PORTLAND — Jeremy Litchfield hopes to raise enough capital to bring Atayne – a Portland-based startup that makes athletic gear entirely from recycled materials – to the next level while maintaining his company's focus on the environment.
"We make decisions about our impact on the planet, society and people, and we want to be profitable at the same time," he said, noting that some investors may not have the same priorities. "The minute we compromise our values, our fan base is going to go away."
Litchfield, 32, hopes to pick up a few pointers for dealing with such issues and more in the new Top Gun program for entrepreneurs at the Maine Center for Enterprise Development.
He is among the dozen entrepreneurs selected for the inaugural class of Top Gun, which will match them with mentors, hold weekly business development sessions and provide access to a network of advisers.
The three-month program, formally known as the Applied Entrepreneurial Program, begins today. The last session will be Pitch Day – when the entrepreneurs will present their plans to potential investors.
Organizers expect that the connections made during the program will last beyond the three months.
President Steven Bazinet, president of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development, said the participants were chosen for their innovation, focus on technology and potential to create wealth in the state.
Norm Archer, 37, hopes Top Gun will help him put together a strategic marketing plan for NashBox Inc. The media company wants to create mobile applications and a virtual world akin to Webkinz and Club Penguins, where the characters teach children safety lessons.
Archer said the company will have to market to children, who will use the products, and to their parents, who will make the buying decisions.
NashBox will use incubator space at the Maine Center for Enterprise Development on the University of Southern Maine's Portland campus.
Archer expects that relationships he forms with other entrepreneurs there, and with the Top Gun participants, may be one of the biggest benefits of the experience.
"The real value is what will happen offline," he said.
Susan MacKay, 45, hopes to raise the profile of Zeomatrix, which makes paper products for odor control, whether in a large-scale use like a landfill or in bags for pet waste.
The Orono-based company uses technology related to zeolites – non-toxic powders with a number of applications.
MacKay has marketing experience but her background is more in science. She hopes to hone her business skills, especially to work with investors.
Top Gun answered a sentiment among investors that Maine lacked quality companies and managerial talent. The Maine Technology Institute, a state-funded nonprofit corporation, provided a $50,000 grant. Another $10,000 was raised from the private sector.
Maine doesn't do a good job of "graduating" companies, according to a 2009 report for the Maine Office of Innovation, part of the Department of Economic and Community Development. In 2006-07, about 4,600 businesses were started in the state and only 21 grew to have at least 10 employees.
Bazinet said the program has already shown that top-caliber businesses are in Maine. It's also clear, he said, that the private sector will support it, as it has through sponsorships, advisers and mentors.
"They want to give back," Bazinet said. "They know if we don't do something, we're not going to create this next generation of innovative entrepreneurs."
Christopher Speh, chairman of the Maine Angels investment group, is a mentor and a member of Top Gun's board of advisers. He said he was fortunate to have mentors during his two startup experiences, which involved clinical drug research.
"We all need help," he said. "Everybody needs the experience of someone who's gone before to show the path."
Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 791-6383 or at: akim@pressherald.com
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