What do you do with a new idea? A new innovation? A new product? A new service? An improved way to do something? Entrepreneurs find themselves looking for answers to these questions every day. The Maine economy relies heavily on entrepreneurs and small business to be the drivers of the economy. The latest data from the Small Business Administration (SBA ) shows that 99.3% of Maine’s businesses are small businesses. As many know, it is a long and bumpy road to bring an idea from inception to commercialization. The data clearly illustrates that the chance of long-term success is greatly increased by the more support an entrepreneur is given during this process. This is why we created TechPlace.

TechPlace is a 95,0000-square-foot technology incubator at Brunswick Landing, created as a place for entrepreneurs in the industries of aerospace/aviation, composites, bioscience, clean technologies, and IT, to do research and development, exploration, prototype building, and manufacturing of new products and ideas. It is where entrepreneurs come when they have a new idea, or a new innovation, or a new product, and they want to turn it into a business. TechPlace is a project of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) as part of the effort to support startup and early-stage companies. Bringing the idea of TechPlace to fruition required partnering with many key organizations such as the US Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Maine Technology Institute (MTI), the Brunswick Development Corporation (BDC), and Maine’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

Many of us have heard the statistics around the survival rate of new companies. According to the SBA, in 2019, the failure rate of startups was 90%. Due to Maine’s reliance on startup and small businesses, a 10% success rate is not good enough. TechPlace enables early-stage companies to beat those odds by offering the support that early-stage companies need to be successful. Along with office and/or manufacturing spaces, TechPlace provides manufacturing entrepreneurs access to the machinery and shop space they need to do research, build prototypes and conduct small-scale manufacturing. A significant challenge for many early-stage companies is raising the amount of capital needed to purchase their own equipment. TechPlace offers entrepreneurs access to a composite layup facility, a bio production lab, a paint and coating facility and workshops consisting of a metal shop, wood shop, welding booth, and 3-D printer. This allows early-stage companies to develop a product without having to incur the large investments in equipment or machinery.

Access to machinery and equipment to help companies in their early stages is critical, but equally important is the connections to other entrepreneurs as well as to business resources and support. Being in close proximity to other big thinkers and sharing information about capital, employees, regulations, supply chains, and access to business mentors provides the opportunities for ‘collisions of innovation’ that is a valuable part of being a member of TechPlace. Members also have access to in-house resources to the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Maine MEP), the Maine Procurement and Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), an Entrepreneur in Residence, and help in connecting to, and understanding, local, state, and federal assistance programs.

TechPlace opened its doors in February of 2015 and is currently home to 35 businesses and has graduated 12 companies. Of those companies that have moved out of TechPlace, 90% of them have stayed in Maine and continue to grow their business. Several of these companies … STARC Systems, Vivid Cloud, and Maritime Surveillance Associates … have grown into other properties at Brunswick Landing. Since its inception, TechPlace businesses have created over 272 jobs and have proved the success of incubation.

Kristine Logan is the deputy director of Innovation and Development for the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority and director of TechPlace.