We are proud to present the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s annual Impact Report for Fiscal Year 2025–2026 — a reflection of a year shaped by our word of the year: impact.

This year, we challenged ourselves to look beyond what we do and focus on the difference it makes. Every program, partnership, pitch competition, workshop, and conversation is an opportunity to create meaningful impact for entrepreneurs and innovators across the UConn community and beyond.

The stories and milestones captured in this report reflect that impact in action.

CCEI IMPACT REPORT FY 2025-2026

Over the past year, our community continued to grow, and so did the reach of our work. We expanded opportunities for students, faculty, alumni, and founders to connect, learn, build, and pursue their ideas. We strengthened partnerships across Connecticut’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, welcomed new mentors and sponsors, and continued to create spaces where connections can turn into lasting opportunities. Most importantly, we saw the impact of this work through the achievements of the people and ventures we support. Since CCEI’s inception, our program alumni have gone on to raise more than $2 billion in follow-on funding — a remarkable milestone that speaks to the potential of the founders in our community and the collective strength of the ecosystem around them.

But impact is not measured only in dollars or milestones. It can be found in the student who discovers entrepreneurship for the first time, the founder who gains the confidence to pursue an idea, the mentor who opens a new door, and the connection that becomes a partnership. It is in the knowledge shared, the risks taken, the lessons learned, and the communities built along the way.

As we reflect on this year, we are deeply grateful to everyone who makes that impact possible: our ambitious program participants, dedicated mentors and speakers, visionary faculty, generous sponsors and partners, alumni, and the staff and student team members who bring CCEI’s mission to life every day. 

We invite you to explore the stories, milestones, and outcomes within these pages and see what "impact" looked like across our center this year. This report is both a celebration of what we have accomplished together and a reminder that the greatest measure of our work is what happens next.

Happy reading!

— The Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) Team