Techstars picks two Maine startups & two startups close funding rounds
☀️ Good afternoon!
I hope you’ll forgive me for the extended wait since my last newsletter. The last several weeks I’ve been laser focused on my new job!
I’m excited to share that I joined a startup full-time leading communications and marketing! The company is called Darkblock, which is building web3 tools to enable content creators to leverage blockchain technology to control the distribution and monetization of their content without relying on centralized platforms. I shared the news earlier this month in a LinkedIn post. I’m passionate about blockchain tech and the web3 movement, so am very excited to have the opportunity to dedicate my time and attention to building the future of permissionless content delivery and monetization.
While I’m leaving consulting behind (though Brickyard will continue under the watch of my partners in the firm), my intention is to continue to publish Maine Startups Insider and provide it as a resource for our startup community. The consistency and amount of original reporting may be affected, though.
Reminder there are two notable items on today’s calendar:
Today is the last day to apply for the Maine Startup Challenge, a business plan competition hosted by Maine Venture Fund. There are four tiers—K-8, High School, College, and Open—so there are opportunities for people of all ages to explore entrepreneurship. Apply here.
This afternoon (starting now!) is the Roux Institute’s first Venture Showcase, which will feature final pitches from the nine startups graduating from the Roux’s 2022 Founder Residency, as well as keynote speeches from high-profile entrepreneurs and local leaders. It’ll also be an opportunity to meet the founders from the Techstars accelerator’s new class. RSVP here.
Okay, lots to get through today, so let’s dive in. Here’s what's covered in this edition:
Two Maine startups selected for new Techstars class
Defendify and RockStep Solutions both close new financing rounds
Dirigo Labs opens up apps for second cohort
UMaine opens new $78 million engineering center that will add the capacity for 600 additional engineering students.
What is gourmet food magazine Saveur doing covering pumpspotting, which has developed an app-based lactation support platform for working moms?
Keep creating, keep innovating, keep curious.
-Whit Richardson
/ News
Two Maine companies selected for the new Techstars Roux accelerator
The Roux Institute Techstars Accelerator’s second class officially got underway last week.
Two of the 10 companies selected in a very competitive application process are from Maine: Torque and hey freya.
Torque — in its own words since its solution is a bit too technical for me to explain simply — “is a self-service tool to build, run, deploy, and evolve entire software systems with a single command. The self-service tool requires no direct DevOps intervention for day-to-day operations.”
hey freya is an early-stage women’s wellness company that produces high-quality, evidence-based solutions for women at every life stage.
You can read the full announcement on the Techstars’ website, including an overview of the eight additional startups that will spend the next 13 weeks working out of the Roux Institute in Portland.
🙏 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 Jen Baroletti, a member of the team.
Defendify closes $3.35M in new financing
Defendify, a cybersecurity startup in Portland, has raised $3.35 million in new financing.
The company said it will use the funding to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, product development, and team expansion. Maine Venture Fund led the round.
Despite the pandemic, Defendify says its business has grown significantly over the past year, adding “thousands of customers” across 60 counties and doubling its team size.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider »
RockStep Solutions raises $5.3M in equity financing
RockStep Solutions, an early-stage company in Portland developing laboratory-management software for the life sciences industry, recently closed a $5.3 million Series A round.
The company plans to use the fresh capital to invest in product development, market expansion and continued workforce growth, according to Mainebiz.
The identity of the investors was not released, but its Form D claims eight investors were involved in the round.
The company raised $2 million just last year. At that time, CEO Chuck Donnelly told MSI that it had 13 full-time employees. Today, the company employs 23 people in Portland, with plans to add 20 more positions in the next 12 months, Mainebiz reported.
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/ Briefly Mentioned
🚀 Dirigo Labs, the Waterville-based startup accelerator program, has opened applications for its second cohort, which is scheduled to begin in January. News Center Maine also covered the news.
🔬 Mainebiz profiled five startups looking to disrupt healthcare. The five startups include Group B Labs (which is based in Seattle, but was an inaugural member of the Roux Institute Techstars Accelerator), JotLogs, WAVED Medical, hey freya, and Play Portal.
🎓 The University of Maine has opened a new $78 million engineering center. The center houses the school’s mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering programs, and includes a STEM outreach center. The facility has the capacity to add 600 students per year to UMaine’s engineering program, which last fall included 1,888 undergraduates and 190 graduate students. Mainebiz has more.
🍼 Pumpspotting, a Kittery-based startup that’s developed an app-based lactation support platform for working moms, recently launched an initiative to make its resources more readily available to women working in the restaurant industry. The initiative was launched in partnership with Kalamata Kitchen, The LEE Initiative, and Resy. Saveur covered the news.
🏃♂️ Joey Spitz, chief operating officer for Kinotek, sat down for a Q&A with Mainebiz that covered his background, his responsibilities at Kinotek, and where he sees the company in 10 years.
😓 Mainebiz published an article about how founders manage the mental strain of entrepreneurship. The reporter spoke with a few founders, including Helkin Berg, co-founder and CEO of hey freya, and Nick Rimsa, founder of Tortoise Labs.
/ ICYMI
Here are some recent articles from Maine Startups Insider you may have missed:
Finetune, a Maine Venture Fund portfolio company, is acquired
Roux Institute accepts five companies for its second 2022 Founder Residency program
bluShift Aerospace wins Dirigo Labs’ inaugural pitch competition, selects launch site
/ Classifieds
✅ Have a product you want to sell online but don't know where to begin? Launching an innovative product but don't know how to market it? Already have an Amazon listing, but it’s not getting the job done? Brickyard Collective, a DTC product lab and growth marketing firm in Portland, is actively looking to partner with entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses. Get in touch for a free consultation.
Have a product or service and want to reach Maine's startup community? Purchase one or more classified ads for $25 each.
/ Jobs
If you apply for a job you see here, let them know you saw the opportunity in Maine Startups Insider.
+ CourseStorm, an Orono-based EdTech startup, is hiring a Software Engineering Manager, among other positions.
+ Nearpeer, a Portland-based edtech startup that aims to improve student retention and graduation, is hiring a Director of Marketing and a Sales Director.
+ The Roux Institute at Northeastern University is hiring a Director of its new Future of Healthcare Founder Residency program.
+ Two Sigma Impact, a “financial sciences” company with offices in New York and Portland, is hiring a Technical Operating Senior Associate.
+ MedRhythms, a Portland-based digital therapeutics startup, is hiring for several engineering positions, including a Senior Audio Software Engineer.
+ Constant, a Portland-based fintech SaaS startup, is hiring a full-stack developer and a junior QA engineer.
+ HighByte, an industrial software startup, is hiring a Sales Development Rep.
+ ElleVet Sciences, which sells CBD products for pets, is hiring for several roles.
+ Defendify, a cybersecurity startup in Portland, is hiring a SaaS Software Engineer.
+ Theory and Principle, a legal-tech product design and development startup in Portland, is hiring a UI/UX Designer.
+ VETRO Inc., a SaaS company in Portland, is looking for a Senior Software Engineer, among other roles.
+ Guideline, the fintech company with offices in California, Texas, and Portland, is hiring for several software engineering positions.
+ AskGMS, a Portland-based company that provides benchmarking and data analysis tools to the insurance industry, is hiring a full-stack developer.
+ Arkatechture, a Portland-based company that provides business intelligence and data analytics services, is hiring for a host of positions.
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
First Annual Roux Institute Venture Showcase
Fri., Sept. 30, 1:30 p.m. — Roux Institute in Portland
The first-of-its-kind event will feature final pitches from the nine startups graduating from the Roux’s 2022 Founder Residency, keynote speeches from high-profile entrepreneurs and local leaders, and updates from the Roux’s portfolio companies—who have collectively raised $18 million in funding over the past 24 months. RSVP here.
Blockchain Maine Meetup
Wed., Oct. 19, 5-7 p.m. — Cloudport CoWorking in Portland
A monthly meetup for those interested in all things blockchain. This event will kick-off with some show-and-tell: Jeremy Sahlman and Whit Richardson, part of the team building Darkblock, will share how their company is enabling creators to control the distribution and monetization of their content via NFTs with unlockable content, and lead a discussion about the future of NFTs and how web3 will revolutionize the creator economy. MSI co-hosts this meetup. RSVP here.
Maine Startup Challenge Showcase Event
Oct. 26, 4-5:30 p.m. — Roux Institute in Portland
The Maine Venture Fund hosts the showcase event for the Maine Startup Challenge, a business-plan competition to encourage participation and entrepreneurial thinking across all ages. The challenge has four tiers—K-8, High School, Collegiate and Open—and this event will provide an opportunity to celebrate the winners in each tier and allow them to share their business plan with the community. RSVP here.
Please send me your event or calendar item for possible inclusion.