The Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has established a for-profit startup accelerator that will leverage the organization’s research, staff expertise, and network to build companies that will positively contribute to New England’s marine industry.

The Ocean Business Accelerator will consist of a portfolio of mission-based, for-profit ventures that the institute will develop in-house to take advantage of private-sector market opportunities, the non-partisan research institute announced earlier this week. Funding for the initiative was provided by a mix of private philanthropic gifts and a $150,000 grant from the Maine Technology Institute.

“This is another way for us to support the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and the communities that depend on it to earn a living,” CEO Don Perkins said in a statement. “We understand the social, cultural, and financial importance of a strong marine economy — and this Ocean Business Accelerator is another tool for us to offer support.”

Blaine Grimes, the institute’s longtime chief development officer, will lead the accelerator program.

“After 14 years of supporting our non-profit mission by building philanthropic support, I’m excited to explore new ways to further our mission,” said Grimes. “We’re focused on identifying and advancing market-based solutions to the challenges we’ve identified through years of research and work with community and industry partners.”

Blaine Grimes will lead GMRI’s new Ocean Business Accelerator.
Grimes, who recently completed a nearly six-year stint on the Maine Venture Fund’s board of directors, will remain employed by the research institute and will mentor and support the development of internally generated ideas for business ventures, some of which may end up as for-profit subsidiaries. Each business venture within the Ocean Business Accelerator will initially be incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the institute, she said. Her role will also be to work with external partners to encourage and enable the evolution of other startups in the space, connect entrepreneurs to capital, and build partnerships and grow opportunities in the marine sector.

When asked if there will be opportunities for outside marine-related startups to participate in the accelerator and gain access to the institute’s resources, Grimes said those types of opportunities would develop over time, but for now the focus is on internal ventures.

“We have a modest pool of charitable dollars that has been contributed specifically to fund this program that will allow us to put management time into understanding the market and allocating some seed money into a select number of internally generated ideas,” Grimes told Maine Startups Insider. “At the same time, our goal is to meet a crucial need that we’ve identified—connecting the dots for other entrepreneurs in the marine and seafood supply chain industries and assist interested investors in understanding and assessing the risks of these type of companies so that more capital is available for all.”

Grimes said while the ventures will all begin as wholly owned subsidiaries of the institute, successful ones could be spun off into independent entities.

“Every one of these businesses will evolve differently,” she said. “But we do expect that some successful companies will likely spin out when they are ready for outside investment.”

In terms of the type of startups that would come out of the accelerator, Grimes wasn’t prepared to share specifics, but said ventures would be in places that move the institute’s mission forward, including in the areas of sustainable seafood, supporting Maine’s marine economy, fisheries, STEM education, and research products.

“We’ve got a few ideas in the hopper now, but it’s premature to share the details about those specific ventures,” she said. “In the coming months we’ll make sure you have a heads up when the businesses are ready to announce.”