Welcome to Maine Center for Enterprise Development | Providing Business Incubation Services for Start-Up Technology Companies

News

A New Leader for the Next Decade - MCED

announces new Executive Director Steven Bazinet

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Upcoming Events

"Win-Win Negotiations" MTI workshop Thurs. 6/26 USM Abromson Center

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Maine Center for Enterprise Development

c/o Univ. of S. Maine
P.O. Box 9300
Portland, ME 04104-9300

P: 207. 228 . 8524
F: 207. 228 . 8526

Street address:

70 Falmouth St
Portland, ME 04103
(Bio-Science Building, research wing, 2nd floor)

On Site Clients

What is Campus Ventures?

The Campus Ventures Program provides services to start-up companies created by USM students, faculty and staff. We provide counseling and assistance regarding business plans, commercialization strategies, and efforts to obtain early stage financing.

A portion of our facility is devoted to assisting USM student-created companies at no cost. We offer a two-year opportunity: In the first year we help student teams prepare for the Student Business Plan Competition. Winners and finalists are then awarded an additional, free one-year residency. (Click here for link to USM student business plan competition webpage) Founding sponsorship support for Campus Ventures was provided by Clark Associates, Pierce Atwood, Mr. Widgery Thomas and the Maine Office of Innovation.

For any state to succeed economically it must provide the talent within its borders with the opportunity to succeed. Increasingly the MCED program is helping to develop the entrepreneurial talent pool that exists on local university and college campuses. Campus-created companies represent approximately 25% of the MCED’s client base, revealing a project trend that should be nurtured.

In the past four years alone, twelve firms that were initiated on college campuses joined our client base to take advantage of our service offerings in mentoring, technical assistance and access to early stage financing.

One of the reasons that the MCED and USM created an economic development partnership was to help establish the foundation for a new culture of company creation from the USM campuses. This will result in an influx of technology companies into the area economy skilled in commercialization of new products.

2008 Sponsors of Campus Ventures

Mr. Widgery Thomas

If your company is interested in becoming a sponsor of Campus Ventures, or other programs of the MCED, please contact John M. Ferland at 228-8525 or JFerland@mced.biz.

Founding Sponsors of Campus Ventures

Mr. Widgery Thomas

Our vision is that Campus Ventures will be a driver for innovation in the regional economy. The support of these inaugural founders allowed us to provide assistance to 6 start-up technology companies created by students, faculty, and staff from the University of Southern Maine (USM).

MCED assists Student Created Companies

MCED works with start-up technology companies created by USM students, faculty and staff. We provide counseling and assistance regarding business plans, commercialization strategies, and efforts to obtain early stage financing.

Last year three of the five finalists used the incubator for competition assistance and office headquarters. A fourth joined our program after the competition. One of our current student company residents is Silver Performance Gear, winner of the 2007 competition. ( details ) Silver, which is developing a new type of sports bra, used the business plan competition experience to create a successful funding proposal to the Maine Technology Institute (MTI).

Last fall we graduated Medicreative, a finalist in the 2006 competition. Rebecca Stockbridge, a USM '06 graduate, implemented her business plan for Medicreative to provide graphic and web design services to medical professionals and help doctors brand their practices. Following its success with the USM competition, MediCreative received funding from the Libra Future Fund, and has now moved into her own intown location.

We have also worked with past USM competition winners such as Consumer Energy Research Corp. (CERC), Do All Dump and Delta Surface Technologies.

Approximately 25% of our overall client based started their company on a college campus. One example is CrossRate Technology LLC, founded by Maine native Zach Conover. The company emerged from the student business plan competition at Drexel University. CrossRate is developing the next generation of integrated timing, frequency, and navigation components and receivers. Upon returning to Maine and securing residency in the MCED, the company has received multiple research and development awards from MTI and private investors, and also graduated from the incubator in November 2007.

Featured Company

iSagacity

iSagacity has developed new predictive monitoring software technology for equipment in industrial plants. A system’s time-sensitive information is sent to an operators e-mail or mobile device reducing equipment downtime and maintenance expense, and increasing safety and operating efficiency.

MCED Vision

To be a center of excellence for launching successful start-up companies, nurturing entrepreneurship and implementing innovation as an economic development tool for Maine.