Juice Conference Offers $30,000 to Maine Start-Ups

The organizers of Juice 2.0 are making a call for business plans after an anonymous donor has provided $30,000 to the conference. This anonymous donor asks that these funds be invested on behalf of Midcoast Magnet into innovative Maine businesses.

“One of the most exciting elements of the conference is the pitch session,” says Skip Bates, Board President of conference producer Midcoast Magnet and Vice President of Business Banking at conference sponsor Bangor Savings. “We are looking to introduce start-ups and businesses that are expanding to potential investors and banks. Not only will the conference be a great opportunity to network, we now actually have some money to put to work.”

Collaborating on the pitch session will be Jayme Okma Lee and John Burns of the Small Enterprise Growth Fund, who will organize the pitch session. SEGF has significant expertise in advising and investing in high growth companies. A $9 million ‘evergreen fund’, SEGF is a professionally managed venture capital fund that invests exclusively in Maine companies that demonstrate a potential for high growth and public benefit.

“Investing in Maine companies is essential to the growth of our economy,” says John Burns, SEGF Fund Manager. “For every dollar that SEGF invests, another $9 is invested alongside by individuals and other venture funds. We’ve helped to catalyze over $90 million in investments, creating jobs at an annual rate of 5% in our portfolio companies, compared to just 1% for the state’s economy overall.”

“Successful entrepreneurship is rooted in collaboration, the free flow of information, and the availability of capital,” says Bates, “Our goal is to develop relationships between creative entrepreneurs and investors.”

Interested entrepreneurs should register for the conference and contact Skip Bates for more information. Business plans must be received by November 1st. Participants in the pitch session will have an opportunity to explain their business plan in a confidential setting. Reviewers will include Susan Snowden, Bangor Savings Bank; John Burns, SEGF; Mark Kaplan, CEI Ventures; and Michael Gurau, Clear Venture Partners. The top rated entrepreneurs will then receive an opportunity to pitch their ideas to an expanded audience of investment professionals. $25,000 investment will be invested in the winning business and two runners up will receive $2,500 each.