Since the pandemic struck in the U.S., many downtown businesses in Westport were forced to close or re-invent themselves. One that kept its doors open was Connectalent.

It aims to connect “skilled professionals with employers who value work/life balance,” dealing mostly with parents re-entering the workforce.

Connectalent was started two years ago by Jasmine Silver and Runa Kanpp – two former professionals who wanted to help mothers find careers.

"Once the summer hit, we started getting more and more jobs and we felt really confident that we were able to make it through a pandemic,” said Silver.

"You want to get back into what you were really good at and what you're passionate about. That's so important for these mothers to have careers as well."

The company says almost 80% of its clients are mothers reentering the workforce.