🔒From the Editor: The pandemic has been fertile ground for startups

Working from home, remote operations, mandated closures, layoffs, the Great Resignation — 2020 offered a whole host of reasons why we’re now seeing startups cropping up all over.

We’re all witnessing this in Maine. We’ve seen an influx of new people move here. We’ve seen housing prices skyrocket. We’ve seen longtime restaurants and businesses put up “for sale” signs. We’ve seen a wave of retirements from key posts in the private sector, public sector and at nonprofits. We’ve seen a shift to doing many meetings on Zoom. And while students are (mostly) heading back to school this fall, we’ll probably still see young kids in the backgrounds of Zoom calls.

All these factors and a whole lot of others are contributing to changes in the workforce, changes in the workplace and changes in the business climate in Maine.

We don’t normally associate the word “startup” with child care businesses, but a need arose when schools were closed but parents continued to work, albeit at home. As Renee Cordes reports, we’ve seen a surge in child care operations. See “Baby steps,” which starts on Page 18.

Brewers have seen disruptions in business in the past 18 months, yet new ones keep opening. The new arrivals are focusing on even more-defined niches — with specialty brews, a more carved out audience or a clever twist on an old theme. See Catie Joyce-Bulay’s report, “Brewing niche businesses,” which starts on Page 22.

Our cover story also shows an entrepreneur’s knack for finding a foothold in the marketplace — in this case, for products from the sea. See Laurie Schreiber’s story, “Fishing for profit,” which starts on Page 14.

Elsewhere in the issue, the list is the largest Maine Technology Institute investments, on Page 30.