While I cannot claim to be much of a Country Music fan, I do recall hearing a song a couple of summers ago by recording artist Tim McGraw who revealed, “Portland, Maine, I don’t know where that is… and I don’t want to know.” McGraw was ostensibly singing about a partner who had moved to Portland and his lyrics indicated that the relationship was likely over – – “let’s just agree, this is it” – – because he would not consider leaving his out-of-state residence to join her.
Well, it’s quite possible that McGraw’s fictitious partner had moved to Portland due to its vibrant startup community. Perhaps she launched a new business venture or took a position at one of Greater Portland’s up and coming early stage companies.
To illustrate my point, Inc. magazine published an article about Portland late last year that revealed that, “Smaller cities like Portland, Maine have increasingly showed they have the resources needed for entrepreneurs to thrive–without having to spend an arm and a leg on a shoebox-size apartment.” The article also noted that, “Portland was ranked as the ninth best city in America for female entrepreneurs (Take note Mr. McGraw) and the fifth best city overall for starting a business by NerdWallet.”
Emblematic of this entrepreneurial activity and energy, Maine Start-up and Create Week (MSCW) recently held its third annual affair. The 7-day event brought together inspirational speakers, featured valuable discussion panels, and integrated exhilarating and entertaining evening networking events.
The Maine Technology Institute was proud to be a sponsor of MSCW and we particularly enjoyed the many beneficial stories that were conveyed by Maine’s dreamers, doers, and risk takers. The stories left an indelible mark on all those in attendance, including the hundreds of out-of-state participants who unquestionably imagined how terrific it would be to move to Maine to take part in the burgeoning startup scene.
A couple of days after MSCW concluded, I was in Washington, D.C. with dozens of peers from across the country for a dialogue around technology-based economic development and was sought out by an attendee from Hawaii. He came over to tell me that he had just spent the week in Portland at Maine Startup & Create Week and loved his time there. He had high praise for Maine and exclaimed how invigorated he had been by all the entrepreneurial energy that was abounding during his visit. Amazing! Kudos to all the volunteers who worked so tirelessly to coordinate and manage the scores of activities at MSCW 2016.
Clearly, while Tim McGraw may not know where Portland, Maine is, it is obvious that it is attracting attention from plenty of entrepreneurial-minded people. From the Greater Boston area, to the Pacific Islands, to our friends in the North Atlantic and beyond, Portland, and indeed all of Maine, is becoming a destination for innovative business enterprises of all sizes, especially early stage companies. And, on behalf of MTI, we are thrilled to witness all the activity and to play a role in supporting, funding and encouraging it.
Best,
Brian
Brian Whitney
President