Inside this week's Maine Startups Insider
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Hello, loyal readers. Welcome to the 79th edition of Maine Startups Insider.
I'd like to begin by thanking MSI's newest sustaining member: Jason Harkins, an associate professor of entrepreneurship at UMaine, co-founder of CoVort (Bangor’s new coworking space), and a board member of UpStart Maine (the nonprofit working to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Bangor region). Sustaining members help me keep this newsletter going. Interested in joining Jason in becoming a sustaining member?
Onto some news...
Three major pitch events happened this week: Launchpad, the Top Gun Showcase event, and Greenlight Maine's season finale, which was taped at a live event at Thomas College in Waterville. In total, $160,000 was on the table.
For the tl;dr people, Good To-Go won Launchpad, Thrivant Health won Top Gun, and the winner of Greenlight Maine will be revealed when it airs on June 17 (shhhh....it was the blueberry wine company).
Animal health startup emerges as Top Gun winner
"The product I’m about to share with you could be one of the great innovations in animal welfare." This was how Michael Royals, CEO of Thrivant Health, which has developed a humane, non-invasive sterilization method to address the global public health crisis of rising street-dog populations, introduced his Portland-based startup during his pitch on Wednesday evening. The judges didn't think he was using hyperbole, selecting Thrivant Health as the winner of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development's Top Gun Showcase event and its $10,000 prize.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
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Good To-Go wins Launchpad, $50K prize
In its second time on the finals stage in as many years, Good To-Go took home top honors at the fifth annual Launchpad startup pitch competition. The Kittery-based company, which makes gourmet dehydrated meals for the outdoorsy types, plans to use the $50,000 prize to buy a second dehydrator.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
LePage signs bill into law expanding MTI's scope
Gov. Paul LePage late last week signed into law a bill that expands the Maine Technology Institute’s mandate and gives it tacit approval to take over funding for the state’s three business incubators.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
$50M R&D bond on the ballot Tuesday
Vote! Do your civic duty and get to your polling station on Tuesday. On the ballot is a $50 million R&D bond that will recapitalize the Maine Technology Asset Fund ($45 million of the bond) and provide further funding ($5 million) to the Maine Venture Fund, Maine's quasi-state venture capital firm.
Here's more detail on the bond from the Portland Press Herald, and here's an opinion piece from Chuck Lawton about why you should vote "yes."
Here's the exact language on the ballot: “Do you favor a $50,000,000 bond issue to provide $45,000,000 in funds for investment in research, development and commercialization in the State to be used for infrastructure, equipment and technology upgrades that enable organizations to gain and hold market share, to increase revenues and to expand employment or preserve jobs for Maine people, to be awarded through a competitive process to Maine-based public and private entities, leveraging other funds in a one-to-one ratio and $5,000,000 in funds to create jobs and economic growth by lending to or investing in small businesses with the potential for significant growth and strong job creation?”
Maine Startup and Create Week
There's a lot to look forward to at Maine Startup and Create Week, but I wanted to call out a few specific events I'm looking forward to.
Battle Decks
Tues., June 20, 6:45-8 p.m.
Portland House of Music, 25 Temple St. in Portland
Come compete in or watch some Powerpoint Karaoke—aka BattleDecks—which Wikipedia describes as “an improvisational activity in which a participant must deliver a presentation based on a set of slides that they have never seen before." Challenge—and display—your nimble wit and mental dexterity in a fun and surprising competition with other smart, creative types.
MTI TechWalk
Wed., June 21, 4:30-7 p.m.
Westin Portland Harbourview Hotel
Meet Maine entrepreneurs, investors and innovators for this unique networking opportunity as over 45 companies exhibit their products and services that they have successfully brought to market.
Closing Party and Ocean Cruise
Fri., June 23, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
What better way to cap off the week than with a two-hour cruise around Casco Bay with old and new friends alike.
Briefly Mentioned
+ Gelato Fiasco has raised about half of a $1 million offering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Here's the company's Form D. Joshua Davis, Gelato Fiasco's CEO, told Mainebiz the purpose of the round is to grow the company to the $20 million range in 2018.
+ Interested in a career as a software developer? This is your last chance to sign up for Code School's introductory full-day courses taking place this weekend in Waterville (on Saturday) and Portland (on Sunday). Code School is offered by Venture Hall, in partnership with Code Fellows, Thomas College, and Project>Login. More details and to register.
+ In keeping with the coding theme, the Maine Charitable Mechanics Association has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Maine Kids Code, a new program dedicated to expanding access to computer science for middle school students. The organization, whose board is chaired by Sam Mateosian of Big Room Studios, is looking to hire staff, create marketing materials, and purchase the necessary supplies and technology to get the program off the ground.
+ Backyard Farms, the greenhouse-tomato producer founded in Madison 10 years ago, has been sold to a Canadian company for an undisclosed sum. Mainebiz has more.
Deep Blue Design, the company behind the Pakpod (the versatile camera/smartphone tripod you see in the photo), received this week the New Product of the Year award from the Manufacturers Association of Maine. Steve Underwood, the inventor behind Deep Blue Design, launched Pakpod on Kickstarter, raising $123,937 from 1,058 backers in November 2015.
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!
+ CourseStorm is looking for a software engineer. Bangor-based is preferable, but the company is open to a remote worker if the right candidate was to come along.
+ Rapport is looking to hire a Ruby/SQL developer in Portland.
+ BetterLesson, a Cambridge-based edtech startup, is hiring for a few sales and marketing positions. The right person does not need to be based in Boston, according to BetterLesson's Chief Revenue Officer, Betsy Peters, who lives in Freeport. The company is hiring a Director of Sales, Director of Marketing, and an Inside Sales Account Executive.
+ Think Tank is hiring a full-time operations manager for its Portland co-working location.
+ Certify in Portland is hiring a full-stack developer and several sales and marketing positions.
+ NBT Solutions in Portland is hiring a geospatial developer, a technical SaaS sales lead, a GIS analyst and a marketing programs coordinator to support its VETRO FiberMap product expansion.
+ BlueTarp Financial in Portland is hiring an engineering manager.
+ Academic Merit, an educational software startup in Portland, is hiring a software engineer.
+ 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.
+ 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 UX designer and full-stack software engineer, among other positions.
Calendar
Send me your event or calendar item for possible inclusion.
Sat., June 10 — Code School offers an introductory Code 101 course for those interested in software development. The full-day class costs $93.83 and takes place at Thomas College in Waterville. More details and to register.
Sun., June 11 — Code School offers an introductory Code 101 course for those interested in software development. The full-day class costs $93.83 and takes place at Cloudport in Portland. More details and to register.
Tues., June 13 — Thomas College hosts the second event in its Entrepreneur Speaker Series. Chris Voynik, founder of Wag Rags and a 2014 Thomas College grad, will speak about his path to becoming an entrepreneur. 6-7:30 p.m. in Waterville. More information.
June 19-23 — Maine Startup and Create Week is back. A week full of panels, speakers, networking and other special events celebrating entrepreneurship and innovation in Maine. More details.
Wed., June 21 — The Maine Technology Institute hosts TechWalk 2017 in conjunction with Maine Startup and Create Week. Meet Maine entrepreneurs, investors and innovators as more than 45 companies exhibit their products and services they've successfully brought to market. 4:30-7 p.m. at the Westin Portland Harbourview Hotel in Portland. More details.
Fri., June 23 — Maine Startup and Create Week, in partnership with Project>Login, is hosting a tech sector job fair that is free and open to the public (meaning you don't need to have a ticket for MSCW to attend). The event, which is sponsored by WEX, takes place from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Maine College of Art. More than 15 Maine companies will be participating. To see the list of companies and register.
Tues., June 27 — The Maine Technology Institute hosts a workshop on accessing federal funds for R&D from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Small Business Innovation Research program. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the USDA Rural Development office at 967 Illinois Ave. in Bangor. More details and to register.
June 27-30 — Field Guide is a four-day immersive program in the fundamentals of design thinking. It's held at Gould Academy in Bethel. More details.
Fri., June 30 — Social Media Breakfast Maine hosts a special event where entrepreneurs can get their marketing and branding questions answered by experts. 7:30-10 a.m. at Portland's Masonic Temple on Congress Street. Tickets are $14. More info and to register.
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