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V O L . X X I I N O. X X S E P T E M B E R 5 , 2 0 1 6 30 S TA R T U P S & E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P F O C U S from Maine Department of Economic and Community Development grant funding, as well as money from entre- preneur services, other sponsors and other grants such as a recent $390,000 federal grant from the Economic Development Administration's 2015 Regional Innovation Strategies pro- gram focused on expanding the Top Gun program and on rural economic development. "I'd like to see a bigger portion of our income from clients," says Renault. " at's a directive from the board." Rainey says that's one thing that made his application attractive to MCED. "I have been success- ful in raising more than $45 million of federal funding from the USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program to Community Development Block Grant funds to EDA grants," he says. "So I have a good track record of bringing money into states." He says that's how the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies in Burlington got kickstarted. He devel- oped a feasibility study, then worked with the university as the lead partner on the initiative, helping pull in a number of stakeholder organizations to support initial development. " en we tried to get it quickly on a solid business footing to make it a self-sustaining organization so we didn't have to constantly go out looking for small grants," he says. "We also got a real estate component where we could generate revenue with rental income as a business incubator." Rainey, Renault and others say the incubator is considered to be among the top ones in the country. Rainey also is interested in spreading another type of diversity, that of medium-sized companies that normally only do business with large, primarily contractors to look at business-to-business opportunities among themselves. He also would like to help companies with products focused on a single industry broaden their applications to other industries so they can grow. One example in Arizona is helping companies in Sierra Vista, Ariz., capi- talize on and spread the local exper- tise on cybersecurity. " ose are the types of opportuni- ties I'm going to be looking for when I come to Maine. Where are those opportunities? Where are the feeders to build on those?" he says. Rural, international reach "I've been doing this since the 1990s, running organizations like this one in Florida, California and Missouri," says Rainey, a native of Missouri. "I think that this is one thing that was interesting to the MCED board of directors. I did it successfully in other places that required rural economic development." He describes his biggest strength as working with other people. "I'm pretty adaptable. I try to put myself in the shoes of the other people I work with," he says. His greatest weakness: "I'm a pretty skeptical person overall. I don't take many things at face value. Part of that is having read so many business plans over the years." His work in Arizona not only cov- ered all of northern Arizona, where he also worked with the Navajo reservation to boost entrepreneurship there and with little towns that rely on tourism and mining, but also to the south in Sierra Vista, trying to stoke more cross- border pollination of innovation oppor- tunities with Mexican companies. He said he hopes to do the same in Maine by using the state as a launching point for especially Canadian compa- nies to set up their fi rst U.S. presence. He says he was able to entice Parallel Geometry, a Montreal startup, to set up its fi rst United States. offi ce in Burlington, and hopes to make similar cross-border headway while in Maine. "Economic diversifi cation is so critical. It's one of the big topics in eco- nomic development now because there's so much inequality from the large urban areas to rural areas," he says. "Maine is one of those states that really needs to focus on getting the economic develop- ment tools out into those smaller c om- munities and helping them adapt to the changing economy." L V , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t @ . a n d @ L V » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Do I sell my business to a competitor? Or to my employees? As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, we offer both investment advisory and brokerage services, which are separate and distinct and differ in material ways. For information, including the different laws and contracts that govern, visit ubs.com/ workingwithus.©UBS 2016. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. Member FINRA/SIPC. 31.00_Ad_4.375x5.5_MH0524_TenS a b You worked hard building this business, but it's time to start a new chapter in your life. We know it's complicated. Our team can help you begin the conversation around transition planning and all of the responsibilities that come with running a successful business. For some of life's questions, you're not alone. Together we can find the answer. Family Wealth Management Partners UBS Financial Services Inc. One City Center, 7th Floor Portland, ME 04101 866-791-5512 ubs.com/team/fwmp Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those Maine is one of those states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs states that really needs to focus on getting the economic development tools out into those smaller communities and helping them adapt to the changing economy. — Thomas Rainey, executive director, Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development

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