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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I I I § 2 P hysical space is one of the biggest challenges for many startups. While many busi- nesses start out in a garage, basement or spare room, at some point they need dedicated space. A maker of snacks needs a test kitchen to try out recipes. A kelp processor needs space for drying and processing. A packag- ing startup needs access to a CNC machine. A biotech company needs lab space. A rocket maker needs large areas for building prototypes and a dedicated area for launching. As Briana Warner, CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, says a move into bigger space is a major step — but often a necessary one as well. e startup recently moved into 27,000 square feet in Biddeford. "[Our old space] was too small. We couldn't fit the machinery in that we needed to grow. Our new space allows us to continue to grow and serve our customers and be adapt- able," she says. With nearly every startup, at some point there's a need to find physi- cal space. at's where a UMaine Innovation Center comes into play, or Tech Place at Brunswick Landing. Here is a look at how some start- ups solved their space needs. UMaine's innovation labs One of the best-known physical spaces is the University of Maine's Foster Center for Innovation, a leading resource for innovation and commercialization, serving both the campus community and outside busi- nesses and organizations. e base for UMaine programs and services that support entrepre- neurship, business development and commercialization of university research. e Foster Center provides courses, training, coaching and con- sulting to students, faculty and staff, startups and established organiza- tions, helping them develop the skills needed to effectively create, test and actualize ideas. e UMaine campus has been a hotbed of innovation when it comes to offshore wind power, and the Aqua Ventus project; the composite bridge system, called Bridge in a Backpack; and student-led projects like Ferda Farms, an oyster farming initiative. Renee Kelly, an assistant vice president for innovation and eco- nomic development at UMaine, serves as a liaison to the state's eco- nomic development community and identifies opportunities for UMaine to partner with organizations to improve Maine's economy. She also leads the Foster Center, as well as the Maine Innovation Research and Technology Accelerator program, UMaine's I-Corps Site and business incubation programs. TechPlace's place in the state On Brunswick Landing, a former Navy base with an abundance of cavernous buildings, an air strip, aircraft hangars and developable land, TechPlace was a natural place to take root. TechPlace offers affordable space for offices, light industrial use and clean labs. At present it has 38 tenants, or "members," as it calls them. e members are in spaces that ran from 200 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Some startups there have both office space and industrial space. "We're 98% full," says TechPlace director Jaimie Logan. On a recent tour, Logan intro- duced me to the site's longest-tenured tenant, Daniel Greisen of Greisen Aerospace, which on a recent day was creating a jig that the Air Force could use to make missile parts. Other tenants with large-scale operations include Nathan Varney, whose VarneyCNC was making composite parts for clients Bath Iron Works and its arch-competitor, Huntington Ingalls Industries, which is based in Newport News, Va. Other businesses at TechPlace run the gamut. Cem Giray is CEO and president of Salmonics, a lab that produces reagents and products such as fibro- nectin and serums from the unused blood of farmed salmon. Melissa LaCasse, who is an entrepreneur program at the Roux Institute, is developing sustainably produced packaging materials that can be used in place of plastic and S TA R T U P S — P H Y S I C A L R E S O U R C E S How startups find physical space for growth UMaine, TechPlace and other spaces key to scaling up B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n Briana Warner, CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, in the kelp cultivation center at the facility in Biddeford.She works with lobster harvesters, who grow kelp in the winter months when they're not as busy. The kelp is used in a range of consumer products. F O C U S J U N E 2 7 , 2 0 2 2 14 P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY

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