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V O L . X X V N O. X I X S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 9 30 S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P A t the UpStart Center for Entrepreneurship in Orono, researchers in the lab of Cerahelix Inc. are heating and mixing test solutions for the manufacture of specialized filtration materials using nanotechnology. In another lab, Anin Maskay, lead engineer for Environetix Technologies Corp., is overseeing development of harsh-environment sensors that can withstand conditions up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and extremely high accel- eration while wirelessly transmitting real-time data. In the office of Activas Diagnostics, clinical coordinator Chris Gilbert is reviewing data from the start- up's diagnostic sleep monitoring system, which uses biotechnology to evaluate mild cognitive impairment. Elsewhere in the building, Daniel Finnemore, owner of the start-up Box of Maine, is working the phone to expand marketing and website optimization for his gift-box business. Run by the University of Maine, the incubator program at UpStart has a diverse mix of companies. But they share characteristics. "is incubator focuses on com- panies that typically have some kind of innovation," says Renee Kelly, assistant vice president for innova- tion and economic development for the University of Maine and a busi- ness advisor at UpStart. "e tenants want to grow significantly, so they have scalability in common. While that might look a little different for a biotech company versus a chemicals company versus an IT company, a lot of the challenges are exactly the same. We customize our resources to help those companies." Early pivot e UpStart Center was developed by the Bangor Target Area Development Corp. in partnership with the University of Maine, the state and the town of Orono. Located in a one-story, 20,000 square feet in an industrial park, UpStart, opened in 2002, originally as the Target Technology Center. Intially, its mission was to spur innovation in the informa- tion technology sector by sustaining commercialization of R&D. Early on, it was clear the startups were going well beyond IT. "We pivoted early to focus on scalable, innovation- oriented businesses," says Kelley. P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R Growing up with UpStart The Orono incubator operates on a shoestring to produce high-tech firms B y l a u R i e s C h R e i B e R F O C U S From left, Anin Maskay, lead engineer for Environetix Technologies Corp., shares latest developments on the start- up's harsh-environment sensors with Renee Kelly, assistant vice president for innovation and economic development for the University of Maine and a business advisor at UpStart, and Emma Wilson, the center's entrepreneurship events and marketing coordinator. UPSTART BY THE NUMBERS, JULY 2018 – JUNE 2019 6 Tenants 7 Jobs created by tenants and affiliates 55 Employed by tenants and affiliates 4 Affiliates 10 Top Gun participants 2 Patents (1 pending) An Orono program for entrepreneurs Funding sources to tenants and affiliates n Maine Technology Institute n Small Business Innovation Research n Venture / Small Enterprise Growth Fund / angel 5 2 2

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