Organizers of new Bangor startup program issue corrections to initial announcement
The organizers of a new Bangor startup accelerator have issued a few corrections and clarifications to their Tuesday announcement, which they said was sent prematurely.
The Maine Technology Institute and the University of Maine had announced on Tuesday, through a UMaine mailing list, that they are partnering for a three-month pilot program for Maine entrepreneurs and startups called Scratchpad Accelerator.
The announcement said the program starts on Aug. 31 and provides a few startup teams that have “high-growth potential” with seed funding, mentoring guidance and daily learning lessons for a three-month period in the Bangor area.
But after Mainebiz published a story on Wednesday using information from the announcement, organizers said that the announcement had been sent prematurely and that a few of its more specific details were either outdated or still pending approval, and need to be corrected or clarified.
Details that have changed from the original announcement
Funding and number of teams accepted into the program: The original announcement stated the program would accept up to four startup teams and that they would each receive $25,000 in seed funding. Those details have changed.
“We anticipate seed funding to be available, but the detail of those seed grants have not been finalized yet,” Jake Ward, UMaine’s vice president for innovation and economic development, told Mainebiz on Thursday. He said that the funding will be determined as part of the application process.
Ward added that the program will only accept up to three teams — not four teams as previously announced — which is the number of teams that was approved by MTI.
One staff member has been replaced: Scratchpad’s website had stated, as of Wednesday morning, that Jesse Moriarty, coordinator of the Foster Center for Student Innovation and co-director of the Target Technology Incubator, will be part of the team. That detail is outdated.
Moriarity will not be part of the team because she is leaving for another job, Ward confirmed. In her place will be Joe Migliaccio, MTI’s director of business development. Migliaccio’s name was included in the initial announcement but not Scratchpad’s website.
Details that haven't changed from the original announcement
The rest of the team: Migliaccio will be joined by Jason Harkins, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the Maine Business School; Jennifer Hooper, mentor and entrepreneur coordinator at the UMaine Foster Center for Student Innovation.
Ward said the program will also have support from other UMaine and MTI staff members
Who’s eligible: Applicants must have a team of two-to-three people working on the business full time for the program’s three-month duration. Applications also must be a current or potential MTI portfolio company, meaning they must have already received funding or have submitted an application for funding and are eligible under MTI’s funding requirements.
In addition, the applicant’s business idea must have "high growth potential" over the next decade and "address a market that has total value of more than $100 million.” It also needs to be in one of the following sectors: biotechnology, advanced materials/composites, environmental tech, forest products/agriculture, information technology, marine tech and aquaculture and precision manufacturing."
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments