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V O L . X X I V N O. V I I A P R I L 2 , 2 0 1 8 28 B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E F O C U S Schmitz partnered with Z Fabrics in Portland, recruiting people for focus groups, and used gift cards as incentive, funded by the grant. "A startup costs a tremendous amount of work and money, and you really want to make sure it's something people want," she says. "If they don't, you want to find out sooner rather than later." at validation came with the Kickstarter campaign, which she created on an aging iPad with no memory. When she had to make a video, "It just about did me in, I had to learn how to make a video, and I found out making video is a lot of work." at campaign, with a goal of $20,000, raised more than $26,000 over three days in August. "e success of Kickstarter is all in the preparation, and all in the work, before you launch it," she says. She researched other campaigns. She found out what day of the week was good to launch, how long to do it, what kind of rewards to give donors. "Even what time of year. You shouldn't do one in July. No one is online in July," Schmitz says, laughing. "e best advice I saw in multiple places online was really to get your ducks » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E I GUESS THEY LIKE ME YOU LOOK AWFULLY FAMILIAR I CAN'T REPEAT IT BUT IT'S GOOD MY EMPLOYEES ARE WELL TAKEN CARE OF IT'S TOO GOOD TO PUT DOWN THIS IS FUN, I THINK Every smile tells a story. And each one can say something powerful. As the nation's leading dental benefits provider, Delta Dental makes it easy to protect your smile and keep it healthy with the largest network of dentists nationwide, quick answers and personalized service. Learn more at NortheastDeltaDental.com. I GUESS THEY LIKE ME YOU LOOK AWFULLY FAMILIAR I CAN'T REPEAT IT BUT IT'S GOOD IT'S TOO GOOD TO PUT DOWN THIS IS FUN, I THINK Options for Startups What avenues are open to entrepreneurs who aren't qualified to get traditional bank finance to bring their startup from idea to reality? Here are some of the resources in Maine. Maine Institute of Technology 8 Venture Ave., Brunswick Landing / www.mainetechnology.org What: Publicly funded nonprofit that offers early-stage capital and commercialization assistance for research, development and application of technologies that create new products, processes and services. Options: Monthly $5,000 TechStart grant; rolling $5,000 Phase 0 grants; Maine Technology Asset Fund; up to $25,000 tri-annual seed grants; up to $50,000 accelerator grants; $500,000 development loans; $200,000 equity capital; Cluster Initiative Program of up to $50,000 planning/profit/feasibility awards and up to $500,000 implementation awards. By the numbers: Since 1999, $230 million investment; 2,300 projects; $950 million private sector matching investment. In 2017 alone, $6.89 million investment; 140 projects; $13 million private sector matching. SCORE Augusta, Auburn, Bangor, Ellsworth, Portland, South Paris / www.scoremaine.org What: Resource partner of the Small Business Administration, volunteers offer support, advice, mentoring and resources. Options: Free mentoring, workshops, templates and tools for help with business plans, taxes, financing and help with SBA financing. By the numbers: In 2017, 121 Maine mentors provided services; more than 3,100 clients counseled; assisted 386 new business, with 578 jobs created; 169 workshops with 3,200 attendees. Finance Authority of Maine 5 Community Drive, Augusta / www.famemaine.com What: Supports start-up, expansion and growth plans of businesses by working with lenders to improve access to capital and fill gaps in the capital delivery system. Options: 4 agriculture loan programs; 10 business loan programs; commercial bonds, commercial loan insurance and four equity capital programs; 16 education funding programs and other higher-education financing assistance. Other resources Municipal economic development: Many municipalities have economic development loans and grants available to residents, as does the state. Information can be found at the state's Department of Economic Development website, www.maine.gov/decd, or at local or regional economic development offices. Startup and pitch contests: These have gained popularity over the last several years. Some of the most prominent statewide ones are: ¡ Gorham Savings Banks's Launchpad: $50,000 grand prize; $10,000 with a matching amount in in-kind services to Emerging Idea Winner. Deadline is April 15 launchpad.gorhamsavingsbank.com ¡ Top Gun entrepreneur acceleration program by Maine Center for Entrepreneurs: February through June program pairs groups with mentors, holds weekly training; six picked for pitch to panel of potential investors, business leaders and press. www.mced.biz/ programs-services/top-gun-program ¡ Greenlight Maine television show: Entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel on the weekly show, which airs on WCSH Channel 6 from January to June. All participants get mentoring and advice, winner gets $100,000. greenlightmaine.com

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