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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 4 From the Editor T his year's Startups and Entrepreneurship issue has almost a "step-up day" feel to it. We have fashion designers making their first foray into retail spaces. We have coffee purveyors and food makers moving into pop-up shops. Among Maine's startups, there's a theme of tak- ing the next step. As Senior Writer Renee Cordes reports on pop-up stores, for an entrepreneur, even the small- est dedicated space can spell growth. She cites the example of a Scarborough-based designer who found a small space in the Freeport Market. "It's a dream for me to have a store, where I also hope to bring in another product I design, like apparel," the designer tells Renee. See more at "Snap, crackle & pop-up," on Page 12. Staff Writer Alexis Wells talks to three separate fashion designers who are taking a big leap by leas- ing retail space in the Old Port. Alice Yardley, whose colorful handbag designs grace the cover, says taking over a storefront "was the perfect first step for a small business." See "Maine fashion brands call Portland their new home," which starts on Page 18. For one baker, a dedicated space meant a mobile food trailer, On the Horizon Bakery. As Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber reports, the baker is able to hit events and fairs, selling breads, pastries, desserts and breakfast sandwiches — without the burden of costly real estate. While on the go, she's working six days a week and serving up to 100 customers a day. See Laurie's story on this startup and others, on Page 22. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get all the latest information at Maine's business news source, Mainebiz. Stay up to date by subscribing to the Daily Report and Real Estate Insider. Here's the top online content from Aug. 13–27: 1. Here are the 2024 'Best Places to Work in Maine' 2. 14 fast-growing Maine companies make this year's Inc. 5000 list 3. In Westbrook, Rock Row complex adds to menu of restaurant tenants 4. Baker Newman Noyes will change up its leadership structure next year 5. The Farmers' Almanac, published by Lewiston-based Geiger, is out with winter forecast 6. Portland's Thompson Block adds seven rental lofts 7. Constructed with mass timber, visitor center for Katahdin monument nears completion 8. Building homes in Bangor: Developers, local officials tackle Queen City's housing gap 9. Have your coffee-drinking habits — outside your home or office — changed in the past year? (poll question) 10. Bangor religious school plans $2M expansion, aims to double enrollment We have fashion designers making their first foray into retail spaces. We have coffee shops and food makers moving into pop-up shops. bernsteinshur.com Meet Helen. She guides start-ups throughout their business life-cycle: from assisting founders with company formation and navigating rounds of financing to negotiating exits, and everything in between. We're attorneys. But we're people first. Helen Sterling Coburn, Shareholder It's 'step-up day' for some Maine startups

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