The year is 2009- The year of the "Stimulus Plan". Although I was against the passage of this bill, once it was a fact, it seemed practical to take advantage of it to further realization my
vision, which is geared to long term and committed "life style" job creation in the small business sector.
Throughout the year I received emails from the Maine Arts Commission announcing that stimulus funds were available but upon opening the emails it became apparent that one must be structured as a non-profit in order to qualify.
In the mean time, Maine's non-profit sector continued to expand to the point that non-profits were competing with one another for resources. As a result non-profits were merging with one another and increasingly developing income earning activities that compete with the for-profit sector. At this point I was unaware of the reams of legislation already in place in Maine that encourages the development of non-profits and identifies a "targeted sector" which is the beneficiary of the legislature's redistribution of wealth for "social benefit".
Then an event occurred that fundamentally transformed my state of awareness.
JUICE CONFERENCE 2.0 - Offers $30,000 to Start Ups, Call for Business Plans Camden, Maine - Organizers of the Juice Conference have received an anonymous donation of $30,000, with the intention that the funds be invested on behalf of Midcoast Magnet into innovative Maine businesses. Juice 2.0 "Building Maine's Innovation Networks," will take place on November 13 and 14 in Camden, Maine. The conference will bring together over 500 of Maine's most creative entrepreneurs, artists, innovators, finance professionals and statewide leaders at the intersection of technology, tradition and design for the purpose of energizing 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."
To apply to the pitch session email Skip Bates: skip.bates@bangor.com |
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. Applications 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. The Juice Conference will feature over 40 panel discussions on topics including social networking, innovation, design and entrepreneurial success stories. Conference tickets are $175 if purchased before October 25 and $225 thereafter. Special rates are available for volunteers, speakers and for groups with four or more attendees. To register for the conference go to: www.juiceconference.org or for more information, email skip.bates@bangor.com. Midcoast Magnet brings people together to develop innovative projects that support creativity, livability and economic sustainability in Midcoast Maine. We are a non-profit organization of people dedicated to vibrant culture, entrepreneurship and bringing people together socially and professionally. Bangor Savings Bank is a proud major sponsor of Midcoast Magnet. www.midcoastmagnet.com The SEGF was created by an act of the Maine Legislature in 1995 to provide Maine companies and entrepreneurs access to patient sources of venture capital. The fund is a $9 million revolving, "evergreen" fund. The SEGF is a professionally managed venture capital fund that invests exclusively in Maine companies that demonstrate a potential for high growth and public benefit. www.segfmaine.com. Bangor Savings Bank, with more than $2.3 billion in assets, offers retail banking and Investment management services to Maine consumers as well as comprehensive commercial, corporate, payroll administration, and small business banking services to Maine businesses. The Bank, founded in 1852, is in its 157th year of service to the people of Maine, and operates from 51 locations throughout Maine and on the Web at www.bangor.com. Bangor Savings Bank and the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation invests $1.3 million dollars in Maine's communities in the way of grants, sponsorships and partnership initiatives.
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I will pause here to make note of the language used, as I have since come to realize the importance to paying special attention to linguistics.
The first term that catches one's attention is "anonymous donation"- a term which suggests a gift or a grant by virtue both of it being "anonymous" and a "donation" (implying a gift). The next sentence says "with the intention that the funds be invested on behalf of Midcoast Magnet into innovative Maine businesses." This is a sentence to which I should have paid greater attention as it identifies that the entity that benefits from "the donation" is the
Mid Coast Magnet. (a non-profit organization)
The Midcoast Magnet is inspired by
Richard Florida, Governor Baldacci's guru, who developed the "creative" and "innovative" template followed by many state governments to segregate the economy into "the creative" and "innovative" economies that comprise "the targeted sector" and the rest.
Andersen Design-Andersen Studio is assigned to "the rest" by the parameters of the "targeted sector" as found in
bill after bill created by the Maine State legistalature to advance the manifestation of Florida's vision, and which has an eerie similarity to
Agenda 21.
One of the ironies of government bureaucracies of innovation and creativity as applied by special interests dedicated to "targeted sectors" is that the rigid parameters of the targeted sectors discourage diversity in practice- which is a main tenant of Richard Florida's flowery rhetoric to which state bureaucracies of creativity credit their inspiration. While bureaucratic innovators justify their special interest legislation by saying it is for the "social benefit", that concept is framed in environmental ideology, which gives little status to human beings. Outside the governmental "innovative" paradigm, the human experience matters and is left lacking by the governmental mass designs, which creates "jobs" in services that fulfill the needs, not of the human experience, but of environmental and socialistic ideology. The story I am about to tell will underscore the importance of including the human experience in the conceptualization of "social benefit".
Story to be continued.......
