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Ross Clark, owner of Clark Construction in Ridgefield and Maldon Cabinetry in Austin, Texas, showcases his entrepreneurial skills on the fifth season of the reality competition TV show "The Blox."
Contributed photo / Ross Clark
RIDGEFIELD – Along with showcasing his business skills, Ross Clark, owner of Clark Construction in Ridgefield, connected with other entrepreneurs while participating in the fifth season of the reality show “The Blox.”
“I think one of the important things for being a successful entrepreneur is to meet other people and talk to other people that are like-minded,” Clark said. “I think finding people you can relate to and run your ideas past is enormous. The collaboration and emotional support is so massive and so important in being able to grow.”
Created by BetaBlox founder and entrepreneur Weston Bergmann, “The Blox” is a reality competition show for startup business owners and existing entrepreneurs. The show debuted in the summer of 2021.
“The Blox” measures the contestants’ skills through a series of exercises, pitches and tests graded with a point system that accumulates. During a week of filming, the contestants live together, sharing stories and tips for running a successful business.
Beyond promoting their businesses, contestants get an accelerated entrepreneurship education on the show.
The fifth season began airing on the BetaBlox app and on Facebook Watch on Jan. 26.
Clark said he saw “The Blox” on Instagram and thought it sounded interesting. Most contestants selected for the show meet with an associate, but Clark was interviewed by Bergmann.
In one challenge, Clark said Bergmann taught the cast about topics relevant to starting a business. Then, the contestants were then divided into six groups and given 15 minutes to come up with a three-minute business pitch using what they learned.
Clark said he would recommend the “The Blox” experience “a thousand times.”
“For me, it wasn’t about the game,” he said. “For me, it was about the networking. Being an entrepreneur can be really lonely. … I think the biggest takeaway for everyone is we ended up meeting this big group of people that were just like one of us, so overnight I gained a whole group of friends.”
Clark said he’s organizing reunions with his fellow contestants as well as with the show’s alumni.
“It’s just amazing to be able to have the support of like-minded people,” he said. “Beyond that, the information was absolutely excellent.”
His experience on the show also inspired him to rebuild the website for his company, Maldon Cabinetry, and focus on creating environmentally safe, nontoxic cabinetry products, Clark said.
Clark competed on “The Blox” with Maldon Cabinetry, which he started in December 2021 in Austin, Texas.
“When I came out to Austin, I saw a real need for a better cabinet company,” he said. “The quality standards here are different in Connecticut and there’s room for improvement, so I saw an opportunity to bring what I learned and the quality standards in Connecticut and Clark Construction to this area, both in terms of the cabinetry and also the customer service and experience.”
Clark said Maldon Cabinetry came from Maldon Kitchens, the sister company of Clark Construction. Clark’s parents, Gary Clark and Ann Moseley, started Clark Construction in Ridgefield in 1987, and Ross Clark took over the business in 2015.
Clark described Clark Construction as a design build company that does residential renovations and additions, taking clients from “the initial concept” through the project’s completion. The company handles everything from the design and construction to getting the permits and all the materials needed for a project, he said.
“I really like to create things,” Clark said, “and what we do is relatively complicated because we’re working with existing homes. trying to make them function better and a lot of times trying to fix mistakes from people in the past. … We want to make it look like it was that way to begin with – especially with working with antique homes – so that challenge I really enjoy.”
Clark Construction has been fortunate in having “a lot of repeat and referral business,” he said. To date, Clark said the business has tripled in size and he has expanded its operations to Austin.
Clark said his primary residence is Austin, but he regularly goes back and forth between Austin and Ridgefield.
CORRECTION: An original version of this article incorrectly quoted Clark when he referred to the types of business that his company has had. He said the company has had a lot of "repeat" and referral business.