Converge and Create

4th Annual Central Maine Converge and Create Weekend

This year’s event is titled the “Art of the Startup” due to the fact that we will  be bringing highly accomplished Entrepreneurs to you via Zoom to discuss how they took simple ideas and turned them into successful businesses.

Hear these Entrepreneur’s stories and ask them questions on how they took their ideas and built these businesses from scratch. 

This year’s event will be hosted on the Zoom online platform. Please pre-register on Eventbrite so we know how many participants will be joining us and we can alert you of any important updates or changes.

To access the Zoom code for this event go to:

Friday, November 13, 2020 – 12:45 PM to 5:00 PM 

Hear from the following Entrepreneurs:

Saturday, November 14, 2020 – 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Join in with others throughout the state as Maine college students compete head-to-head in a business pitch competition hosted by the Emmy-nominated TV show Greenlight Maine.

Students will describe their idea for a business or social venture to a panel of judges and field questions from them. After all the college entrepreneurs have made their pitch, judges will confer and choose who will move along to the Greenlight Maine televised competition in early Spring where students will compete for financial prizes that will help them start or scale their businesses.

To obtain the Zoom access code for the Greenlight Maine Collegiate Business Pitch Competition, go to https://greenlightmaine.com/maine-collegiate-challenge/ for more information.

For more information on the Converge and Create Weekend event, please contact Isaac Salisbury at 207-859-1159 or isaac.salisbury@thomas.edu.

Nate Wildes: Nate is the Executive Director for Live and Work in Maine where he and his staff focus on raising awareness about the career opportunities and world-class quality of life experienced by those of us who live and work in Maine. A University of Maine graduate who followed employment to the mid-west only to come ‘Boomeranging’ back to the Way Life Should Be, Nate knows first-hand how under-appreciated life in Maine is – and how much opportunity there is for our future. Nate is also co-founder of Flight Deck Brewing on Brunswick Landing (the re-developed Brunswick Naval Air Station). The production brewery is open to the public, offering beer, food, and family-friendly events.

Heather Lux: Heather is the Founder and CEO of True North Beauty, an innovative, Chaga based, luxury skincare company with a mission to build people’s confidence through healthy, clear skin. Before she became an entrepreneur, Heather spent over 20 years working in the areas of Organizational Development, Innovation and HR for Fortune 100 companies. In 2017, Heather left Corporate America to turn her passion of inspiring women and creating skincare products into a start-up company. Today, Heather is in her 5th year of operation and was recently named the 2020 SBA, Small Business Manufacturer of the Year.

Chris Wolfel:Chris is the Director of Entrepreneurship at the Roux Institute. At the Roux Institute Chris’ role is to develop and execute programs that support entrepreneurs who want to build world changing businesses in Maine. A serial entrepreneur, Chris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Helpful, a community enablement software platform, Founder of Barrel Proof Ventures, an early stage venture consulting firm, as well as a Co-founder of Mavrck, an industry leading influencer marketing platform. Chris is also an active mentor for entrepreneurs through programs including IDEA, Northeastern University’s Venture Accelerator, Youth CITIES, and Techstars where he also serves as the Vice President of the Boston Alumni Chapter.

Amber Lambke: Amber is the Founder and President of Maine Grains Inc. located in Skowhegan, Maine. Maine Grains is known for its industry setting standards in quality and is carried by specialty food stores and used by bakeries, breweries, and restaurants throughout the Northeast. Amber is also known as the founding director of the Maine Grain Alliance, a leader in Maine’s sustainable food initiative. In addition, she also is the co-founder of the Kneading Conference, an event that attracts individuals from around the world

Amy Rowbottom: Amy is the Founder and Head Cheesemaker at Crooked Face Creamery which she has operated for over 11 years. Known for their incredible hand-crafted artisan cheeses and first-in-class marketing, Crooked Face Creamery is on the leading edge of Maine’s sustainable food resurgence and part of the effort to reestablish the agriculture sector. Amy is a graduate of Wheaton College.

Nick Rimsa: Nick is a Co-Founder Product Designer at Eariously, a company that helps businesses build an even more engaged audience by turning written articles into audio articles and embedding audio players on companies web sites. Nick is also a Product Designer and Design Instructor of Tortoise Labs, a company he co-founded which teaches makers of early-stage products how to understand their customers so they can go get their first ones. They then work with these makers to prepare to scale their product independently or with the help of outside capital. He also uses his expertise in product design as a Product Design Instructor for the Propeller project, an initiative created by Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Nick is a graduate of Colby College in Waterville Maine.

Garvan Donegan: Garvan is the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the Central Maine Growth Council where he has led the organization for over 7 years and the region’s recent renaissance boasting new developments and a resurging downtown in Waterville. As part of his duties, Garvan manages the Waterville Opportunity Zone, one of the national opportunity zones established in federal legislation, and he also oversees the region’s US Foreign Trade Zone. In addition, he is also the Principle of the private planning firm Project Planning and Analysis, Inc. which provides planning, policy analysis and economic development for municipal customers.

Owen Mcarthy: Owen is a Digital Therapeutics Entrepreneur who is the Co-Founder and President of the Board of Directors for MedRhythms, Inc. which uses sensors, music, and Artificial Intelligence to build evidence-based neurologic interventions to measure and improve walking. He is a Vice-Chair of the University of Maine Board of Visitors and is the Co-Founder of the UMaine Business Challenge, an annual business pitch competition for UMaine college students. Owen received his undergraduate degree in biological engineering from the University of Maine and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Martin Grohman: Martin is the creator and Host of The Grow Maine Podcast where he explores innovation with Maine entrepreneurs doing incredible things. He is also the Executive Director of the Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine. Known as E2 Tech, the organization seeks to build and expand the State’s environmental, energy, and clean technology sectors. Martin is also the Founder of Correct Building Products, LLC which was a three-time listee on the Inc 500 that reached 30MM in annual revenue and 75 employees within 6 years. Martin graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Chemical Engineering.

Ethan Sclar: In addition to being a college student, Ethan is a serial entrepreneur. He currently is an Amazon FBA expert where he has created a successful business selling grocery and discontinued items. Prior to his most current venture, Ethan founded Frankie’s, a pop-up closeout and surplus store that he operated in Windham, Maine. Ethan is currently a business student at Babson College where is a junior.

AGENDA

12:45 – 12:50 pm Opening & Keynote Mike Duguay, Executive Director, Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation

12:50– 1:20 pm Garvan Donegan, Director, Central Maine Growth Council Nick Rimsa, Co-Founder, Eariously, Mike Duguay, Executive Director, Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation

1:20 – 1:45 pm Martin Grohman, Host, The Grow Maine Show

1:45 – 2:10 pm Chris Wolfel, Co-Founder and CEO, Helpful and Director of Entrepreneurship, Roux Institute

2:10 – 2:35 pm Owen McCarthy, President, and Co-Founder, Med Rhythms Inc.

2:35 – 3:00 pm Nate Wildes, Co-Founder, Flight Deck Brewing Company

3:00 – 3:25 pm Amber Lambke, CEO and Founder, Maine Grains Inc.

3:25 – 3:50 pm Heather Lux, CEO and Founder, True North Beauty Inc.

3:50 – 4:15 pm Amy Rowbotttom, Founder, Crooked Face Creamery

4:15 – 4:40 pm Ethan Sclar, Amazon FBA Expert

4:40 – 5:00 pm Event Summary and Closing Statements