Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 5 among a dozen displaced workers participating in the program, made possible by a collaboration between EMCC, Eastern Maine Development Corp. and Maine Quality Centers. Southwest Harbor-based Hinckley Yachts and other boatbuilding com- panies have committed to holding interviews and potentially hiring the displaced workers, according to the community college. ose compa- nies were consulted in developing the retraining program. Rockland cafe OK'd to use veterans' park e Brass Compass Cafe in Rockland has received unanimous approval from the city council to use a part of a veterans' park for outdoor seating during the summer. e Bangor Daily News reported that the cafe's proposal to use a 10-foot-wide strip of the Winslow-Holbrook Memorial Park received opposition from community members who are related to one of the park's namesakes, Lt. Albert Holbrook. One of the councilors, Vallie Geiger, defended the council's decision by saying that it was not dis- respectful to the military and that she lost her father while he was serving in the U.S. Navy. F ederal science funding can be a boon to Maine companies, but some of its requirements can limit entrepreneurial activity. Take the federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Busi- ness Technology Transfer grant pro- grams, also known as SBIR and STTR. Some 336 early-stage businesses have received more than $88 million in total from the programs from 1997 to 2014. But at least one provision can limit activities for an entrepreneur receiving project grant funds. at is, unless you figure a clever way to make it work for you, as did Kevin Strange, president of MDI Biological Laboratory in Salisbury Cove. Strange already co-founded the first spinoff in the lab's 117-year his- tory, Novo Biosciences Inc., which is developing a therapeutic compound to help speed tissue healing and stimulate the regeneration of lost or damaged body parts in animals, with the aim of eventually translating it for use in humans. He encourages all of the lab's scientists to work toward commercializing their technology. SBIR and STTR funding is tar- geted toward independently owned and operated small business, though the labs can be subcontractors to the funded companies. And since the investigator leading the project must be more than a 50% employee of the business at the time of the award, he or she cannot have another full-time job. at means labs like MDIBL could lose key personnel for long periods of time, or forever. Enter the new MDIBL policy, the "Entrepreneurial Leave of Absence." Strange readily admits he lifted the notion from an idea he heard about in Kentucky. e policy allows MDIBL faculty and staff to take a leave of absence, if approved, and go to a company doing work broadly related to their institutional research. Novo Biosciences already is taking advantage of the policy, he said. "I established [the leave of absence] mainly so people can launch startups and then apply for SBIR funding. e- oretically, it could be applied to other types of things as well," Strange told Mainebiz. "For example, a company not launched from the institution may want to work with our faculty on a specific project. e company in turn would provide salary support for the faculty member for a defined period of time." Since SBIRs require that the principal investigator who submits the proposal and directs the research be employed by the company for at least 51% of their effort, benefit pack- ages in particular become a problem. Strange explained that with leave of absence policy, the principal investi- gator would work for the company at 60% effort, for example, and the SBIR grant would pay 60% of his/her salary directly to them. In addition, the SBIR would pay 60% of his/her benefits to MDIBL, which in turn would pay the employee 100% of their benefits and 40% of their salary. Additionally, the principal investigator and others working at the company could, in theory, be paid more than their MDIBL. Said Strange: "e key goal here is to help commercialize research discoveries in Maine." B I Z M O N E Y B Y L O R I V A L I G R A Entrepreneurs find new ways to leverage federal funding HELOC Fixed for 12 months: Adjusts to Prime +0, Current Prime +0 rate: 3.25 % APR 3.25 % APR And save up to $650 on closing costs! ANGELA BANCROFT Ironman Competitor Norway Savings Customer YOU'RE IN THE HOME STRETCH. LET'S GET YOU THERE! Big Dream. Little Rate. 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