‘Entrepreneurship in Maine is Alive and Well’
The October issue of Maine Magazine takes a close look at Maine’s innovation economy and the entrepreneurship that is helping catalyze local companies to the national stage. The story focuses on three businesses, doing very different things, linked by their Maine roots and the support of a group of Maine-based funding organizations. Between Fluid Imaging Technologies’ (FTI) work to develop a sophisticated device for particle analysis and wind turbine company, Pika Energy, lies Rockland’s Dream Local Digital, a digital marketing agency changing the ways businesses and media companies use social media and online marketing to engage with their customers and generate revenue.
The story brought a writer and photographer to Dream Local Digital’s Rockland office earlier this summer, to capture the behind-the-scenes energy of the growing business and to get up close to the company’s founder and client success officer, Shannon Kinney.
Spotlighting the “vibrant community of entrepreneurs in Maine,” the article goes on to tell the story of Dream Local Digital’s rapid growth, and how with the support of the Small Enterprise Growth Fund (SEGF) and several angel investors, the company has scaled-up its business model internationally, and has expanded from a staff of three working out of Kinney’s garage, to a growing team of over 25 and a new office in a renovated historic building in Rockland.
Slated as a “boomerang” entrepreneur, Kinney notes the unique nature of the entrepreneurial spirit in Maine and the importance of this network of organizations and people who are invested in the prosperity of Maine’s economy and committed to providing a critical support system for promising business startups.
In addition to the profile in Maine Magazine, Kinney was also recently featured on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour, where she talked about social media marketing for small businesses, life in Maine, entrepreneurship, and Dream Local Digital’s. Each week Dr. Lisa talks with people from all walks of life, providing real solutions to complex issues, empowering people to create their own joyful, healthy, and sustainable lives and contribute to a more vibrant society.
To read the article, pick up a copy of the October issue or click here.
