LePage wants $500K/year to go to Maine Venture Fund, a conversation w/ Nikhil Vadhavkar of Raptor Maps, entrepreneurs testify in Augusta, and more...

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March 3, 2017
By Whit Richardson (@whit_richardson)

Welcome to a late edition of Maine Startups Insider.

Back in January I reported on Gov. Paul LePage's proposal to cut state funding for the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Target Technology Incubator and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center. I was remiss to not mention in the same article that the governor's budget would also provide for the first time annual funding for the Maine Venture Fund, the state's venture capital fund.

I cover that in the below article, plus offer an update on the incubator funding after a public hearing took place on Wednesday in Augusta (keep scrolling for links to relevant testimony). 
 

LePage proposes $500K annual appropriation for Maine Venture Fund

Tucked away in the proposed biennial budget Gov. Paul LePage released in January is an initiative to provide $500,000 a year to the Maine Venture Fund, a quasi-state entity that operates like a professional venture capital firm. This is important since MVF has never had a consistent source of funding as it invests in Maine startups.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
 

Founder Forum

Nikhil Vadhavkar of Raptor Maps

In early 2015, Nikhil Vadhavkar and some fellow graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had an idea for a company that would use drones to help farmers collect real-time, actionable data about their crop acreages. Two years later—after winning $100,000 at the 25th MIT Entrepreneurship Competition, conducing pilot projects in Aroostook County, and securing a coveted spot in Y Combinator—Vadhavkar and his co-founder have gained traction with Raptor Maps, which is based in Boston, but received a $25,000 seed grant from the Maine Technology Center in February 2016 because it has an office in Van Buren. 

In an interview with Maine Startups Insider, Vadhavkar shares his experiences building Raptor Maps and attending Y Combinator, discusses why the company pivoted from focusing on hardware to software, and why an entrepreneur should do more research before building a product.

Read the Q&A with Nikhil Vadhavkar >>

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Entrepreneurial testimony

The aforementioned public hearing that took place in Augusta this week attracted several entrepreneurs who testified both in favor of the proposed funding for the Maine Venture Fund and in opposition to the proposed loss of funding for MCED, Target Technology and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center. Here's a list of relevant testimony:

• Tom Rainey, executive director of MCED, in opposition to the loss of his organization's funding

• Rainey's testimony in favor of Maine Venture Fund's funding

• Brian Rahill, CEO of CourseStorm, in opposition to the loss of MCED and Target Technology funding

• Mike Sobol, CEO of Venture Hall, in opposition to the loss of MCED funding

• Becky McKinnell, CEO of iBec Creative and COO of ikno Intranet, in opposition to the loss of MCED funding

• Chris Davis, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, in opposition to the loss of his organization's state funding

• Dan Mingle, CEO of Mingle Analytics, in support of Maine Venture Fund's funding

• Ben Polito, CEO of Pika Energy, in favor of Maine Venture Fund's funding

• Bob Neveu, CEO of Certify, in favor of Maine Venture Fund's funding

• John Burns, managing director of Maine Venture Fund, in opposition to the loss of MCED funding

Briefly mentioned...

+ Don't forget Venture Hall is now accepting applications for its summer accelerator program for healthcare-related startups.  

+ Good To-Go, the Kittery-based dehydrated gourmet meal brand, has won Backpacker magazine's Editors’ Choice award for the second time in the brands’ three-year history.
  

Calendar

Send me your event or calendar item for possible inclusion.

Wed., March 8 — Maine Accelerates Growth hosts the State of the Ecosystem event, which will be a recap of everything that happened in Maine's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in 2016, and offer glimpses of what to expect in 2017. 5-8pm at Cloudport CoWorking at 63 Federal St. in Portland. For more details and to register.

Tues., March 21 — Applications close for Venture Hall's inaugural summer accelerator program focused on healthcare-focused startups. Here are the details.

Thurs., March 23 — Maine Startup & Create Week hosts it's now-annual event in Boston. 6-9 p.m. at Steelcase's showroom in Boston. Tell your Boston friends. For more details and to register.
   

Jobs

Seeking a full-stack engineer? A technical co-founder? A sales or biz dev superstar? Send me your job postings to make this a great resource!

+ WEX is hiring a summer intern for its innovation and strategy team. More details.

+ MedRhythms is hiring a data engineer and music algorithm engineer in Portland. Both positions pay $50k-$80k and come with the potential for equity. More details on AngelList.

+ BlueTarp Financial in Portland is hiring a senior software engineer.

+ Wellomics, a science-based natural product developer operating out of the University of New England's School of Pharmacy, is seeking a CEO to help finish the launch of the company. The CEO will be responsible for the conceptualization, development and implementation of Wellomics’ corporate vision, programs, and services. Contact Suzanne@wellomics.com for more information.

+ Academic Merit, an educational software startup in Portland, is hiring a software engineer and a head of product design.

+ Coria, a Maine-based data science and marketing consulting firm, is currently seeking an experienced UX developer with Axure experience to join its team. To apply, or for more information, send CEO John Hobart an email at jhobart@coria.com.

+ Flyte New Media, a digital marketing agency in Portland, is hiring a WordPress developer.

+ Environetix Technology Corp., a wireless sensor manufacturer in Orono, is hiring a RF engineer/RF technician.

+ Dream Local Digital in Rockland is hiring for a host of positions.

+ Likeable Local is hiring a "customer success associate" in its Portland office.

+ Vets First Choice still has job listings for several positions at its Portland office, from a UX/UI design to a director of e-commerce.

+ CashStar is hiring a full-stack software engineer, among other positions.
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