Mike spent over 20 years in economic development at the state, regional and local levels here in the State of Maine where he became an advocate for entrepreneurship.  He would then go on to become the first employee and lead the startup effort of Summit Natural Gas of Maine.  Mike joined Thomas College in November 2016 to start up the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation.

Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation

Thomas College Website 

Allison Watson is a Small Business Development Center adviser, providing one-on-one counseling and support to start-ups and existing businesses in northern Kennebec and Somerset counties. She comes to the Maine SBDC and CEI with a depth and breadth of experience in economic development, education, energy and health care.

Watson spent several years in the energy industry working with industrial and commercial businesses, and in education teaching business and technology courses. Most recently she was CFO and senior director of operations at a healthcare non-profit.

Watson earned her B.S. in Business Administration from Thomas College and continued at Thomas to earn both an M.B.A. and a Master’s in Computer Technology in Education.

Allison works out of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce Office in Waterville and can be reached at Allison.Watson@ceimaine.org or 207-319-4316.

SBDC Website

Linda Diou is the Branch Manager for Mid-Maine, Mid-Coast SCORE, offering free and confidential mentoring for all stages of business. Past member and chair of the Maine Technology Institute Board of Directors, providing funding to technology entrepreneurs.

Prior to SCORE, Linda managed a biotechnology company achieving: double digit revenue growth year over year for the majority of her 14 years, 20-30% operating income, led two acquisitions from analysis to due diligence and successful integration. Also received ISO 9001:2000 best practices designation for business and quality metrics and goal setting tied to strategy.  Linda enjoys working with small businesses to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.  She assists many clients in starting their businesses.

SCORE Website

Reilly is a licensed commercial insurance agent at GHM Insurance in Waterville with a professional focus on breweries, brewpubs, and other alcohol manufacturers.  Reilly and his team are able to provide peace of mind for entrepreneurs and business owners by creating custom insurance programs tailored specifically to their clients needs within the industry in which they operate.

GHM Website

Martha Bentley has worked with the Maine Technology Institute in a variety of capacities since 2002 including managing the Cluster Initiative Program and the Maine Technology Asset Fund Program, as well as well as Maine Accelerates Growth. Martha joined the MTI staff in 2016 as Director of Innovation Infrastructure, coordinating MTI’s funding programs and partnerships that support the innovation and entrepreneurial environment in Maine.

Martha has a bachelor of arts in history from Davidson College and a master of arts in applied history from the University of South Carolina. She has held a variety of positions relating to non-profit management and philanthropy, including grants manager for the Public Welfare Foundation in Washington, DC, and director of programs at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  She lives in Readfield, Maine.

MTI Website

Sally Garand has 30 years of professional experience as a Commercial Loan Officer. She started her career with KeyBank and Bangor Savings Bank, and now serves in the same capacity at the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), where she is also Program Administrator for the Maine Rural Development Authority (MRDA).

FAME was established as Maine’s business finance agency in 1983 and is charged with supporting the start-up, expansion and growth plans of Maine’s business community. Its mission is to provide innovative financial solutions to help Maine citizens pursue business and higher education opportunities.

The Maine Rural Development Authority (MRDA) was established by the Maine Legislature in 2002 to assist Maine communities in realizing their economic development goals. MRDA provides financial assistance to communities and their development partners to help develop speculative commercial and industrial buildings and repurpose underutilized commercial industrial properties, focusing on projects that cannot be accomplished by private sector development alone.

Sally works directly with Maine’s lending community and with borrowers to help Maine businesses grow, expand and succeed.

FAME Website

Jean Claveau, Vice president and Commercial Banking Officer with Camden National Bank.  Jean has 20 years of experience working with business owners on their lending needs throughout the State of Maine.  Jean moved to Maine in 1994 and started his career in economic development working for not-for-profit agencies involved in non-traditional financing (Penquis CAP and Coastal Enterprises, Inc.).  He joined Camden National Bank in 2014.

Past co-chair of Synergy, the Augusta young professional group.  Current Kiwanis member and GrowSmart Maine board member.

Jean obtained a certificate in Political Sciences at Laval University in Canada and his Master’s in Business Administration from Thomas College in Maine.  Jean enjoys reading, traveling on the East Coast and spending time with his family.

Jean lives in Hallowell with his wife, daughter, and one dog!

Camden National Bank Website

Amy K. Bassett was appointed as district director of SBA’s Maine district office in January of 2017. The district office is located in Augusta, with branch offices in Bangor and Portland.

In her role as district director, Ms. Bassett is responsible for leading the Maine SBA team in the delivery of SBA’s financial assistance, entrepreneurial development and contracting programs throughout the state.  Key to the delivery of programs and services is the close collaboration she helps foster with lending partners, SBA resource partners, economic development professionals and local and state entities.  These relationships promote entrepreneurship and small business creation and growth.

Ms. Bassett received her bachelor’s degree in business management from Plymouth State College, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She began her career with the SBA in the New Hampshire district office in 1990 and held a variety of positions during her time with that office, including deputy district director and lender relations specialist.  During her tenure with SBA she has been involved in key SBA loan program initiatives including loan systems and lender relations staff training and development.  She also has an extensive background in SBA resource partner management and development and implementation of marketing and outreach strategies.

She is a graduate of the Partnership for Public Service’s Excellence in Government Fellows Program and was an active member of the NH Federal Executive Association. Ms. Bassett is a native of Sandown, New Hampshire.

SBA Website

From a simple idea in a basement in Oakland, ME to a partnership with Facebook in under a year – It was a journey I could only dream of.

After graduating in May of 2007, with a degree in New Media, a concentration in Information Design and a minor in Computer Science, I was hired as a Software Developer by InforME – a child company of NIC. The knowledge and experience I gained provided me the foundation necessary to take the next major step in my career…

During the winter of 2013, drawing on my education and work experience, I created and co-founded a company called “PingTank”. Less than three months later, in February of 2014, I found myself in San Mateo, CA, pitching the product I had built to Timothy Draper, a Hedge-Fund Billionaire and major Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist. Mr. Draper loved our concept and our passion, and gave us our initial seed money to elevate our company to the next level. We immediately relocated the business to Los Angeles, CA, where overnight, I would need to learn how to run a multi-million-dollar company. As the Co-founder, CTO and a board member of PingTank, I was tasked with managing our technical team, ensuring that our product was cutting edge, providing insight on major company decisions, and managing investor relations. Within just one year, I helped lead our team to develop a product that garnered the interest of both Facebook and Google. In March of 2015, Facebook invited us to partner with them to become a pilot company to live inside of their Messenger app/platform. Shortly thereafter, we attended Facebook’s F8 conference where we launched our product to the world. The reception was incredible.

Sounds easy, right? Well believe me, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I’m extremely excited to share the details of this life-changing experience, as well as some incredibly valuable lessons learned.

LinkedIn

Mike spent over 20 years in economic development at the state, regional and local levels here in the State of Maine where he became an advocate for entrepreneurship.  He would then go on to become the first employee and lead the startup effort of Summit Natural Gas of Maine.  Mike joined Thomas College in November 2016 to start up the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation.

Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation

Thomas College Website 

RJ Anzelc is the founder of Bricks, a coworking and innovation space in Waterville, Maine, as well as a Senior Technical Consultant for a Boston-based technology company. RJ has spent time in both large corporations (Fortune 100), as well as small, family-owned companies with various role and responsibilities, such as: software development, business management and client engagement. RJ has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maine in Business – Management Information Systems, as well as an MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. RJ grew up in Skowhegan, and now resides in Belgrade with his wife and two sons.

Bricks Website

Tracy is one of Central Maine’s best-known, most go-to web-based-solutions leaders and digital/social-media marketers. She is a qualified Solutions Provider for Constant Contact, and earned her degree in Marketing Management from Thomas College in Waterville, Maine. Tracy founded TOCmedia in 2009. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, snowboarding, reading, writing, and exploring all the new techie ways to market and communicate.

TOCmedia Website

Nate Towne is the marketing director of Waterville Creates!, a non-profit promoting, supporting, and growing greater Waterville’s arts and cultural scene, as well as the co-owner of Christopher Hastings Confections, an artisan confectionery located in downtown Waterville. At Waterville Creates!, Nate collaborates with cultural institutions and their supporters to increase access to regional arts and community programing. At Christopher Hastings Confections, Nate spearheads marketing and business development. Prior to joining WC!, Nate worked his communications craft at a number of the nations leading advertising and public relations agencies as well as running his own boutique public relations firm. Nate has a bachelor of science in Mass Communications from Boston University and earned his masters degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Emerson College.

Christopher Hastings Confections Website

Waterville Creates! Website

Matt has worked professionally as a videographer since 2007. He worked at WPXT and WCSH6 producing tv commercials, selling sponsorships and hosting original programs. During his career in the tv industry, Matt had picked up a few freelance clients. In the winter of 2015, he broke off and launched Cre8iv Company LLC. Since then, he has gained a number of new clients including Hancock Lumber, IDEXX, Central Maine Health Care, Spectrum Health Care Partners and even Thomas College producing everything from commercials and social media/web videos to educational, event and customer testimonial videos. Matt prides himself and his business on building strong, genuine relationships. As a one-man operation, Matt has found his niche in the market, but that doesn’t mean he will ever stop thinking about that next big idea.

Cre8iv Company Website

Chris Voynik has successfully started multiple businesses since the time he was 18. Chris started his entrepreneurship career with an e-commerce site  that drop shipped eco-friendly pet products. After realizing the power of e-commerce, he created a product that he knew could outsell all the others on his site.

Eventually this new product, the Wag Rag– a 100% recycled dog toy knotted out of t-shirts- became a business of its own. Wag Rags quickly grew from an online retail business to wholesaling to over 60 locations across the country including Goodwill. 

Chris has also successfully lead an international team of iOS developers to build a social media app from scratch called eClp (originally Ice-Berg). eClp (exited) empowered users to use AirDrop/Bluetooth  to send friend requests across multiple platforms with the click of a button. ​

Chris is also one of four Co-Founders of a drone service company called Drone Scout. Drone Scout is in the market to provide commercial drone services to infrastructure companies across New England.

Most recently, Chris had found his skill set in high demand; so he formed V1 Media where he consults for clients on everything from finances to social media. He also recently became a Founding Partner in a real-estate holding company that is set to develop residential homes in Central Maine.

Chris and his businesses have been featured in Downeast Magazine, Season 2 of Greenlight Maine, Gorham Savings Launch Pad, and Thomas College. He has also been featured in multiple newspapers, radio station shows, news segments, and much more!

Wag Rags Website

Drone Scout Website

Lock Out Labs, LLC is a new business created by two young electrical engineers Brendan Paradis and Zachary Atherton who noticed a routine procedure within their field was lacking in both safety and efficiency.  The pair have developed the “FT Lock” that improves the procedure through innovation and design.

The “FT Lock” improves the commonly used procedure called “Lockout/Tagout” by providing an electrical and physical barrier that can be installed in seconds. It also encourages safer practices and an easier implementation of standard practice, allowing personnel to easily and confidently lock out test switches.

Brendan and Zachary are pursuing Intellectual property rights to their invention with a US patent to protect their unique and innovative solution.  The company has been Featured in Maine Biz “10 Maine startups to keep an eye on”. They continue to innovate with a few more products in development to be released in the coming months.

Brendan Paradis is a graduate of University of Maine, majoring in Electrical Engineer Technology as well as Eastern Maine Community College in Electrical and Automation Tech.  Brendan’s specialties include product development and design, preparation of parts design for large scale manufacturing, rapid prototyping.

Zachary is a graduate of the University of Maine with a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. Zach’s focus is on customer relations and product conceptual design, and is an experienced field service engineer as well as technical “day to day” business operations.

Lockout Labs LLC Website

Eight years ago, some may say it started out with a Crooked Face cow. Though truly,
the devotion to cheese craftsmanship, to local dairy farms, and to giving back to the
community began shortly after Amy Rowbottom was born to a milk making family in
Norridgewock, ME.

Raised with the steadfast work ethic and deep gratitude that comes from dairy farming,
Amy might have spent some time away but her family heritage was quick to call her
back up North. That’s where the herd with the funny-faced Jersey cow came in, and the
thoughtful (though wholly unexpected) process of perfecting a line of whole milk
cheeses took hold.

Amy is now hard at work creating a unique mix of award winning cheeses and sells
them at farmers’ markets, specialty shops, bakeries and farm to table restaurants
across the state. All cheeses are handcrafted with high quality local whole Jersey milk,
no preservatives, and limited ingredients, and often specially cold-smoked, for the
creamiest, richest flavor and texture. It’s Amy’s way of giving back—to her local farmer
friends and her hometown community—in the very best way she knows: really, really
good cheese.

Crooked Face Creamery Website

Chris Voynik has successfully started multiple businesses since the time he was 18. Chris started his entrepreneurship career with an e-commerce site  that drop shipped eco-friendly pet products. After realizing the power of e-commerce, he created a product that he knew could outsell all the others on his site.

Eventually this new product, the Wag Rag– a 100% recycled dog toy knotted out of t-shirts- became a business of its own. Wag Rags quickly grew from an online retail business to wholesaling to over 60 locations across the country including Goodwill. 

Chris has also successfully lead an international team of iOS developers to build a social media app from scratch called eClp (originally Ice-Berg). eClp (exited) empowered users to use AirDrop/Bluetooth  to send friend requests across multiple platforms with the click of a button. ​

Chris is also one of four Co-Founders of a drone service company called Drone Scout. Drone Scout is in the market to provide commercial drone services to infrastructure companies across New England.

Most recently, Chris had found his skill set in high demand; so he formed V1 Media where he consults for clients on everything from finances to social media. He also recently became a Founding Partner in a real-estate holding company that is set to develop residential homes in Central Maine.

Chris and his businesses have been featured in Downeast Magazine, Season 2 of Greenlight Maine, Gorham Savings Launch Pad, and Thomas College. He has also been featured in multiple newspapers, radio station shows, news segments, and much more!

Wag Rags Website

Drone Scout Website