[Editor’s Note: Carlo DiCelico is a cofounder of Minnow, an IoT food pickup outpost startup, and lives in Portland.]
When my family and I moved to Maine from Brooklyn nearly five years ago, we were attracted to Maine’s natural beauty and sense of community. Personally, I was guided by a perception that Maine is a place that values hard work, fair deals, and open minds.
Since then, I’ve seen things in the business community that excite me as an entrepreneur—commitment to the environment, desire to support traditional industries and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and deep appreciation for community, crafts, and the arts. Maine has also had a number of important entrepreneurial successes in that time, a couple of which I was fortunate enough to see firsthand as works in progress.
However, I’ve seen things that concern me, too—lack of diversity, a dearth of mentorship, lethargic activity, loss of business, scandal, and some interesting working-age population trends. I began to feel that the barriers to entry for building a business in Maine could be too high for someone “from away,” and that any rewards from doing so—in terms of both impact and prosperity—could be too low. When I spoke with other people in the community about my worries, I found I wasn’t alone. In one conversation, frustrated and unsure what, if anything, could be done, I threw up my hands and asked: “Why would anyone want to start a business in Maine?”
Last week at Startup Maine, I got my answer.
The three-day event kicked off on Wednesday with the 2019 Women Angels in Training: An Experiential Investment Workshop and following that, the Kickoff Keynote at Aura. I didn’t attend either myself, but they both piqued my curiosity. I managed to catch the second half of Thursday’s keynote with Del Johnson which—among other things—looked at diversity issues with unflinching openness.
These three events and their timing struck me as strategic, direct, and intended to set the tone for this year’s Startup Maine with a bold and unequivocal statement that Maine’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is open to all. From my perspective, it worked, so I dove in, looking for the substance beneath the message.
Over the next two days, I attended workshops and talks on a wide range of topics including a crash course in how angels look at deals, how to market and run a crowdfunding campaign, financial modeling, how to play your way through problems with LEGO, a guided tour through resources available to Maine entrepreneurs, and how to apply the Lean Startup methodology to your branding.
There was so much valuable content that I had trouble deciding what to attend at least four times. I filled nearly a third of my notebook with notes and spent part of each evening doing follow-up research online. The event that moved me the most was How to Help People, Make Money, and Maybe Even Save the Planet, where I learned about the amazing team of people and work behind Fikiria and Threads of Hope, and the incredible story of Old Port Wool and Textile Company.
Most of the events were led by or included female speakers and several of them were led by or included speakers not originally from Maine, underscoring the message I picked up on earlier. Additionally, at least one of the resources-oriented workshops I attended covered information applicable to family-owned and lifestyle SMBs, making it clear that they were included, too.
The overall feeling was welcoming, focused, and active. It felt comfortably packed, with several events being standing room only, and everywhere I looked, there were women, people of color, and people from a wide range of age groups learning from and connecting with each other and longtime Maine entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors.
Seeing so many experienced entrepreneurs willing to meet people where they are in their entrepreneurial journey and help them get a little further down the path was magical and humbling. I came away from this year’s Startup Maine feeling inspired, informed, and plugged in, and most importantly, convinced that there’s a seat at the table for me and anyone else who wants to join the community.
It’s obvious that the volunteers behind Startup Maine are starting up themselves. They put in the hard work it takes to know their customer, craft a vision, and test, measure, and iterate their way to validation. The results speak for themselves. For me, they say, “If you’re ready to embrace Maine, Maine is ready to embrace you back.”
If you, like me, have ever asked the question, “Why would anyone want to start a business in Maine?”, I would pose a different one to you now—Why would anyone want to start a business anywhere else?
