed the networking portion. In one room, a fireside-chat-styled discussion between Goulborne and Renell Domond, co-owner and founder of Stamford-based Juice Kings, explored what those who have just started their own business or are contemplating their own entrepreneurial endeavor need to know about the road ahead.
In the other private room, the discussion focused on topics for those seeking to bring their existing business to a higher level. Beck moderated the panel, which consisted of State Farm Insurance Agent and Franchise owner George Boyce, Encaptiv founder and CEO Shannon Malkin Daniels, and serial tech entrepreneur Daniel Johnson.
The event, which had over 90 people RSVP, was a hit with attendees. Stephanie Lopez, a therapist and consultant in Connecticut and New York, was one of those who appreciated her experience at the event.
“I”™m very interested in starting a consulting company and building it, and it”™s useful to build that up with the resources here and also network with the community,” Lopez said. “I met a lot of wonderful people that have a similar mindset and understanding of how if we just come together, we can get the results we want and build a stronger community.”
Lopez also thought that the choice of an atypical venue was a selling point.
“I think sometimes a lot of people shy away from networking events, but this brought so many resources that are right at our fingertips together that we”™re able to use and implement,” she said. “It was great.”
