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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 J U N E 2 7 , 2 0 2 2 S TA R T U P S F O C U S Along with a lot of late-night online research, McAleer says that networking and navigating through the ecosystem, constantly jumping off one suggestion to the next, is how she discovered opportunities for startup supports like the Maine Technology Institute and Coastal Enterprises Inc's women's business coach, SCORE business mentors, and the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, who helped scale Bixby's manufacturing processes. "I really thought to myself, if there are all these programs, I want to utilize them," she says. "Because there are a lot of unknowns you want to try to get the known to." Be curious McAleer knew from the start she would need these resources to make her business work and she credits this to her relentless need to get answers. She advises startup leaders to be curious. She says trying to get all her ques- tions answered helped mitigate the risks involved in starting a business. Not only is she always on the lookout for new opportunities, signing up for listservs and keeping her ears open, asking mentors and networking, McAleer always passes along information about opportuni- ties to others she thinks might benefit from them. "ese resources are pretty amaz- ing," says McAleer. "And I'm aston- ished how many people don't know about them." Know your 'Why' McAleer has had the opportunity to pitch her business to a variety of different venues and funders and she says nailing down her "why" very clearly and distinctly from the start was critical. "Why does your product or ser- vice matter?" she says. "I think a lot of people have a hard time articulating succinctly what exactly it is they do. In essence that's the whole concept of a pitch program — explaining why it matters, why they should give you the money." Having a clear reason for a startup is key to differentiating your business and establishing connection to the brand, and allows potential funders to see the potential for growth and opportunity that your business can ultimately create. Be persistent, positive and polite "I think a lot of people think I've got- ten everything I've applied for. at is not the case," she says with a chuckle. And while she likes to focus on the "yes" over the "no" she says it is also important to learn from mistakes and see how you can do better next time. If you don't get in some- where on the first try, reapply, she says. Being politely persistent is an important skillset for an entrepreneur. "Since you are asking people for things, politeness goes a long way," she says. "I thought LaunchPad back in the day was an extreme longshot and I was really nervous and really conscientious," she says, adding she did a lot of prep with her CEI women's business coach to get more comfortable. "I think that's another thing when you're pitching, to just try and really get your comfort zone more in check." You do have time McAleer admits that researching, applying to and preparing for com- petitions takes a lot of time, but if you put in the hours, it will be time well spent. Her best advice is to try all the programs and see what fits. "I think you have to use all those tools and resources and put the time in," she says. "Everyone complains about not having time, but think of all the time you're going to save by using those resources." Catie Joyce-Bulay, a freelance writer, can be reached at editorial @ mainebiz.biz P H O T O / DAV I D C L O U G H More quick tips Online applications: First read through the whole application online and copy it into a Word document to fill out, since you usually can't save and return to your work once you've started the application. And she advises to have handy "all those weird numbers," like IRS new business entity numbers (EIN) and credit information (DUNS). You'll need them. Creating videos: Many applications will ask you to create a video pitch. Don't look at production quality as a barrier. McAleer says just be yourself. She didn't bother with high production videos, and recorded her video pitches on her cell phone. It works. To avoid feeling the last-minute panic she felt when her video file wouldn't upload to the online application, she says use an app like We Transfer to shrink the file size. "Those are real moments of fear because you're all ready to go and then you can't figure out how to send something," she says. "It's not you, it's the tech." In the pitch: Try to showcase how you have been innovative and creative, and don't be afraid to use color. "I like to leverage color," she says. "Depending on the event, I like to wear colorful outfits. Bixby Chocolate products are sold in a range of retail destinations, including the company's Rockland headquarters.

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