Company to Vie for Wolff New Venture Championship<\/strong><\/p>\n Orbit Crates is one of five UConn-affiliated startups competing in the Wolff New Venture Competition<\/a> next month. Now in its 10th<\/sup> year, the event is hosted by UConn\u2019s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI)<\/a> and will award more than $115,000 in prize money, including $30,000 for the first-place finisher. The event, considered the School of Business\u2019 pinnacle entrepreneurship challenge, is open to the public. Along with the pitch competition, the event will also feature a startup showcase and a prominent keynote speaker.<\/p>\n Alycia Chrosniak, CCEI\u2019s Assistant Director of Brand & Venture Development, notes that this year\u2019s five finalist startups are all women-founded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt speaks to the strength of the entrepreneurial pipeline we\u2019ve built here at UConn and the power of diverse leadership in shaping the future of business,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n U.S. Kids Consume 40% of World\u2019s Toys<\/strong><\/p>\n Conti started her business in 2023, initially serving friends, family, and some social media acquaintances. In the last 18 months, she and her team have focused heavily on customer needs. She left her full-time job in January to run Orbit Crates. In May, the formal subscription service began and already the company has a growing number of active subscribers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found that initially parents want everything to be new, but after about three months, as children begin reaching development milestones, parents don\u2019t care if a toy is new or not,\u2019\u2019 she says. Orbit Crates carries high-quality, name-brand toys, most built in the United States or in Europe.<\/p>\n Although the United States is home to just 3% of the world\u2019s children, American youngsters consume 40% of the world\u2019s toys, Conti says. She hopes to help eliminate overconsumption and household clutter. Resale businesses will often take gently used toys, but if they don\u2019t sell in about a week, they usually go in the trash. Discarded toys contribute roughly 6% of the waste in landfills.<\/p>\n Each toy is sanitized and examined for wear before it is placed in the subscription box. Parents are billed monthly and can keep a toy as long as it holds their child\u2019s interest. Once they return them, they can select a new set of toys.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our No. 1 value is we\u2019re driving quality time and purposeful play, keeping kids off screens, and minimizing the work that goes into managing \u2018toy clutter.\u2019 We\u2019re helping children connect with their parents and their siblings,\u2019\u2019 Conti says. \u201cWe\u2019re also teaching children about the value to passing along their toys to another child when they\u2019re finished with them.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Orbit Crates\u2019 is a UConn-Driven Business<\/strong><\/p>\n CCEI selected Conti to participate in its Summer Fellowship Accelerator this year. The eight-week program provides intensive startup support through mentorship, workshops, pro bono services, and $15,000 in non-dilutive funding. Designed to help entrepreneurs successfully grow their businesses, it also coaches them to avoid many of the common pitfalls that challenge early-stage startups.<\/p>\n Conti, who previously worked in customer strategy, tech and innovation, says the courses and mentorship were invaluable. Financial planning was never one of Conti\u2019s strengths, but at the Summer Fellowship Accelerator she was able to deepen her knowledge and developed more confidence in her financial plans.<\/p>\n Her team has leaned on UConn expertise to grow. Business graduate student Gomathi Ramachandran served as the company\u2019s program manager and educational advising intern. She was introduced to Conti by CCEI Executive Director Jennifer Mathieu. Chris Sindoni ’26 (BUS), who is majoring in management information systems, serves as a database intern, building a proprietary database that helps support the inventory tracking. Kayla Rushforth ’26 (BUS), a senior majoring in digital marketing and design, ran the company\u2019s social media account last summer. And Isaac Field \u201925 (BUS) is the company\u2019s data scientist, using AI to give customers personalized recommendations for toys.<\/p>\n If Orbit Crates wins the grand prize at the Wolff New Venture Competition, Conti says she will invest the money in marketing and advertising, scaling the operations, including a potential warehouse or pop-up shop, and expanding tech capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cEntrepreneurship is a personal endeavor,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cIt challenges you to be resilient and to work on weaknesses you might otherwise ignore. The biggest reward is feeling that you\u2019re growing, both personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Kim](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Fellowship_Finale_13-300x200.jpg\")