⛅️ Good afternoon. Welcome to the 217th edition of Maine Startups Insider. You are one of 2,135 subscribers receiving this email.
I owe another apology for the hiatus since my last newsletter. All the advice out there about running a newsletter stresses the importance of consistency. I have been far from consistent the last few months, so thanks for sticking with me.
I’ve come to the realization that if I want MSI to continue to grow and provide value to the community, I need to enlist someone to help. Creating this newsletter on a weekly basis takes at least five hours, often more depending on the amount of original content I post on the website. I used to be able to handle that pretty easily when all I had was one day job, but now I’m building my consulting business, Brickyard Collective, and I also have a few other side projects I’ve taken on the last few months (nothing I can share at the moment, but exciting stuff). Throw in a pandemic and young children, and it’s proven difficult to set aside the necessary time to create the newsletter on a weekly basis.
So… if you know someone who is interested in journalism and newsletters and covering our tech community, please send them my way. Honestly, I think I “realized” I needed help a long time ago; it’s more about reaching a point of acceptance that I can’t do everything I want to do and still expect my existing projects to thrive. I want MSI to stay around for a long time; In order to do that, I need to be okay “giving away my Lego bricks.”
As an aside, I saw that the New England Venture Capital Association announced the nominees for the NEVY Awards—its annual awards given out to New England startups. Once again, no Maine companies made the list. I haven’t tracked the NEVY Awards exhaustively, so can’t say for certain, but pretty sure it’s rare for a Maine startup to be recognized by the Boston-based organization. Hopefully that will change with the increased attention Maine startups are receiving from outside VCs and some of the successful exits we’ve recently had. All we can do is keep building great companies and spreading the good news.
Keep creating, keep innovating, keep curious.
-Whit Richardson
/ News
Roux Institute launches incubator for startups leveraging AI and machine learning
The Roux Institute at Northeastern University, a high-tech graduate education and research institute in Portland, tops the headlines for the second newsletter in a row.
The institute last week announced that it is launching an incubator for startups that would benefit from leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning. Already-local startups that fit that criteria are more than eligible, but the Roux Institute will also be targeting startups from outside the state, as well. One caveat, though, is that companies are expected to remain in Maine or move significant portions of its team to Maine.
Chris Wolfel, the Roux Institute’s newly appointed director of entrepreneurship, gives Maine Startups Insider the lowdown.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
Portland’s KinoTek becomes first New England startup accepted into international accelerator
KinoTek, a Portland-based software startup in the digital health space, has been accepted into an international startup accelerator for companies leveraging technology in the areas of sports and health.
The accelerator, leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator, selected six companies, including KinoTek, for its 2020/2021 cohort. LeAD Sports & Health Tech Partners, the Berlin-based sports and health tech investment fund that is operating the accelerator, received applications from 442 companies from 44 countries (if you’re counting, that equates to a 1.36% acceptance rate).
The accelerator is based in Lake Nona, Florida, an intentional community built from scratch as a “living lab” focused on the areas of health and sports. It is already home to Johnson & Johnson’s new Human Performance Institute and the U.S. Tennis Association’s new National Campus. Verizon has also deployed 5G technology throughout the community. Justin Hafner, KinoTek’s CEO and co-founder, will spend six months living in Lake Nona where he and the company can take full advantage of the community’s innovation ecosystem. Despite this, Hafner said he’s committed to KinoTek remaining in Portland.
Read more at Maine Startups Insider >>
Thomas College and WEX partner up to improve career pipeline into the fintech sector
Thomas College and WEX, a financial technology company headquartered in Portland, have formed a partnership to build early career readiness pathways for Thomas College students into the fintech sector, to provide professional development and education opportunities for WEX employees, and strengthen both technology and innovation capacity in the Maine economy.
Read more from Thomas College >>
Quick intermission to thank Maine Startups Insider’s newest Sustaining Member: Bobbie Lamont, who serves as membership chair for the Maine Angels.
If, like Bobbie, you appreciate what MSI is trying to do and have the financial wherewithal to support my efforts, please consider becoming a Sustaining Member.
/ Briefly Mentioned
🌊 Marty Odlin, CEO and founder of Portland-based Running Tide Technologies, recently was a guest on the This Week in Startups podcast. Running Tide is getting some of that Silicon Valley attention because it recently emerged from stealth mode with a big, bold plan to sequester gigatons of CO2 on the ocean floor over the next several years by growing kelp and then sinking it to the bottom of the sea. The plan has attracted several big-name investors, which MSI has written about.
💳 Constant, a Portland-based fintech startup that’s developed an AI-powered software platform to help banks and other lenders automate the provision of hardship relief to borrowers struggling to pay their bills, has recently recevied two honors. It recently received a 2020 AI TechAward, which celebrates technical innovation in the artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science industries. It was then also named to the 2020 Benzinga Global Fintech Listmakers, a “carefully vetted” list of 250 companies and executives that are posed to revolutionize the fintech industry.
👩🏻💻 Portland tech entrepreneur urges Maine investors to be better startup ‘ambassadors.’ Torey Penrod-Cambra, co-founder of Portland-based HighByte, shared her views during Startup Maine’s latest installment of its Entrepreneurs and Ecosystem Builders Speaker Series. Mainebiz has more.
📚 MedRhythms, a digital therapeutics and medical-device startup in Portland, had its first clinical trial published in the top neurorehabilitation journal.
/ Roster Report
Cerahelix, the Orono-based company that develops and manufactures high-tech nanofiltration products, has appointed William “Bill” Paulus as its new CEO. Paulus joined the company in January as chief operating officer. The appointment comes after founder Susan MacKay stepped down from the CEO role in February. The company has also appointed Fred Wiesler as VP of sales.
/ Talent Hub
An area of the newsletter for those seeking full- or part-time positions with a Maine startup.
👨🏻💻 Brendan McGonigle was the first hire at a web-based travel company in 2010. He contributed to strategy, marketing, operations, and product as the company steadily grew in employee count and web traffic until 2014 when it was acquired by Tripadvisor, for which Brendan worked briefly. Brendan has lived in Portland for nearly seven years, and currently works in international strategy and business development for one of Europe’s largest tech companies. He’s interested in transitioning from big tech back to startups, and enthusiastically encourages anyone looking to add to their team to reach out. His email is brendan.mcgonigle@gmail.com and here’s his LinkedIn profile.
/ ICYMI
Here are some recent articles from Maine Startups Insider you may have missed:
- Roux Institute receives another $100M gift to support its high-tech education initiative in Portland
- Running Tide attracts big VC names with plan to bury gigatons of CO2 on ocean floor
- EdTech app wins $25K at Top Gun pitch event
- Founder Forum Q&A: Chip Terry of Oyster Tracker
- Maine Technology Institute awards $2.16M to 10 projects
- 12 Maine companies make the Inc. 5,000 list
- Guideline raises $85M to continue its tech-forward takeover of 401(k) industry
- Minnow raises $2.2M for its contactless food-pickup technology
/ Jobs
If you apply for a job you see here, let them know you saw the opportunity in Maine Startups Insider.
+ Guideline, the fintech company with offices in California, Texas, and Portland, is hiring for several software engineering positions.
+ Friday, a Portland-based company building a communication tool for remote teams, is hiring a Senior Front-end Engineer.
+ CourseStorm, an Orono-based software company, is hiring a team manager for its customer success team.
+ OurShelves, a Maine-based diverse children’s book box subscription service with members in all 50 states, is hiring a part-time Operations Lead.
+ Neuright, a biotech startup in Orono that is developing a new medical device for the early diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, is hiring a part-time R&D staff member.
+ Running Tide, a technology startup in the aquaculture space, is hiring software engineers and data scientists. If interested, email jobs@runningtide.com.
+ 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 at contact@kinoteksoftware.com.
+ Farming robotics startup Farmhand Automation is hiring a mechanical engineer.
+ AskGMS, a Portland-based company that provides benchmarking and data analysis tools to the insurance industry, is hiring a Data Analyst and a Full-Stack Developer.
+ VETRO Inc., a SaaS company in Portland, is looking for a full-stack developer.
+ Defendify, a cybersecurity startup in Portland, is hiring a full-stack developer and content marketing specialist.
+ Arkatechture, a Portland-based company that provides business intelligence and data analytics services, is hiring a junior software engineer, AWS cloud engineer, data visualization specialist, among other positions.
+ Introspective Systems, in Portland, is looking for a lead software engineer and a software engineering intern.
+ Theory and Principle, a legal-tech product design and development startup in Portland, is hiring a quality assurance engineer.
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!
/ Events
8th Annual Startup of the Year Summit & Pitch Competition
Nov 16-18, 2020 — Online
Established, an organization that supports startups that recently located to southern Maine, is hosting its 8th Annual Startup of the Year Summit & Pitch Competition. There are no Maine startups in the finals this year, though some did apply, but it could still be a good networking opportunity. Tickets are free. Register here.
Her Story: Sandra Stone of Maine Angels
Tues., Nov. 17, 5-6:45 p.m. — Online
The Northern New England Women’s Investor Network hosts an online talk featuring Sandr Stone, chair emeritus of the Maine Angels. Sandy will share her journey from accelerator coordinator to angel investor and ecosystem advocate. She has spent the last 12 years focused on increasing gender diversity in Maine’s angel investment network, hoping to empower more women to use their wealth to create change. Register here.
Startup Maine Speaker Series: TechPlace’s Kristine Logan
Tues., Nov. 24, 8:30 a.m. — Online
Startup Maine hosts its third event in its new speaker series, this time with Kristine Logan, director of TechPlace in Brunswick. Register here.
Startup Maine Speaker Series: KinoTek’s Justin Hafner
Tues., Dec. 8, 8:30 a.m. — Online
Startup Maine hosts its fourth event in its new speaker series, this time with Justin Hafner, CEO and co-founder of KinoTek in Portland. Register here.
Please send me your event or calendar item for possible inclusion.
