Women's Business Development Council Honor Local Entrepreneurs

Stamford business women Jessica Borghi, Meghan Crutchley, Angelica Durrell, Carrie Goldkopf, Shivonne Mathison and Nicole Samela-Gonzalez were recognized by the Women’s Business Development Council during its annual Gala Luncheon held at the Greenwich Hyatt Regency.

The Women’s Business Development Council was founded in 1997 to provide the training, education and borrowing power necessary to empower women to successfully launch and grow their own businesses. Thirteen successful women-owned companies and the women who run them were chosen to receive The Women Rising Award in recognition of their entrepreneurial excellence, business success, innovation, community impact and leadership abilities.

Jessica Borghi launched Pure Beauty, LLC, a Stamford-based beauty spa offering facials, makeup application, eyelash extensions, waxing and reiki. A year after opening for business, Borghi learned about the Women’s Business Development Council on recommendation from her accountant. She believes the Council’s most valuable assistance was the one-on-one counseling she received from business specialist Carol Cheswick.

In 2011, then-21-year-old Angelica Durrell launched what is now known as INTEMPO, a not-for-profit organization in Stamford that makes music education relevant, accessible and inclusive through the use of classical and cross-cultural instruments and repertoire in after-school programs and summer camps. Last year INTEMPO served more than 250 children, one-third of whom receive a full or partial need-based scholarships that are underwritten by grants or donations. She said that for many of these students, the lessons they learn go well beyond learning how to play an instrument by connecting students to scholarships and community resources that they would not have known how to navigate without their mentors’ guidance.

In 2015, Carrie Goldkopf and her wife, personal trainer Meghan Crutchley, opened Organic Fitness, a 1,000 square-foot boutique studio in Stamford in response to what she saw as a “need for a gym that isn’t being run by the marketing machine.” Organic Fitness, LLC, is a lifestyle transformation gym that approaches fitness as a concept that evolves “from the inside out,” Crutchley described.

Stamford resident, Shivonne Mathison, recently launched Cura Home Care Services, LLC, a non-medical home care agency offering personal care, homemaker and live-in companion services in May of 2018. Setting Cura apart from the numerous other agencies scattered throughout Connecticut is its commitment to clients’ happiness and mental well-being as much as their physical wellness.

Nicole Samela-Gonzalez launched Hapa in 2014 as a food truck serving Asian Pacific American cuisine made with local and responsibly sourced ingredients. Hapa Food Truck, which often caters weddings and parties, will soon add a sit-down restaurant in Stamford.

Women’s Business Development Council CEO Fran Pastore addressed the crowd at the Gala, “These 13 women-owned businesses stand before us as examples of what can happen when focus is put on women’s economic equity. With the access to resources and training, they’ve been able to do amazing things for themselves, their families and their communities.”

Long-recognized as the signature annual women’s business gathering in Connecticut, the gala brought together nearly 700 supporters of women-owned businesses including State Senator Scott Frantz, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, and State Representative Patricia Billie Miller.

About the Women’s Business Development Council: Headquartered in Stamford with a satellite office in Derby, the 501 (c)(3) non-profit has served nearly 19,000 clients, assisted in the creation of nearly 1,800 businesses and supported the sustainability and expansion of 3,800 established businesses and created more than 4,900 jobs. For more information on the Women’s Business Development Council, visit ctwbdc.org.
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