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š Good afternoon. Welcome to the 209th edition of Maine Startups Insider. You’re one of 1,999 people (so close to 2k!) who receive this newsletter.
I sent my last newsletter on May 26, the day after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, which was caught on video and sparked nationwide protests. A lot has happened since then and, to be honest, when I began thinking about sending out my next newsletter, I wasn’t sure whether I should mention the nationwide protests or not. It’s a question anyone with a platform has probably faced. I considered just going about the business of writing my newsletter and ignoring the current state of affairs (i.e., the easy route). After all, you subscribed because you want to keep tabs on Maine’s startup community, not to hear what I have to say about racism in America, right? But no one benefits from ignoring the bigger conversations going on around us, and the real issues driving those discussions. We don’t operate in a vacuum and these discussions impact even Maine’s startup community.
Racism still exists in this country, and in Maine, as well. There’s no question this is true. Racism is an evil we should all fight to abolish. I started writing an extended diatribe about how George Floyd’s death wasn’t the sole cause for the protests, but just the final domino after generations of racial discrimination helped create the conditions for today’s racial tensions (e.g., the GI Bill is credited with creating the Middle Class in America, but its benefits were largely unavailable to the 1.2 million black veterans who returned from World War II ā think about what effect that has on the gaps we see today in generational wealth and education levels between white and black communities #KnowYourHistory). But I’m trying to keep this brief, so the tl;dr is that I support the Black Lives Matter movement in its mission to raise awareness of racism, force people (yes, you) to confront it, and hopefully spur action to combat it.
Here’s why these larger issues matter to Maine’s startup community. We live in one of the whitest states in the nation (Maine ranked #2 behind Vermont, according to the 2010 Census), so it’s no surprise our startup community also lacks diversity. This lack of diversity in our community, in our companies, in our teams, has an impact on what we’re building and how we build it. Take market testing. We lack a representative cross section of America in which to test our products, so entrepreneurs are forced to either a) accept gaps in their understanding of how the products will perform outside Maine, or b) go outside the state to conduct market testing. Diverse teams bring differing perspectives and unique experiences to product development, which makes for better products. They help avoid groupthink. They drive more innovation. If you care about these things, you should care about encouraging more participation by members of the black community and other minority groups in our ecosystem (see the Hack.Diversity opportunity below). And we should kick racism’s ass in Maine to make it a more attractive place for people who don’t identify as white.
The out-of-sight-out-of-mind nature of the issue of race in Maine have provided an easy excuse to avoid these conversation altogether. I won’t use that excuse any more and will use my platform to encourage and celebrate diversity in our innovation ecosystem.
Keep building, keep innovating, keep curious.
-Whit Richardson
/ News
StartupĀ focused on supporting breastfeeding moms raises seed round amidst COVID-19
Pumpspotting, a Kittery-based startup developing software platform to help breastfeeding moms at home and work, has raised more than a half million dollars in its first seed round as investors began to recognize its value in meeting the new and challenging needs of working moms in a post-COVID-19 workforce.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
MSI is sponsored by Preti Flaherty
Host a Hack.Diversity intern this summer, remotely
Looking for a remote intern this summer? Hack.Diversity, a program of the New England Venture Capital AssociationĀ that finds internships for students who predominantly identify as Black or Latinx and are pursuing careers in software engineering, IT, and data analytics, is looking for some more tech companies to accept remote interns this summer.
The program usually places its interns at tech companies in the Boston innovation community, but because of COVID-19, several companies have dropped out, leaving some Hack.Diversity students without internships this summer. Because most internships are happening remotely anyway, Maine Startups Insider reached out to the program director to see if Portland-area tech companies could participate in the program this summer. The answer was an enthusiastic “Yes.”
If interested in accepting a remote intern for the summer, please contactĀ Caitlin HodgeĀ and mention you heard about the opportunity through Maine Startups Insider. It would be awesome if our startup community offered up a bunch of internships to the program as a way to perhaps convince NEVCA to look into how to permanently include Portland in its Hack.Diversity program.
MedRhythms wins FDA fast-track approval for medical device
MedRhythms, a digital therapeutics and medical-device startup in Portland, on Monday received Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its patented digital therapeutic device that help patients suffering from stroke-induced walking deficits to regain mobility. TheĀ FDA grants Breakthrough Device designationsĀ to technologies that have the potential to provide a more effective treatment or diagnosis for life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
Survey:Ā Are you remote working from Maine?
There’s no doubt COVID-19 has accelerated the trend toward remote work, something that benefits Maine since it’s a great place to live. To try to measure the impacts, Live and Work in Maine,Ā a nonprofit dedicated to helping attract and retain talented people in Maine, is asking people who are remote working in Maine to fill out a survey that will help us better understand this trend.
Fill out the survey >>
Maine inventor helped design SpaceX’s new spacesits used in its historic Crew Dragon mission
š If you watchedĀ SpaceX send two NASA astronauts into space aboard the historic Crew Dragon mission, you may have noticed the new futuristic space suits Bob and Doug were wearing. A key member of the SpaceX team responsible for designing those suits was Peter Homer, an aeronautical engineer who lives in Southwest Harbor. Homer, founder of Flagsuit LLC, had won two NASA competitions in 2007 and 2009 for designing a new space suit glove design before he joined the SpaceX team in 2013 to help incorporate his glove technology into the design of the entire suit.Ā Mainebiz has more.
/ Briefly Mentioned
š The Portland Press HeraldĀ published an articleĀ about how some startups are faring during the pandemic. Two tech startups are featured: KinoTek and HighByte. Interestingly, the article failed to note any of the news I have covered about startups finding success in raising capital amid the pandemic (e.g., VETRO Inc., MedRhythms, and now Pumpspotting).
š§µĀ Greenlight Maine completed its fifth season via a virtual finale. Erin Flett, a Gorham-based textile designer,Ā won the $100,000 award.
š York IE, the Manchester, N.H.-based VC firm that recently invested in two Maine startups (DefendifyĀ and VETRO Inc.), has launched a newĀ startup-services practiceĀ to help startups looking to scale with market and product strategy, business growth strategy, and marketing and communications.
š The Roux Institute at Northeastern University will be housed, at least for the short-term, in an office building owned by WEX that’s still under construction on the Eastern Waterfront adjacent to WEX’s headquarters.Ā Here’s more from the Press Herald.
š„£ Two Waterville startupsāEasy Eats and Sklazaāreceived software development grants from the Maine Technology Institute to support their expansions across Maineās college campuses, according to Mainebiz.
š” Introspective Systems has rebranded as Dynamic Grid to better reflect its focus on the energy sector and, more specifically, developing the systems architecture for managing microgrids.
/ Jobs
If you apply for a job you see here, let them know you saw the opportunity in MaineĀ Startups Insider.Ā
+ HighByte, a Portland-based B2B software startup, is hiringĀ a Senior Java Developer.
+Ā KinoTek, a Portland-based startup at the intersection of health and augmented reality, is looking for a software developer with experience with C++ unity integration. Those interested, email the company atĀ contact@kinoteksoftware.com.
+ Farming robotics startupĀ Farmhand AutomationĀ is hiringĀ a mechanical engineer.
+Ā AskGMS, a Portland-based company that provides benchmarking and data analysis tools to the insurance industry,Ā is hiringĀ a Quality Engineer/Manager.
+Ā Amplify Additive, a 3D printing company in Scarborough that specializes in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of metal-printed orthopedic implants,Ā is hiringĀ a Quality Engineer/Manager.
+Ā VETRO Inc.,Ā a software company in Portland,Ā is looking forĀ a full-stack developer, inside sales rep, customer success rep, and a staff accountant.
+Ā MedRhythms, a Portland-based medical-device startup,Ā is hiringĀ a mobile/front-end developer.
+Ā Defendify,Ā a cybersecurity startup in Portland,Ā is hiringĀ a full-stack developer.
+Ā Arkatechture, a Portland-basedĀ company that provides business intelligence and data analytics services,Ā is hiringĀ a senior software engineer, AWS cloud engineer, senior data scientist and financial analyst, among other positions.
+Ā Introspective Systems,Ā in Portland,Ā is looking forĀ a lead software engineer and a software engineering intern.
+Ā Theory and Principle, a legal-tech product design and development startup in Portland, is hiringĀ a front-end developer.
Seeking a full-stack engineer? A technical co-founder? A sales or biz dev superstar?Ā Send meĀ your job postings to make this a great resource!Ā
/ Events
Robot Hack Night
Tues., June 23 ā Online
Join Hack Portland for Robot Hack Night, which is for people interested in DIY robotics (e.g., LEGO Mindstorms, arduino, nodebots, homemade exoskeletons, etc.). For more info on how to join the Zoom call, visit Hack Portland’s Facebook page.
Please send me your event or calendar item for possible inclusion.
