Maine Startup to Watch merges w/ UK company, WEX launches VC arm, MedRhythms gets FDA nod, Maine Startup Challenge returns, and more...
🌧 Good rainy afternoon. This is the 269th edition of Maine Startups Insider. You’re one of 2,516 subscribers interested in keeping tabs on Maine’s startup community and innovation ecosystem.
I’m back after a summer hiatus; apologies for the wait on the next newsletter. Life at a blockchain startup has also not been easy given the current market conditions and fundraising environment. In fact, shameless plug: I’m looking for my next professional opportunity. If you know any companies looking for an awesome strategist & communicator who can help hone a company’s messaging, distill complex topics into easily digestible copy, manage effective PR campaigns, lead strategic partnerships, and help with material to drive sales, please don't be shy! Any leads are appreciated; and personal introductions go a long way!
But enough about me. Let’s get back to all the news and updates from Maine’s startup community I have to share. Here are the three big ones:
MyHealthMath, one of Maine Startups Insiders' 2019 Startups to Watch, has merged with a UK-based company. The deal looks like it will benefit Portland—in fact, a key member of the new combined company is moving to the area!
WEX has launched a VC arm to invest in startups building infrastructure to support commercial adoption of electric vehicles. This is interesting news as, unless I’m mistaken, it’s the company’s first foray into venture investing—though not necessarily its first time talking about it (here’s an article I wrote in 2014).
MedRhythms has received FDA approval for its digital therapeutics device that uses music to help stroke patients improve their ability to walk.
Hope you enjoy.
-Whit
PS - If you don’t already, subscribe to receive this newsletter in your inbox.
/News
MyHealthMath merges with UK company, continues to grow in Portland
MyHealthMath, a Portland-based insurance-tech company, has merged with UK-based Sherpa to create a new company called HYKE.
The two companies first launched a strategic partnership in early 2022. The new entity combines the two companies’ respective products to create a new, comprehensive platform that helps individuals and their employers make more informed decisions around selecting the most cost-effective insurance plans.
MyHealthMath had 17 employees at the time of the merger, including nine in Maine, according to Bob Watterson, MyHealthMath’s founder and CEO.
It was all-stock merger, and MyHealthMath employees had a stock option plan that will transition to the new company, said Watterson, who has stepped into the role of CFO for HYKE.
Sherpa’s former CEO, Chris Kaye, is HYKE’s first CEO. He told MSI that this is a growth-focused merger and the number of U.S. employees has already increased to 23, including three in Portland. In fact, he’s moving to Portland from overseas to oversee the new company.
Read more on MSI’s website »
🙏 MSI is sponsored by Eaton Peabody, a Maine law firm with particular expertise in structuring startup investment transactions—from early seed investment, friends/family and angel investors, through later stage venture capital funding. Meet Jeff, a member of the team.
WEX ventures into EV future with $100M investment fund
WEX, a payments company in Portland and one of Maine’s few publicly traded companies, has launched a new corporate venture arm to invest in startups building the critical back-end infrastructure necessary to drive commercial adoption of electric vehicle fleets.
WEX Venture Capital will invest up to $100 million through 2025 in early-stage startups working on solutions around energy transition, such as fleet electrification and EV charging infrastructure.
Historically focused on growing via internal investment and acquisitions, WEX Venture Capital signals a shift in WEX’s strategy toward investing in and supporting the broader EV ecosystem as the pace of EV adoption reaches an inflection point.
WEX Venture Capital will be led by David Klein, who left his YC-backed startup Parade in June 2022 to join WEX as senior manager of corporate strategy.
Read more on MSI’s website »
MedRhythms gets FDA nod for medical device
MedRhythms has received FDA approval for its digital therapeutics device, which it has named InTandem, which uses music to help improve the ability to walk in adults with chronic stroke walking deficits.
This is a major milestone for the company, which was founded in 2013 by Brian Harris and Owen McCarthy, who were a pair of recent UMaine grads at the time. It’s raised more than $30 million to date to get to this point.
Read more at the Press Herald »
5 Questions about the Maine Startup Challenge with Nina Scheepers, principal at Maine Venture Fund
The Maine Startup Challenge, a business plan competition designed to encourage entrepreneurial thinking across all ages and foster the next generation of Maine entrepreneurs, is returning for its second year.
The competition—organized by Maine Venture Fund—will have four tiers again this year: K-8, High School, College, and the Open tier. Each tier will have two cash prizes with a total prize pool of $19,000.
Ahead of applications opening on Sept. 4, Maine Startups Insider spoke with Nina Scheepers, principal at MVF, about the competition, what she learned from running it the first year, and the importance of fostering entrepreneurship at an early age.
Read the Q&A »
/ Briefly Mentioned
📝 Bite-sized news items from Maine’s startup community and beyond
The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs and FocusMaine have launched FoodTech Maine, a business accelerator program to support Maine-based companies in the agriculture, aquaculture, and food industries.
Dirigo Labs, a startup accelerator in Waterville, has named Jonathan Godbout as its next entrepreneur in residence. Godbout is an entrepreneur who was a member of Dirigo Labs’ first cohort, where he represented Prospector, a startup that uses AI and data analytics to allow investors to better understand the environmental, social, and governance impact of the mining industry.
Dirigo Labs was also the subject of a Mainebiz profile last month.
The Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing private companies includes 14 in Maine, including Portland’s Rarebreed Veterinary Partners, which is 35th on the list with a reported 10,293% increase in revenue from 2019 to 2022. Mainebiz spoke with Rarebreed’s COO about the list. (My annual disclaimer: The Inc. 5,000 is really just a list of the fastest-growing private companies that agreed to provide revenue figures to Inc. magazine.)
IDEXX is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023. As a tribute, its founder David Shaw released the below video that includes a lot of photos from the company’s early years and interviews with early investors and employees.
This edition of MSI is sponsored by Gorham Savings Bank, which is currently accepting applications for its startup pitch competition, LaunchPad. Deadline to apply is 8/24.
/ ICYMI
Local food ecommerce platform Forager acquired by Canadian firm
ReachMyTeach, an edtech startup, wins 2023 Top Gun pitch event
Roux Institute launches Future of Healthcare Founder Residency to boost Maine’s healthtech industry
BlueTrace raises $4.3M to scale its seafood traceability software business
/ Jobs
If you apply for a job you see here, let them know you saw the opportunity in Maine Startups Insider.
📚 Are you a dev who loves books?
If so, LibraryThing is hiring! It's like GoodReads, but for real bibliophiles (like me!).
It's also based in Portland! Tim Spaulding founded it waaaay back in 2005 as the first social book cataloging site. While GoodReads eventually overtook it on the social front, it has survived by diversifying its revenue and creating software to help local libraries get their catalogues online.
If you apply for these jobs, please mention that Whit Richardson referred you as the successful referrer will receive $1k in free books 🤩📚 !
👩🏽💻 full-time developer
https://blog.librarything.com/2023/07/developer-work-from-home/👨🏻💻 full- or part-time systems admin / reliability engineer https://blog.librarything.com/2023/07/job-systems/
+ CourseStorm, a SaaS company building course-registration software, is hiring a senior software engineer.
+ VETRO Inc., a SaaS company in Portland, is looking for a Product Marketing Manager and a Senior Software Engineer, among other roles.
+ The Maine Angels is hiring a part-time Operations and Investment Associate.
+ HighByte, an industrial software startup, is hiring a Software Developer, Sales Engineer, and an Account Executive.
+ Theory and Principle, a legal-tech product design and development startup in Portland, is hiring a Software Project Manager and a Product Manager.
+ KinoTek, a Portland-based digital health startup, is hiring a business development rep.
+ Nearpeer, a Portland-based edtech startup that aims to improve student retention and graduation, is hiring a Director of Marketing and a Sales Director.
+ MedRhythms, a Portland-based digital therapeutics startup, is hiring for several engineering positions, including a Senior Audio Software Engineer, Senior Backend Engineer, Frontend Engineer, and a React Native Developer.
+ Defendify, a cybersecurity startup in Portland, is hiring a Senior Software Engineer (SaaS) and a Sales Development Rep.
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!
/ Calendar
Robot Hack Night
Tues., Aug. 22, 7-10 p.m. — Big Room Studios in Portland (BRS’ new office is 30 Danforth St #105)
Application deadline for Gorham Savings Bank’s LaunchPad
Aug. 24, 5 p.m.
Application deadline for Gulf of Maine Ventures’ BlueTech Boost
Sept. 1, 12 p.m.
Application deadline to pitch Maine Angels
Sept. 6
Roux Institute’s Future of Healthcare Founder Residency Venture Showcase
Sept. 11, 4-7:30 p.m. — Roux Institute in Portland
Startup Boston Week
Sept. 11-15 — Suffolk University in Boston
BioME Annual Conference 2023
Sept. 21, 2-7 p.m. — USM in Portland
Startup Maine ClimateTech Happy Hour
Wed., Sept. 27, 5-7 p.m. — Foundation Brewing
Roux Institute’s Healthcare Innovation Start Summit
Sept. 29-30 — UNE’s Innovation Hall in Portland
Roux Institute’s Workforce Innovation Start Summit
Oct. 20-21 — UNE’s Harold Alfond Forum in Biddeford
Blue Venture Investment Summit
Nov. 9 — Portland
The Maine Space Conference
Nov. 5-7 — Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland