photos & story by John Stratton

It’s a fine day. You’re out happily cruising under power, alone on deck, and leave the helm for a second to adjust an errant line. A bit of an unexpected wave, a slip…and you’re overboard in the race and off goes your boat without you. Not good.

Or you’re cruising under sail and one of your crew goes forward to free a stuck sail…and doesn’t come right back. Your vision blocked by the mainsail; he’s slipped overboard without a sound, and is somewhere back there in the wake.  Not good at all.

Now what?  Hmmmm….Things happen, unfortunately.A  Groton Long Point boater and inventor,  Anthony Viggiano,  ruminated on these all-too-real scenarios and came up with a solution, based on his experience in business and industry…and time spent on the water. What about a “kill switch” that would shut down engines, or warn others that you’d gone overboard?  The traditional mechanical or electrical tethers are cumbersome and often not used. But, he conjectured, what about incorporating wireless technology, and modern sensors, allowing boaters to move freely while aboard, yet still be “attached” to their controls? That is a new idea.

But Viggiano, like most of us who have been struck by inspiration in the shower, at lunch with a paper napkin at hand, or at a party with friends, needed something more than a “good idea” and a pat on the back to move the idea into engineering drawings, prototyping, patenting, production, distribution, and sales.

There’s the money issue. If you need funding, you need investors; and those investors need to believe that they will reap some benefits for risking their money.

The tricky transition from idea to an actual product was outlined at a January 31 press conference  at the West Marine maritime outlet in  Stonington. The gathering showcased Viggiano’s new boating-safety device, “Autotether,” and he, and backers from the private sector and state government and agencies,

discussed its commercialization.

One of the key private organizations is the  Angel Investor Forum, a consortium of individuals who may have some money to risk–along with a powerful inducement to not lose out on your idea. They want you to win, and have an interest in it.

“Our interests are aligned,” said Mary Anne Rooke, “to grow a company, and provide incentives for growth.” Rooke is president of the Connecticut Angel Investor Forum, and also is no stranger to Connecticut innovation.

She is  business services directorof the  University of Connecticut’s Technology Incubation Program. Autotether is also a success story of the new Connecticut investment taxcredit system, which has, through the diligence of  State Senator Andrew Maynard of  Stonington, became an attractive means of encouraging venture capital funding.

In 2010 the state authorized an “angel investment tax credit” that allowed investors to invest a minimum of $100,000 up to a maximum of $250,000 and receive a 25 percent credit off their state income tax. That was a good deal, and attracted $4.7 million in total investments in 33 businesses and $1.6 million in tax credits.

The program was not fully reaching out to smaller investors, Senator Maynard believed. He reasoned that if the $100,000 entry threshold were lowered, it could attract far more investment, especially if channeled through consolidating groups like the Angel Investor Forum. He proposed that the legislature decrease the threshold to $25,000 and he succeeded in gathering support from other technology-minded legislators, and in passing it into law last October. Since that time nine more angel deals have closed, totaling $2.1 million in  support of Connecticut based businesses…and yielding solid, in-state jobs.

“It’s a great way for smaller entrepreneurs to help somebody else’s great idea,”  said Maynard.And, with Autotether, that idea may save lives.

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