Fairfield County Business Journal 9/10/2012 Issue

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL

YOUR only SOURCE FOR regional BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com

September 10, 2012 | VOL. 48, No. 37

FCBJ TODAY There is nothing nuanced about 50-fold-plus growth in three short years … 2 Connecticut considers scrapping $250 business tax, as deadbeats say “come get me” … 3 Op-ed: Richard Levin’s impact on Yale … 4 Technology Talent Bridge gets new support … 7 Gold coastal property: Smiths Detection leaving Danbury … 8 In the field: OPEL exits solar … 12

From Datto Inc.’s Norwalk headquarters, Austin McChord monitors server networks from coast to coast and overseas.

From Datto 500 to Inc. 500 BY ALEXANDER SOULE

Running a business by the seat of the pants … 18

casoule@westfairinc.com

Finance ledger: Fairfield County companies near VC funding … 20

If the 5,500 percent growth Datto Inc. achieved over a three-year period seems almost a figure

Also … “Another area we will explore is that of entrepreneurship, … an area of great interest to me.” 5

in the abstract, for tangible evidence just visit its Norwalk offices where crews are readying a second floor for the data backup company’s use. And if you are wondering how a company puts up that kind of growth in a down

casoule@westfairinc.com

H

eading into Labor Day, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy again appointed a union leader as commissioner of the state Department of Labor, naming AFT Connecticut president Sharon Palmer to lead. Malloy said his administration approached

economy, wander into the “command room” where in late August a news feed showed Hurricane Isaac pummeling Louisiana, even as others tracked the status of servers under Datto, page 6

Stamford becoming talk-show capital

Union chief to lead state Labor Department BY ALEXANDER SOULE

MEDIA PARTNER

Data backup company thrives in down times

BY JENNIFER BISSELL

Palmer, who had been a strenuous voice in the debate over education reform this past spring. The AFL-CIO union represents 28,000 teachers, with Palmer herself having taught 20 years in addition to serving as a Waterford town representative. Malloy’s first year in office was marked by a showdown with unions representing state workers, with the governor threatening mass

jbissell@westfairinc.com NBCUniversal Inc.’s newest daytime talk show filmed in Stamford will begin airing Sept. 17 in select markets. Similar to NBCU’s “Maury,” “The Jerry Springer Show” and “Steve Wilkos,” “Trisha Goddard” will feature family and relationship drama, but without the “you are the father” sensationalism.

Union chief, page 6

Stamford, page 6

Special report: Bank balance sheets improve, credit conditions not so much •17


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