By Renee Cordes, Mainebiz | May 26, 2026
More than 500 business founders, investors and others gathered in Portland last week to swap ideas, forge connections and take in the energy of Maine’s startup scene.
The four-day Startup Maine Week wrapped up on Thursday with a closing keynote from Clarence Bethea, the Texas-based founder of a platform, course and community called What VCs Won’t Say. He created the venture to give startup founders unfiltered insights into fundraising and venture capital and took six flights to get to Portland for the conference.
“One thing that I learned about the Maine startup scene is the pride of the community,” Bethea told Mainebiz afterwards. “It’s clear that the community is growing and there’s a lot happening with founders there. I’m excited to see the next decade for Maine’s startup scene.”
Here are a few takeaways from Startup Maine Week, held at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute and the Maine Center at 300 Fore St., with a closing party at Live at Madrid’s. (Mainebiz was a media sponsor.)
