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V O L . X X V I N O. X X I S E P T E M B E R 7 , 2 0 2 0 26 S TA R T U P S / E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P F O C U S Veilleux's mentors at Waterville's Bricks Coworking and Innovation Space. When he began working with R.J. Anzelc and Nick Rimsa, founders of mentorship programs at the busi- ness, owned by Anzelc, he was still feeling his way. "I didn't want to look stupid with these guys," he says. But, he says, Elaine eriault-Currier at the Central Maine Growth Council, another mentor, provided perspective. "I told her 'this is what I want to do,'" Veilleux says. "And she said, 'If that's what you want to do, then just do it.'" Rimsa says Veilleux learned to hone his focus. "When building something, there are infinite directions to head in," Rimsa says. "When we first started working together, we talked a lot about what's most impactful and why. And then understanding what are the necessary steps to getting it done." Veilleux ultimately concluded that hemp ethanol is too expensive to produce. He turned to hemp stalk bio bricks. After some work on that, he real- ized that bio bricks, too, weren't a good economic choice. He turned to pellets. Finding partners Veilleux has partnered with pellet pro- ducers Wood & Sons, in Sanford, which will do a test run of the pellets. Because the company is making its own product, Veilleux has to wait until there's a win- dow in production for the test. He's also in talks with hemp farmers Colleen Maguire and Susan Hunter, of Maine TradeHers Market in Unity, an agricultural commodi- ties brokerage focused on supporting women in agriculture. Maguire owns Silver Highlands Farm, in Plymouth, and Hunter owns Hunters Green Farm in Unity. ey lease 10 acres in Unity where they grow hemp. ey met Veilleux at this year's Top Gun competition. After she and Hunter use the leaf, flower and leaves for their products, the stalk is left behind. No one is set up in Maine to produce anything from the stalk, Maguire says, though on the farm she uses it for compost and has experimented with animal bedding. ey liked Veilleux's focus on turning it into an energy source. Maguire and Hunter still have to determine if the cost of drying, grind- ing and storing the hemp for Veilleux's pellet product would be cost-effective in order to produce it for TreeFreeHeat. The testing product Veilleux, waiting to test his product, is teetering between success and start- ing over. But he knows he's in a better position than many entrepreneurs. He divides his time between Waterville and his father's house in Somersworth as he works to complete his MBA at omas College. One substantial step has been the surprise success of the fire starters. He and two friends came up with the product as a way to produce some revenue. ey are made of hemp stalk and a soy-based wax. Veilleux started cold-calling distribu- tors, stores and campgrounds. His first customer was the KOA campground in Bar Harbor. From there, they caught on fast. Terramore Outdoor Resort in Bar Harbor is another customer. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M PA G E 2 4 BEFORE 10 400W Metal-halide Fixtures 458W (Wattage) x 4,380 Annual Hours of Use = $3,000 Annual Operating Cost (at $0.15 per kWh) Sample Project AFTER 10 300W LED Pole-Mount Fixtures 306W (Wattage) x 4,380 Annual House of Use = $2,000 Annual Operating Cost (at $0.15 per kWh) ESTIMATED ANNUAL SAVINGS: $1,000 Sample Project START SAVING NOW Limited-time promotion to upgrade parking lot and exterior pole lights. Find out more at efficiencymaine.com/at-work/lighting-solutions/ or by speaking with your lighting contractor. Being heard Nick Rimsa's star tup Eariously, which created an app that turns dig- ital pages into audio, last year was awarded grants from MTI and the Libra Foundation. Last year it won the Big Gig pitch contest in Orono. The startup's recent focus has been on helping companies engage and grow their audiences, says Rimsa, a 2019 Mainebiz Next List honoree. Customers include law offices and publishers. "Our main product is an audio player that turns written arti- cles into audio articles and automati- cally adds them to a branded pod- cast," he says. "Our customers have liked that their audience can listen to what they publish when they don't have time to read." P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Nick Rimsa Building things is really about being a detective. — Nick Rimsa Eariously

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