File photo / Fred Field
Susan Ruhlin
March 3, 2025
Travel, marinade and tech firms among 12 startups in Dirigo Labs cohort
Sustainable aluminum packaging and plywood production, travel planning platforms and a new type of scallop-growing cage are among the products and services offered by the 12 startups that form the fourth cohort getting underway in Dirigo Labs’ business accelerator program.
"Each company brings unique solutions to market challenges, from sustainable consumer products to advanced manufacturing technologies,” said Susan Ruhlin, Dirigo’s managing director.
The program, hosted at the Hathaway Creative Center in downtown Waterville, will feature an enhanced curriculum with emphasis on fundraising education and entrepreneurial development.
The fundraising education aims to equip founders with skills to access capital and scale their businesses, said Emalee Hall, assistant director of innovation programming and partnerships.
Startups were selected based on development stage, founder experience, potential to scale and industry relevance. They will be paired with a customized board of advisors drawn from Dirigo Labs' local and national mentor network; and will participate in workshops covering fundraising strategies, investor relations, public-private sector grants, intellectual property and strategic growth planning.
The startups
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Khadija El Barkaoui, founder of Coelle Travel.
Coelle Travel was founded by Khadija El Barkaoui, a 2024 Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree, to offer sustainable, culturally immersive tourism experiences.
Intripid was founded by Dan Shevenell as a travel planning platform for all types of travelers.
Jordene Trueh founded BackRiver Blends to offer authentic Jamaican jerk marinades with locally-sourced ingredients. Juliana Tebbetts started Kili Organics to offer nutrient-rich Tanzanian baobab and moringa “superfood” powders that can be mixed into smoothies or water and are part of daily life in the East Africa country.
Jonathan Steuber and Charles Walsh started Seascale to commercialize their design of gear that hauls and sets like a lobster trap but are fitted with shellfish bags and are purpose-built for growing scallops, according to their website.
Jeff Poulin started Creativity Codex, as a platform for teams and individuals to understand and expand their creative capabilities.
Katie Richards’s Maine Laboratories is Maine’s first PFAS testing facility.
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Jen Millard, CEO and co-founder of mainelove, is a member of Dirigo Labs’ newest cohort.
Mainelove, founded by Jen Millard, brings breweries and Sebago Lake water into sustainable aluminum packaging.
Flexware Controls, founded by Jeremy Ouellette, offers the FlexCube Refrigeration System said to reduce hydrofluorocarbon usage by 75%. Hydrofluorocarbons are a climate “super-pollutant”: greenhouse gases, according to the state of Maine.
Charles Martin started Maine Plywood as a sustainable plywood production facility.
K.BeckerDesigns, started by Kimberly Becker, offers “ethical,” small-batch, circular fashion with zero waste.
Kathleen Kurjanowicz’s startup, James Point, creates “sophisticated, refillable stationery for stylish organization.”
Dirigo Labs, a program of the Central Maine Growth Council, is a regional startup accelerator and incubator based in Waterville.
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