Susan MacKay thinks her company can help solve Earth’s water crisis … and Google thinks she might be right. Google executives recently picked MacKay, CEO of Orono-based Cerahelix, as a finalist in its global competition for world-changing ideas — a contest the Silicon Valley giant calls “Solve for X.” MacKay’s “moonshot” — the term Google uses to describe these Earth-shattering ideas — […]

— When Beethoven wrote his Third Symphony, considered a turning point in musical history, he did it with only 12 chromatic tones at his disposal. Kurt Cobain used the same 12 tones to write “Rape Me,” which appeared on Nirvana’s third album, In Utero. Think about that for a second. How different can two pieces of […]

After a decade of not experiencing a successful exit, the Maine Angels are now on a roll. Just months after two members of the Maine Angels marked the group’s first successful exit, two more members have realized a return on an investment in another startup and cashed out. Two Maine Angels members have sold their shares in EzCater, […]

— One of Portland’s co-working spaces is closing, leaving 10 tenants to find new digs. The Casco Bay Tech Hub’s co-working space at 30 Danforth St., known as the Business Innovation Center (BIC), will close May 1, according to an email tenants received Wednesday. Kai Smith, co-founder of Buoy Local, a startup that offers buy-local gift […]

  I write about innovators in Maine all the time. However, they’re almost always of the 21st Century variety. So it was nice to see a reminder this morning from my colleague Shannon Bryan over at mainetoday.com that we Mainers have a long succession of innovators to celebrate. In this case, Shannon reminds us that March 13 marks […]

— If you think about it, television can be kind of boring. You turn on the TV and watch something from beginning to end. There’s no ability to interact with the movie or gameshow you’re viewing. In the age of Internet-connected devices, that will soon change, predicts Jason Cianchette, a serial entrepreneur in Portland who […]

For all those entrepreneurs who have been procrastinating or paralyzed by doubt, this is a final reminder to enter the fray. The deadline to enter the third annual LaunchPad business plan competition and vie for its $30,000 prize is only two days away. The competition, sponsored by Gorham Savings Bank, gives Maine entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their […]

Tilson Technology Management, a Portland-based IT services firm that builds telecommunications networks (think: putting up cell towers and laying fiber), has raised $2.2 million in a recent investment round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tilson raised the Series B round from Rand Capital Corp. and Maine’s own CEI Ventures. While this is Rand’s first investment […]

Two notable executives in Maine’s tech sector are in the process of updating their resumes. Taking Maine expertise global After helping Ocean Renewable Power Co. become known as one of the most innovative energy companies in the country, John Ferland is taking on a new role as president of its spin-off consulting business, ORPC Solutions. Portland-based ORPC made history in […]