This startup wants to eliminate checkout lines, recap of Venture Hall's Demo Day, Novo Biosciences lands $1.5M, Eagre Games raising a round, and more

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Hello, again. I'm back after a rare week off from Maine Startups Insider. I spent the week with my family on Mount Desert Island and had a wonderful time.Â
Before we get to the news, I want to take a moment to thank MSI's newest sustaining member: Johann Sabbath, a senior manager of corporate social social responsibility at IDEXX. Sustaining members help me continue to provide an outlet for news and information about Maine's startup community. If you have the wherewithal, please consider becoming a sustaining member.Â
On to the news...
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This new startup wants to eliminate checkout lines
A new Maine startup wants to eliminate the need for a checkout line at the grocery store, and says it has developed the technology to do it. Blynk Technology in Portland wants to use 3D machine-vision technology to convert the old-fashioned shopping cart into a rolling POS terminal. The company just won Startup South Portland's inaugural pitch contest.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
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Healthcare innovation on display at Venture Hall Demo Day
AI-enabled platforms. Smart needles. Mobile-based healthcare. These were some of the themes pitched by startup founders at Venture Hall’s inaugural Demo Day, held in Portland on Sept. 8. Caitlin Gimlet was there to cover the event for Maine Startups Insider.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>

Darryl Palmer, co-founder of St. Louis-based Janus Choice, which has built an AI platform to match patients with post-acute care providers, presents at Venture Hall Demo Day on Sept. 8. (Photo/Venture Hall)
Novo Biosciences wins $1.5M for drug research
Novo Biosciences has received $1.5 million, via a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health, to continue clinical trials on a drug that could provide humans weith regenerative properties. The drug shows promise at regenerating heart tissue in zebra fish and mice, and this grant will allow the company to continue clinical trials in pigs. Maine Startups Insider recently interviewed CEO Kevin Strange about the company, its drug candidate, and the incredibly hard and risky path drug companies have to traverse to bring a product to market. Also, here's more from Mainebiz on the new grant.
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BostInno looks north with feature on Chimani
BostInno, the tech-focused news website in Boston, published an article this week titled, "What It's Like to Build a Consumer Tech Startup in Maine." The subject? Chimani co-founder and CEO Kerry Gallivan. A few newsworthy details revealed in the article: Chimani is experiencing approximately 5,000 downloads a day of its National Park apps, and it's currently raising another round of financing.Â
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New blood at MCED

The Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development recently welcomed two new board members: Todd Keiller (right), director of intellectual property and innovation at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Brian Whitney, president of the Maine Technology Institute.
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Bring the bus back
After six tours and stops in 26 cities, Steve Case's Rise of the Rest tour is issuing a friendly challenge to all the small and mid-size cities that it visited. The city that garners the most votes will get a repeat visit from Case, the founder of AOL and the VC firm Revolution. The last time he was here he invested $100,000 in Rapport, so everyone please take a moment to vote to bring the bus back to Portland!Â
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Game developer raising funds
Eagre Games in Orono is raising $500,000 in convertible debt, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's CEO did not return an email seeking more details. Eagre Games was founded by Chuck Carter, one of the original developers behind the 90s hit computer game Myst. Carter has spent the last several years developing a new game called Zed.Â
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Inc. magazine features SaviLinx founder Heather Blease
Inc. magazine published a feature on Heather Blease, founder of SaviLinx in Brunswick, with the eye-catching title, "She Lost Everything, Went to Jail, and Now Runs an $11 Million Company." SaviLinx, a call center business, ranked 28th on the recent Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing private companies, posting $11.4 million in 2016 revenue, which represented 9,204% three-year growth.
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MTI seeking grant proposals for Lightning Round
The Maine Technology Institute has issued a request for grant proposals to begin disbursing the $45 million it received as part of the R&D bond initiative that passed in June. MTI anticipates disbursing approximately $20-$25 million in challenge grants this fall. For more details, check out MTI's website.
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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!
+ Launch Security, a cybersecutiy firm in Portland, is hiring a front-end web developer and a UX designer.
+ Guideline Technologies, a venture-backed fintech startup that is headquartered in California but has a dev office in Portland (where CTO Mike Nelson is based), is hiring a senior ruby engineer, a customer success associate, and a product designer. All these positions are full-time, available in the Portland office, and come with the potential for equity in the company, which raised a $7 million Series A last summer.
+ Forager, an early-stage tech startup in Portland with a B2B platform for sourcing local food, is hiring an account manager.Â
+ Pika Energy in Westbrook is hiring a director of electrical engineering.
+ Big Room Studios, a software and web development firm in Portland, is hiring a project manager.Â
+ NBT Solutions in Portland is hiring a geospatial developer to support its VETRO FiberMap product expansion.
+ Academic Merit, an educational software startup in Portland, is hiring a software engineer.
+ 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 full-stack software engineer, among other positions.
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Calendar
NOTE: In an effort to make this calendar of events more accessible, I've created a shareable Google calendar that I hope to keep updated. You can find the calendar here. Feel free to share it. As always, send me your event or calendar item for possible inclusion.Â
Game Hack Night
Tues., Sept. 19 — 7-10 p.m. at Big Room Studios in Portland
Hack Portland hosts Game Hack Night. More details.Â
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