Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 Now, what was it you wanted to sell me? who you are, your company, your company's record, your company's product, your company's reputation, your company's customers, or what your company stands for. I don't know… Warm up your cold calls with local B2B media advertising. Sales start before before before before before before before before your salesperson calls. your salesperson calls. Now, what was it you your salesperson calls. Sales start before your salesperson calls. Contact Publisher Donna Brassard at 207.761.8379 x327 or donnab@mainebiz.biz T he 128th Legislature's Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee and the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee held a joint public hearing March 1 on portions of Gov. Paul LePage's $6.8 billion two-year state budget proposal that would impact Maine's economic development programs. As proposed by the governor, $178,838 in funding within the Department of Economic and Community Development that historically has been shared equally by three programs in the Applied Technology Development Center system would be "zeroed out" in the 2018–19 biennial budget: Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development's 15-week Top Gun training program, which assisted more than 140 small businesses in 2016. Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, which spon- sors and facilitates innovative research and develop- ment projects involving food, pharmaceuticals, and other products from sustainable aquatic systems. Target Technology Center at the University of Maine in Orono, which is the home of the UpStart Incubator that provides coaching services and sup- port to entrepreneurs in order to build competitive, market-oriented companies. DECD Commissioner George Gervais told Mainebiz the proposed $178,838 funding cut was simply one of dozens of diffi cult decisions contained within the governor's budget proposal. "It's a balancing act," he said. "If we weren't shifting costs [here] we'd be shifting them from somewhere else … We do what we think is least harmful overall." Impact of the funding cuts At the hearing MCED Executive Director Thomas Rainey told lawmakers the loss of MCED's $59,600 share would jeopardize its ability to continue the expansion of the Top Gun program, which in 2016 received a matching challenge grant from the federal Economic Development Administration that enabled MCED offer it in the Bangor/Orono region and to expand its pro- grams to Lewiston-Auburn and the Midcoast region. "Without the DECD [$59,600] funding as a match, MCED would be unable to draw down the federal EDA grant funding that enables us to operate the statewide network and would mean the loss of a combined 25% of our overall funding," Rainey stated in his written testimony. Rainey told Mainebiz that a survey of 140 startups that have graduated from the Top Gun program since 2010 shows that 121 are still in business — an 86% survival rate. Since 2006, Top Gun companies have created 300 jobs in Maine, raised $8 million in capital and have generally "bolstered the branding of Maine as a great place to start and grow a business." "I think we have a very compelling story to tell in terms of jobs created and the survivability of the Top Gun graduates," Rainey said. "I'd like to think that would resonate with [lawmakers in Augusta]." Christopher Davis, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, said the center has used its share of the funding to support an aqua- culture incubator program that in 2016 benefited 11 companies employing 37 people. "Four of these companies chose to move to Maine in part because of the technical and infrastructure support services this program offers," he stated in his written testimony. Davis said Maine businesses that have success- fully established themselves after using the incuba- tor program include: Kennebec River BioSciences, Sea and Reef Aquaculture, Mook Sea Farms, Acadia Harvest Inc., BioProcess Algae, American Ugani, Maine Sea Farms, Aqua Vida, Maine Shellfi sh Developers, AquaLine and Field Phytonutrients. John Burns, managing director of Maine Venture Fund, told lawmakers the three programs play a criti- cal role in the state's economic development efforts. "Maine Technology Institute and MVF capital is wasted if the entrepreneurs and small scalable com- panies do not have the tools, the training and the ecosystem to see them through their unavoidable struggles to create large companies that will con- tribute to the prosperity of Maine," he stated in his written testimony. "The incubators have provided a tremendous return on the state's investment and are critical components in diversifying Maine's economy." Lawmakers are continuing to review these and other proposals within Gov. LePage's two-year budget. LePage's budget proposal cuts funding for three 'incubator' programs B y J a m e s M c C a r t h y P O L I T I C S & C O.

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