entreverge >> Blog >> Maine Entrepreneurs

Turtle Love Committee is super-excited to have been selected as a winner of an Entreverge award.  Turtle Love Committee is an online jeweler - check us out at www.TurtleLoveCommittee.com - that focuses on environmentally- and socially-friendly jewelry.  Our goal is to celebrate the things that matter, get rid of things that don’t matter, and make the world a better place.

Turtle Love Committee was started with an exclusive focus on non-diamond wedding and engagement rings, all priced between $100 and $200.  The objective of our wedding and engagement ring lines is to validate the decision to wear unconventional engagement rings (or no engagement ring at all), and to encourage people to choose their wedding jewelry based on their own lifestyle and values.  It seemed a shame for women to wear diamond engagement rings that are easily compared to each other.  When we looked for an organized source of truly unusual engagement rings, we didn’t find one, so we decided to make it.

We have since expanded our offerings of engagement and wedding rings, and are broadening our product line to include other jewelry, too: all with a focus on being friendly towards our earth and the people who live here.  The “non-wedding” product lines will: (a) offer awesome products that promote environmentally and socially-friendly businesses and (b) expose a wider group of people to our core concept of non-diamond engagement rings.

The Turtle Love Committee experience is special - both upscale and comfortable.  No dressing up to go to the jeweler or fielding stressful questions from salespeople.  Just a friendly vibe, beautiful packaging, and amazing customer service.  Our customers say things like:

“I appreciate the excellent customer service and the incredibly fast turnaround. Usually internet orders and exchanges take much longer than this did, so obviously you folks know what you’re doing.”

“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am!  I will happily pass along my recommendation to a number of soon-to-be-engaged friends. Your designs are timeless and gorgeous; my thanks for the ring is so sincere!”

“THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! you’re helping to make the wedding that we were dreading (big fluffy white dresses and rings with huge rocks on them are not our thing) a bit more ‘us.’”

“You have beautiful rings and I love what you guys are trying to do.  I became a Facebook fan and I’m telling all my friends about your site.”

Turtle Love Committee is also super-committed to Portland.  We love it here.  (Really, who wouldn’t?  Oh, wait, didn’t Paris Hilton say there was nothing to do here?  Hmm.)  Anyway, we like it here, and we donate 5% of our sales to Cultivating Community, a Portland-based non-profit that simultaneously empowers youth and feeds the hungry (and engages in food-related environmental advocacy, too).  We’re pleased about our expansion because it means expanding our positive impact on the Portland economy.

We’re also eagerly anticipating connecting with resources and connections associated with the Entreverge award; hopefully this will help us move more effectively towards our goal of celebrating what’s important, getting rid of what’s not, and making the world a better place.

Oh, and welcome to the Committee!  We think you’re cool.

Adrianne Zahner is a 2009 entreverge winner and the entrepreneur behind Turtle Love Committee. Learn more about a more meaningful way to show someone you love them at www.TurtleLoveCommittee.com.

My name is Rob Landry, and I’m the founder and Principal at Pemaquid Communications, a Web design and development studio in Portland, Maine. We specialize in great visual design, superior code that’s accessible to the visually and physically challenged (who use assistive devices to browse the Web), custom content management that’s a step up from things like WordPress and Drupal and we provide Web hosting.

We try to provide what I call a “five-star dining experience” to Clients: we speak in English, we take the time to make sure we’re giving Clients what they expect; and we make every effort to turn things around as quickly as we can, because I consider quick turnaround a competitive advantage (btw, I always capitalize “Clients” to remind me whose site it is we’re building).

Oh, yeah. We do Twitter, Facebook and all that other social stuff (that’s the easy part!).

Pemaquid won an entreverge for advancing the concept of coworking in Portland, Maine.

Coworking is cafe-like community/collaboration space for like minded professionals. In our case, that means “Digital Creatives”: designers, developers, writers and other independents who have complimentary skills and who use bits and bytes to create.

Coworking - what I also sometimes call “Open Source Work” - is catching on around the country. Coworkers share facilities, like conference rooms and wi-fi, but more importantly they share ideas, and that sharing makes everybody better, faster.

Put another way: “You + me + he + she = better!”

I think Portland’s tech scene could benefit from that. I think of The Factory, Andy Warhol’s New York studio, and all the amazing, creative work that emanated from it in its heyday. I’d like to foster similiar creative innovation through coworking.

The most outstanding features of coworking? It makes everybody involved better…faster. It also creates a “Point of Presence” for like-minded designers and developers looking to connect. Finally, it can serve as a meeting place for brown bag lunches, presentations and socials. To date, we’ve identified an ideal “starter space” (the top floor of 28 Maple Street, at the edge of the Old Port), a space previously occupied by an advertising agency and a place that is a wonderful creative environment.

Ultimately I’m hoping that our coworking group will outgrow our space and that we’ll have between 15-40 “anchor tenants” (folks who have a dedicated space in the coworking facility) along with dozens of other digital creatives who spend part of their work week with us. We’ve looked at what people are doing in other cities to get a feel for how to bring together the right mix.

I’m really excited about working with the entreverge advisory network. Being able to tap former governor Angus King and Idexx founder David Shaw for advice on how to take an idea and turn it into a reailty? Wow. Just what the doctor ordered. Truth be told, I’m hoping some of their insights will rub off on Pemaquid.

When you think of Maine (or perhaps more appropriately, when your relatives from away think of Maine), what comes to mind? Lobsters? Sailboats? Pine trees and Bah Hahbah?

Wouldn’t it be great if someday, when people think of Maine they also think of a place where innovative, useful technology gets created? I’m hoping an energetic coworking space, serving as a point of presence that observers can look to for inspiration, and which attracts people to Maine, can help make that happen.

That’s my vision. I’m looking forward to working with the folks at entreverge to bring that vision to life.

Rob Landry is the brains behind Pemaquid Communications.  Learn more about Pemaquid and coworking at www.pemaquid.com.

Atayne was launched in May 2007 with the vision of inspiring positive environmental and social change through the power of active lifestyles. We leverage groundbreaking technologies and use “trash” (e.g. plastic bottles, coconut shells, crab shells, old garments) to develop our line of athletic gear.

We exist to be more than just another company making “cool stuff” from recycled materials or yet another brand of athletic and outdoor gear. For too long, these types of companies have typically only offered one-dimensional choices: technical performance that would make a chemist giddy or environmentally/socially sustainable garments only fit for wearing around the BBQ. What’s been missing is the synthesis of performance, sustainability, and the soul to make it matter. We think Atayne has created this synthesis and we call it Performance with a Point of View.

There is plenty of performance gear emblazoned with the marks of multi-million dollar corporations. There are also plenty of people with something to say, and when united with a voice will create the winds of change for an environmentally and socially just future. When you add it all up, Atayne = Under Armour meets Whole Foods meets Threadless.

In March of 2009, we made the decision to move Atayne to Portland (from Arlington, VA) to start writing the next chapter in our story. With strong childhood roots in Maine, the founder, Jeremy, witnessed first hand the loss of many high quality manufacturing and textile jobs from the state. We want to leverage the manufacturing infrastructure and strong work ethic here to develop the supply chain for our full line of athletic gear that is made from recycled materials. This goes well beyond apparel made from recycled materials. We have everything from yoga mats made from sneakers to flip flops made from swim caps in our plans. Ultimately, we see an untapped market of well over $1.2 billion for these high performing products made from “trash.”

Establishing this vertically integrated supply chain is a challenging endeavor and will not occur overnight. However, winning the entreverge award is another great step in the journey. The resources and consulting from the awards package will be instrumental in helping us achieve some of our 2009 goals including: re-launching our website (Atayne.com) optimized for natural search to reach a much wider audience, expanding the graphics offered for our tops from 2 to upwards of 20, launching a lifestyle top made from recycled polyester/recycled cotton, and developing a cycling specific top for launch in Spring 2010.

Jeremy Litchfield is an entreverge winner and founder of Atayne Inc. Learn more about the Maine-based eco-friendly apparel company and shop at www.atayne.com.

Topline team with Karen Farrell front and center in white.

My name is Karen Farrell and I am the owner of Topline Marketing, Inc., a natural products representation firm based in South Portland, Maine. Prompted by health concerns in my family, I began studying natural foods and natural medicines at the age of 13. I studied traditional herbalism with Gladys Hadju, a Swiss herbalist, in 1994 and spent six years studying and practicing traditional midwifery and women’s health. I worked the full spectrum of the natural products industry, from an independent health food store, working member in a co-op, to buyer for Whole Foods Market Boston, MA. I have also been a manufacturer’s representative in the Natural Products Industry for the past eight years. Expanding the natural product industry is my passion.

My sales staff are the leading experts in the natural products industry in the Northeast. The green movement is now and Topline is it. With global changes, an aging population looking for a way to keep and maintain their health, and the youth of our nation recognizing what you put in and on you body effects your health—we are at the right place at the right time with all the knowledge and information to take ourselves and the companies we work with to higher and higher levels. We have spent the last eight years building and growing and now we are solid in our footing.

I am very excited to receive an entreverge award this year, and am eager cash in on the pro bono business services and face time with the entreverge advisory network, both offered as part of the entreverge award! Currently, Topline’s biggest challenge is figuring out our next step. Growth was and is easy for us, however we need assistance organizing and maturing as a business. Why? Let me put it this way: I am a 32 year old woman who never went to collage - who has built an over a million dollar company on hard work and gut instinct. I have been successful despite myself and at this point in the game - what my team and I need are people who know how to leverage what we have built with our potential and kick us to the next level.

Karen Farrell is the President and CEO of Topline Marketing, Inc. Learn more about Karen’s company and their booming potential at www.toplinemarketinginc.com.

The man with the mentoring plan.

The Benefits of Mentoring

Some would argue mentoring is just as important as funding for early-stage technology companies - particularly if they are to achieve their objectives and provide a sufficient return on investment.

When early-stage technology companies are provided seed funding, they typically have a limited time before they are back in the fundraising mode. To get another round of funding, they have to prove that they have achieved their agreed upon objectives and are capable of managing the additional resources awarded to them - in other words, the management team has to show that they are worthy. Not only do companies suddenly have to cope with all sorts of new business-related demands, but they also need to develop their product or service satisfactorily in order to make the next round. And if they don’t, it’s game over.

That’s where a mentor comes in. Someone with experience can spot potential problems and raise issues in a timely fashion for them to be resolved.

Industry-specific experience

However, having a mentor on board is not just about advising on good administrative practices, specific sector knowledge is also important. What a mentor can help with is making judgment calls. Often, early-stage companies think they have to do or prove something that’s not really necessary. A mentor can step in and say, ‘you’re heading down the wrong track. You don’t need to waste your time with that’.

Venture capitalists stand to benefit by adopting the mentoring model

There are many venture capitalists prepared to invest in early-stage technology companies, but can or do they offer mentoring support? Sure, they have investment managers who can advise on strategy and the basics of business, but typically they don’t have specific industry experience. Attaching a mentor to an investment improves the chances of success, thereby increasing the potential for return.

The value of a flexible approach

MCED’s Top Gun has built up a fantastic bank of mentors, and they all work in a slightly different way. They use their individual experience to make a judgment about the way they can best help the company they’re involved with.

Engaging an impartial mentor can be a good decision for the company. They haven’t got a horse in the race so they’re just there to help and advise.

Steve Bazinet is the President and Executive Director of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development, www.mced.biz.  He can be reached at 207.228.8525 and sbazinet@mced.biz

Dear friends,

Thank you for helping to make PROPEL’s inaugural entreverge Awards Party a huge success.  Over 380 people turned out to support 52 stellar entrepreneurs nominated for the awards.  The food, music, and crowd were awesome. Here are some photos from the event and some good press that we received in the Portland Press Herald.

You’ll be able to follow the progress of the five entreverge winners– how they use their pro-bono business resources and what they learn from face-time with the Advisory Network—hereon the entreverge blog. And if any of you crazy entrepreneurs out there are inspired to share your own war stories, advice, and opinions with Greater Portland’s entrepreneurial community, the entreverge blog is your venting ground. Just email jsabbath@entreverge.com.

Also, we would love to hear your feedback about entreverge.  Your suggestions for moving forward to support this year’s nominees and winners, and your ideas for next year would be much appreciated.

And of course, a huge continued thanks to our sponsors the University of Maine Farmington, Swardlick Marketing Group, Bangor Savings, Mainebiz, and WCYY for providing entreverge the resources to move forward.

All our best,

Johann Sabbath

entreverge Director

www.entreverge.com

2009 entreverge winners:

Atayne Inc:

Atayne designs and sells high performance athletic apparel that is made from trash and other recycled materials. The company is distinctly committed to inspiring environmental and social change by creating sustainable products that promote sports and active lifestyles. As a registered B Corporation, their ‘triple bottom line’ approach to business and high quality products has garnered them national recognition in several major publications and positioned them to emerge as a major player in the sustainable apparel industry. Their products are currently sold 39 states and 6 countries. www.atayne.com

emilie inc.

emilie inc. is a multifaceted wedding photography business founded and operated by Emilie Sommer. Emilie is a graduate of the prestigious Newhouse School of Photography at Syracuse University. Before moving to Maine to start here business in 2004 she worked as a photographer for USA Today in Washington DC. Since then the company has grown to team of six photography professionals and has served customers locally, nationally and internationally. emilie Ink, a subsidiary company, designs and sells photo card templates. Emilie is an active contributor to a national wedding planning blog (www.weddingbeepro.com), created and manages an online forum for wedding photographers (www.newsweddingphotographers.com), is hosting a national workshop for wedding photographers in July 2009 and recently formed the Pink Initiative, a non-profit to support breast cancer research (www.pinkinitative.org). www.emilieinc.com

Pemaquid Communications

Pemaquid Communications is a web design studio based in Portland, Maine. The core business of the company is to provide web design, programming, search engine marketing and strategic consulting services to their clients. Rob Laundry, Pemaquid’s founder, is at the forefront the progressive ‘co-working’ movement in Southern Maine. Co-working is a work environment concept that brings together independent contractors on a project-by-project basis and leverages each participant’s particular skills and insight to complete a project. Rob has recently created a workspace in Portland that is solely dedicated to this concept. The result is a highly creative, fluid and productive work environment that has allowed Pemaquid to emerge as a distinctive company is the highly competitive web design marketplace. The high quality work produced by Pemaquid has landed several major customers including Camden National Corporation and Oakhurst Dairy. www.pemaquid.com

Turtle Love Committee

Turtle Love Committee is a forward thinking internet-based wedding jewelry company that sells unconventional wedding and engagement rings. The company believes the value of a wedding or engagement ring should be based on the love and commitment it symbolizes, not the financial expense its represents. Turtle Love markets and sell wedding jewelry from local and national artisans that support their mission. Their willingness to defy the conventional has enabled them to achieve explosive growth since the company was founded in mid-2008. They are one of the first wedding jewelry retailers to exclusively focus on this market niche. Turtle Love’s foresight and the rapid market acceptance leaves the company well positioned for future growth.www.turtlelovecommittee.com

Topline Marketing

Topline Marketing is South Portland based marketing company that exclusively markets natural food and life products. They currently represent 20 different brands and product lines which are sold to retailers throughout the East Coast. Topline is distinctly committed to expanding the natural products industry in the North East and works promote the ideal to keep natural stores “natural”. The company is passionate about the products they market and believe the can effect positive change through their commitment to this rapidly growing niche. www.toplinemarketinginc.com

Young entrepreneurs well toasted

sponsored by
JUSTIN ELLIS June 26, 2009

Let’s face some cold hard facts. If someone told you they were going to the chamber of commerce business awards, you’d envision gold-button blazers, the country club banquet room, chicken a la rubber and a few engraved plaques.

Luckily, through the grace of planning, a few electric guitars, free food and an attentive cash bar, the first entreverge Awards on Thursday night were not that.

Trophies were given away, speeches were made, music was played at high volume, and old-fashioned social networking reigned at the Port City Music Hall.

“We’re not just your mom and dad’s passing-out-business-cards-over-wine” type of event, said Justin Lamontagne, chairman of the group PROPEL.

These are the facts: The entreverge Awards were designed by PROPEL, the young professionals group associated with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, to recognize entrepreneurship and business creativity in the Portland area.

Out of a field almost as crowded as an NCAA bracket, five winners were announced.

Among the 52 nominees, which included a biofuel producer, a recycling service, a mead maker and a massage therapist, it was emilie inc. photography, Atayne Clothing, Pemaquid Communications (Web design), Topline Marketing (natural foods marketers) and Turtle Love Committee (jeweler) that walked away with awards.

And by awards, of course, we mean electric guitars.

So what exactly do they all have in common?

“It can be scary starting a business,” said Godfrey Wood, CEO of the chamber. “But when you’re young and pursuing a dream, it’s easy to stumble.”

To be certain, this was definitely not the junior chamber playing dress-up and handing out bowling trophies. And that’s why, aside from a sweet (and functional) electric guitar, the winners walked away with serious free business swag, including a package of design, legal, finance and online services.

They also get special one-on-one time with local business leaders.

And that’s crucial, said Johann Sabbath, the emcee and director of the awards.

It’s not just business support from people who have been there, but a connection to a broad safety net of other businesses, he said.

Jeremy Litchfield, founder of Atayne Clothing and winner of an entreverge Award, said part of the reason he (and his company) moved back home to Maine was because of the help available to fledgling businesses. Atayne makes gear for runners, such as shirts made out of recycled materials.

If the number of new businesses in attendance was any testament to that help, Maine’s on the right track, he said.

“You wouldn’t know we’re in a recession here,” he said of all the business startups.

You also wouldn’t have guessed it by the spread at Port City Music Hall, which included hors d’oeuvres by chef Ian Hayward and music from Adam and the Waxmen and the Jason Spooner Trio.

And this made for an impressive, and impressed crowd, from city councilors and state legislators to students, chefs, business leaders and artists.

It seems that if there’s one thing we love more than local music or locally produced beer, it’s local awards shows.

The Tech Maine Awards, the Indie Biz Awards, the Phoenix Best Music Poll, the We Push Button Awards, the Moxie Medal for Bravery … the list goes on.

Perhaps it’s the love of taking home some gold-plated hardware, or the always strong allure of a cash bar. Snark aside, it’s the chance for some recognition, brief or big-time, that may have some pull.

On a scale from junior varsity softball banquet to the Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence, entreverge scored well.

The actual award ceremony clocked in around 30 minutes flat, leaving more time for mingling, drinking and dancing. This is indeed a plus.

Emilie Sommer, the photojournalist behind emilie inc., said she thinks there’s a future for entreverge.

Though she was unsure what she would be doing with her new electric guitar, Sommer thinks the whole entreverge affair bodes well for small business.

“Entrepreneurship is definitely alive and well in Portland,” she said.

Staff Writer Justin Ellis can be contacted at 791-6380. See photos from entreverge on his blog at pressherald.com.

Copyright 2009 by The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. All rights reserved.

See and comment on the article HERE.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

entreverge Director Johann Sabbath
Contact: entreverge Communications Director Will Thomas
Phone (207) 523-0519
Email: will@tri-maine.com

Inaugural entreverge Awards Party to Recognize and Celebrate Portland Entrepreneurs

New entreverge Awards to recognize and celebrate entrepreneurship and innovation in the greater Portland-area business community

PORTLAND, ME – June 23, 2009 – On Thursday, June 25, the inaugural entreverge Awards Party will honor local entrepreneurs for their innovation and contributions to the Maine business community. Five award winners will be selected from the 52 local nominees and recognized at the evening celebration at the Port City Music Hall.

The entreverge Awards were created as a collaborative project to honor emerging entrepreneurs. entreverge is a nonprofit organization that connects high-potential, emerging entrepreneurs in greater Portland with resources, relationships, and publicity to help grow their businesses. The Awards are an extension of entreverge’s work, led by PROPEL (Portland’s premier young professionals networking group), in partnership with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce and numerous local businesses, business groups, nonprofits, and social networks.

The 52 entrepreneur nominees were obtained through outreach from PROPEL, the Chamber, and over 20 local organizations. They are diverse, and range from a web designer to a health care consulting firm, from a mead maker to a recycled clothing designer, and from a bakery to a sports social club. (A complete list of nominees is available at www.entreverge.com.)

Winners selected for the entreverge Awards were considered by PROPEL on a number of criteria, including coachability, impact, and scalable vision for their business and their commitment to a triple bottom line—the people, place, and prosperity of Maine. The five winners will receive face-time with Portland’s leading business figures and a package of pro-bono consultation, services, and products volunteered by local artistic, finance, IT, legal, marketing, web experts, and other business service providers.

“The unique design of entreverge has provided a vehicle for bringing together an exciting group of motivated individuals that otherwise might never have the opportunity to interact,” says entreverge director Johann Sabbath. “We see this event as a means of developing strong business communities, by transcending generational/economic gaps and creating a shared sense of investment in the success of our emerging entrepreneurs and leaders.”

Doors at the Awards Party will open for a reception at 5:30 p.m. with catered hors d’oeuvres by Ian Hayward and a cash bar. The entreverge awards will be presented at 7:00 p.m., followed by live music performances by the Jason Spooner Band and Adam and the Waxmen. The party is open to the public, and tickets can be purchased in advance at www.entreverge.com or by calling the Portland Regional Chamber at 207-772-2811.

entreverge is made possible by sponsorship from Bangor Savings Bank, Swardlick Marketing Group, the University of Maine Farmington, Mainebiz, and WCYY.

For more information visit www.entreverge.com or contact Will Thomas at 207-523-0519.

About entreverge
entreverge is a new model of business organizing that leverages the leadership of greater Portland’s business community to build supportive relationships around local businesses–with a scalable vision and a long-term commitment to the people, place, and prosperity of Maine. It culminates in an exciting celebration and awards ceremony that recognizes and honors the spirit of entrepreneurship. www.entreverge.com

About PROPEL
PROPEL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing opportunities for greater Portland’s young leaders, entrepreneurs, artists and professionals. Inspired by the REALIZE!Maine network, PROPEL was formed in 2006 as an affiliate of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce to promote and cultivate the next generation of business and community leaders. PROPEL is Portland’s premier young professionals networking group.

###

Entreverge Public Relations:
Warehouse Creative
Portland, Maine
Contact: Amy VanHaren
651.303.8777
amy@urban-epic.com