Startup Maine

Monthly Newsletter – Feb 2019

Startup 2019 with Startup Maine

In February’s newsletter
1. Workshop Applications – Due Friday, March 1
2. You’re invited to our March 11 “Startup Maine Presents” Happy Hour featuring Grove
3. We’re asking questions we hope you’ll answer, and we’re giving away a pass to SUM2019!
4. Learn more about 2 of our programming co-chairs – Helen Sterling Coburn and Andrew Kraus.

Apply to present a workshop at SUM19

You’re Invited:

Startup Maine Presents: Insights from a Founder – Grove Portland

Monday, March 11, we’re hosting a happy hour event in collaboration with Grove Collaborative, a fast growing company with roots in San Francisco and now Portland, ME.

Grove’s CEO & co-founder, Stu Landesburg, will be in town to share insights about the company, lessons learned along the way, and why they chose Portland, ME as their second headquarters. Grove Collaborative is a certified B Corp and was named the 37th fastest growing company in the U.S. in the 2018 Inc 5000- and they are hiring like crazy in Maine!

RSVP via Eventbrite
(it’s free, but we want to make sure we have enough local snacks and (adult) beverages)

We have a few questions

We’re deep into planning the 2019 Startup Maine Conference, and would love to hear from past attendees of Startup Maine, or Maine Startup and Create Week! Please answer this super quick few questions.

Leave your name at the bottom of the survey to be entered to win a free pass to SUM 2019 !

Take me to the Survey

We asked Helen Sterling Coburn and Andrew Kraus a few questions about Startups, Startup Maine, and life.

Andrew:

In the lead-up to the conference, I’m one of three co-chairs (with Helen Sterling Coburn and Jamieson Webking) on the Programming Committee. We’re in charge of finding all the speakers who present at SUM’s annual conference. During the conference, I’m a wrangler of metal folding chairs, moving them from room-to-room to make sure everyone has a seat – my current record is carrying 14 folded chairs at once! Outside SUM, I’m a business attorney at Opticliff Law where I get to interact and work with entrepreneurs on a daily basis. I love my job(s).

Helen:

As a co-chair of the Programming Committee, I help give shape to the conferences theme, solicit and review workshop applications, and generally try to make sure we have content that people will find helpful and inspiring. During the week of the conference, I’m often running from workshop to workshop, making sure our presenters have what they need. Outside of SUM, I am a new mom to a little boy whose smiles make up for the fact that he doesn’t let me sleep, a new shareholder at Bernstein Shur, where I spend a lot of my time advising startups on raising capital, and the owner of a new pair of ski boots which I’m testing out this weekend.

Tell us three books and three podcasts you’re enjoying right now:

Helen:
Podcasts –

1. How I Built This – Always interesting.
2. Moth Radio Hour – Because civilization depends on stories.
3. Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me – (Basically, I love anything NPR)

Books-

1. (From Feb 1) The Registration Statement for HS Spinco, Inc. (soon to be Covetrus, Inc.) – I’m a geek about securities laws and it’s not every day that a Maine company goes public.
2. Bringing up Bebe – I’ve got a 9 month old son. This part ex pat novel, part parenting toolkit seems to strike the right balance.
3. The Outlander Series – Guilty pleasure reading!

Andrew:
Podcasts-

1. Radiolab – My all-time favorite podcast. No one does radio story-telling better.
2. TED Radio Hour – Inspirational and educational.
3. Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me – I’m a current events junkie, and I like to laugh.

Books-

1. Last Hope Island – A fantastic look into how exiled leaders of Nazi-occupied Europe came together in Great Britain during WWII to continue the continent’s fight for freedom. If you have even the slightest interest in WWII history or political maneuvering, I highly recommend this book!
2. American Wolf – Follows the largely positive ecological impact and also the nation-wide political controversy brought on by the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park.
3. Vacationland – Written by well-known comedian John Hodgman, this hilarious read reflects on life, wanderings, and his family’s eventual move to Downeast Maine.