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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X I I I § 2 J U N E 2 7 , 2 0 2 2 22 S TA R T U P S I n 2011, Kate McAleer had a great idea: break into the organic foods market with a good-for-you candy bar, a sector of the exploding industry that hadn't yet been tapped. Not all great ideas for startups succeed, but hers did. Within her first year of business, she had a contract with Whole Foods. A decade later Bixby's artisanal choc- olate products are now in Hannaford, Walmart, TJ Maxx and L.L.Bean. McAleer plans to open a café in the planned Paul J. Schupf Art Center, slated to open by year's end in downtown Waterville. What may have set McAleer apart from the startup crowd was how she leveraged any support she could find, ranging from city economic development direc- tors to small business networking groups to fellowships with major foundations. McAleer says these competitions and fellowships helped shape her into the entrepreneur she is today. "I know how to pitch my story effectively and I keep these network- ing communities close to me as we can all relate and enjoy seeing each other's successes," she says. McAleer was the 2014 win- ner of the Gorham Savings Bank Launchpad competition, land- ing a $30,000 grant. She used the funds to invest in equipment to help prepare for a national launch. She went through the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs' Top Gun program from 2015 to 2016. Also in 2016, she won a fellowship at the New York- based Tory Burch Foundation, then won the foundation's $100,000 pitch competition. And she was last year's $25,000 Greenlight Maine Grand Prize winner. She recently sat down with Mainebiz to share what she's learned from these competitions and tips on how to succeed in them. Use all available resources Bixby Chocolate, named after McAleer's great-great-grandparents, started in upstate New York, but, since her parents wanted to retire to Maine, she joined them and took the company with her after a year and a half in business. Before making the move, McAleer researched Maine's economic development climate and said she was impressed by the state's startup community. She sat down with the economic development coordina- tor of Rockland, where her chocolate factory is now based, and learned about some of the programs the state has to offer, and has since met with others throughout the state, like the director of the Central Maine Growth Council, which helped connect her to the Waterville community, where Bixby's new café will be based. "It's amazing to see the support Maine has given to small businesses and the economic development direc- tors were certainly a big part of build- ing mine," says McAleer. P H O T O / DAV I D C L O U G H Winning pitch competitions — and customers Bixby Chocolate founder Kate McAleer built a company on strong networking B y C a t i e J o y c e - B u l a y F O C U S Kate McAleer founded Rockland-based Bixby Chocolate in 2011, and since has gotten products into a wide range of retail stores.