Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 27 S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 9 F O C U S S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P Mentoring, boot camp, events e structure of the program is loose, working around the students' other commitments. Individual mentoring includes instruc- tion in grant writing and marketing research — areas that often pose obstacles that cause great ideas to crash and burn before becoming a business. e program has partnered with the Central Maine Growth Council on Startup Stories, a monthly series featur- ing founders of Maine-based startups. It launched in July with Justin Hafner, CEO and co-founder of KinoTek, the 2019 Greenlight Maine Collegiate champion. In late July, the program launched the four-part weekly Lean Startup Boot Camp, in which Mike Duguay, executive director of the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation at omas College, guided participants through the five stages of a business startup, includ- ing idea generation, market validation, business model creation, scaling and digital and social media marketing. e students have also visited events like Startup Maine in Portland earlier this year, and more recently, the Aug. 22 Mainebiz Executive Insights forum. e ultimate goal is for the students to secure grants from Maine Technical Institute, which opened a Waterville office in July. Getting to work e students are at different stages of their ventures. Krohg, a sophomore at Colby, started his first business, a DJ service, when he was in elementary school. He runs Easy Eats with two out-of-state partners, and it operates both at Colby and Bates College. It has 400 users and $10,000 in revenue. He was one of the winners of Colby's pitch contest in May, with a $5,000 prize. He says the goal of joining Summer Startup was to "hit the drawing boards." "What worked? What didn't?" he says. "is summer, we decided, 'Let's make this perfect.'" The Dunham Group takes what is... Building Business and Community for Over 40 Years The Dunham Group has a vision and a purpose. Dunham brokers rally ideas, people, and resources to create dynamic neighborhoods in and around Greater Portland. A vacant building becomes a boutique hotel. An Old Port office building becomes a vibrant retail block. Our brokers work together to re-envision and repurpose underutilized properties to create the places where you want to be. ...and imagines what could be. Portland, ME dunhamgroup.com 207.773.7100 Local Knowledge. Regional Focus. Global Reach. Helping Maine Businesses Succeed Since 1983 1-800-228-3734 • FAMEmaine.com 5-Time Winner, Best Places to Work in Maine (2015–2019) " We are so grateful to FAME for helping us make our dream a reality!" Karen Roper Aaron Sprague Owners, ACADIA YURTS WE HELP YOU GET TO WE HELP YOU GET TO yes! C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » School was out, and there was still a group of kids who still wanted to be working on their stuff. — Nick Rimsa Co-founder of Summer Startup

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