Earlier this month, reSET member LootScout hosted the 2015 Hartford Capital Summit at the Marriott Downtown. reSET Program Manager Christopher Mazziotto attended the inaugural event, focused on helping small businesses better access funding, and wanted to share the following recap with the local entrepreneurial community.

Anthony Price, founder & CEO of LootScout, hosted the conference. Anthony brought together a mix of entrepreneurs, finance professionals, and other business service providers, who connected over socratic conversation and a few workshops.

Patty Lennon, an inspiring entrepreneur, public speaker, business coach, and crowd-funding expert, joined the event’s expert panel. Patty’s new book, “The Crowdfunding Book: A How-To Book for Entrepreneurs, Writers, and Inventors,” was part of her content contribution to the discussion. She stressed how important creating an emotional connection with customers and potential funders is, as well as focusing on raising small dollar amounts from many people as opposed to just a few. She also recommended focusing on crowd-funding for one initiative at a time as to not overwhelm your target market.

Michael Duncan, a Y Combinator alumnus, is the founder & CEO of Bankjoy, a Michigan-based business that provides mobile banking solutions for banks and credit unions. Michael flew from the Detroit area to participate in the panel and contributed a wealth of information on getting a startup ready to speak with investors. He also advised that two of the most important items scaling businesses need to be clear on are 1) the specific needs of their target market and 2) how to to concisely state their value proposition.

John Katovich, founder & president of Cutting Edge Capital based in Oakland, CA, is an expert in securities/corporate law, regulatory/legislative issues, and debt/securities financing and has taught classes at the University of California, Berkeley, and INSEAD, France. John joined the panel too and presented on Direct Public Offerings (DPO), a variation of crowd-funding, and a method of raising capital for businesses that existed before the creation of the SEC. Cutting Edge Capital is offering up some truly innovative fundraising techniques at a time when most startups are fighting for less than 5% of their total funding potential.

Michael Chernow, co-founder of NYC’s The Meatball Shop and founder of Seamore’s, was the summit’s keynote speaker. It was an absolute pleasure to hear him speak as he was both honest and passionate. In fact, one of the main themes of his speech was that passion should be what drives people throughout their life. He commented that it is always about the entrepreneur when it comes to selling others on the vision of your business. Ultimately, people are going to want to help your business if they like what kind of person you are and investors are going to invest if they trust you and see that you will always work hard.