By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Can Westport become Silicon Valley East?

Yes, says a group of technology entrepreneurs, investors and officials — including First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker — organized with the goal of helping the town become “the number-one spot for technology startups in the Northeast outside of New York and Boston.”

That’s the view of Stefano Pacifico, one of the founders of “Startup Westport,” a new technology initiative, as he introduced the project to more than 100 people gathered at the Westport Library on Thursday evening. Pacifico, a Westport resident, is the CEO of Epistemic AI, a nonprofit “next generation” search engine for life sciences and biotechnics.

“Ten or 20 years down the road, there’s no reason Westport can’t be another Silicon Valley,” Matt Gorin, co-founder of Contour Venture Partners and the keynote speaker, told the crowd. 

“We have so many ingredients here in Westport,” he said including investors, technology companies and workers, and a creative spirit. “Seeds of the ecosystem are beginning to sprout.”

Startup Westport was born when Pacifico and Cliff Sirlin, both Westport residents, approached Tooker for town support for a “tech initiative” to bring together local technology companies and others interested in technology. When the founding group grew to include five other members, the first networking event was planned to introduce the concept.

When Jay Norris, one of the group’s organizers and a speaker at the gathering, took an informal poll of the audience, he found that about 95 percent were Westport residents, 90 percent had been involved in startup ventures and 80 percent were investors.

“We need to come together in a meaningful way,” said Norris, a Westport resident who is the CEO and founder of Guesst Software, a company that leases software to retail property owners and tenants.

The networking event in the library’s Trefz Forum attracted people of various ages, mostly men, but some women, circulating throughout the room meeting and talking to others.

Among those attending was Troy Rambo, CEO of Smart Homes Westport, a company that installs residential and commercial security systems. He was introduced to Startup Westport by Police Chief Foti Koskinas and came to the event “to network and brainstorm with people,” he said.

Elizabeth Shoup of Westport was there because her daughter is “a data scientist in an energy-related startup … I wanted to learn a little about her world,” she said.

And Tucker Peters, a junior at Staples High School, came to the networking event “to bounce some ideas off more experienced people.” 

Among the initiative’s future goals, Tooker said, is to provide internship and educational opportunities in technology for Staples students.

“There’s a lot of talent in this community,” said Peter Propp, a Startup Westport organizer and senior vice president of sales and marketing for Knock Media, a user experience agency with TED Talks and Yale University as clients.

One of the group’s goals is “to bring in more companies and more jobs,” he said. “There’s a broad array of people in Westport. You need people with ideas and people with capital to invest.”

Startup Westport plans a larger event June 13 at La Plage restaurant at the Inn at Longshore. The organization also has posted a mailing list at its website. 

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.