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Jerde Honored by Women’s Business Development Council

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Erin Jerde

Greenwich resident and business owner Erin Jerde, Co-Founder and CEO of Corner Harvest, was recognized  by the Women’s Business Development Council during its annual Gala Luncheon held at the Greenwich Hyatt Regency on Oct. 12.

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, including Jerde, were chosen to receive The Women Rising Award in recognition of their entrepreneurial excellence, business success, business innovation, community impact and leadership abilities.

Inspired by a similar business Jerde encountered while living abroad, she launched Corner Harvest in February of 2018.

“There were these incredible, nutritious salads in a jar that people could order for lunch and have delivered to their offices by bike. I loved the concept and couldn’t wait to bring something similar back home,” she said.

When Jerde returned to the States in the summer of 2017, she turned to the Women’s Business Development Council for help with making her concept a reality. “I was getting into an industry that I wasn’t familiar with,” she said. “Accounting, marketing, and building sales from scratch… it was all foreign to me.”

Corner Harvest has found success in home and corporate deliveries for customers in Fairfield and Westchester Counties and currently employs a staff of eight.

“We’ve also tapped into coffee shops and specialty grocery stores and we’re in three locations of We Work in Manhattan,” Jerde said. She said that plans are underway to place more kiosks in airports, shopping malls and to expand their footprint in New York City.

Corner Harvest is also targeting customers such as schools and universities, hospitals, country clubs, as well as catering for corporate events, food and music festivals and sports venues where a healthy, portable dining option is in demand.

“I learned so much about everything from finding an accountant to writing a business plan, finding food suppliers and how to set up my business structure. The Women’s Business Development Council was able to lay it out in a much clearer way than I could find in a book or by looking it up online. They helped me determine which markets would have the largest potential demand for the product … it was a complete shift away from the markets I was originally intending to pursue!” she explained.

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.

Senator Blumental addressed participants with, “You are the risk takers, you are the ones who have stepped forward against the odds. For women who start a business, it takes courage. Thank you for your example of leadership. Courage is contagious!”

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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