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Mr. Durdag is currently CEO of Biovation and was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing of SenGenuity, a division of Vectron International, the CEO of BiODE, the past Chief Technical Officer for STEAG HamaTech, Inc., and the Engineering Manager at Conceptronic. He has designed high tech and proprietary technologies for rapid commercialization and is a holder of several patents. He is on the Board of Maine Center for Enterprise Development (www.mced.biz), Common Good Ventures (http://www.commongoodventures.org/) and is the Chair of the Advisory Council for University of Southern Maine College of Science, Technology and Health (http://www.usm.maine.edu/csth). He is also the founder of an event that encourages entrepreneurship for high school and college students in Maine (www.createmaine.com). Mr. Durdag is also a published essayist, poet (www.ireakt.com) and past editor of poetry magazines. He received his B.Sc (Applied Physics) from St. John’s University (MN) and M.Sc (Mechanical Engineering) from University of New Hampshire.
Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe are the cofounders of EepyBird Studios, the company behind the Coke and Mentos phenomenon and other viral campaigns that have been seen over 150 million times. They are the authors of the new book, The Viral Video Manifesto: Why Everything You Know is Wrong and How to Do What Really Works, from McGraw-Hill. Stafford Green of the Coca-Cola Company said, "Voltz and Grobe have deciphered the magic of making viral videos." For more information, visit ViralVideoManifesto.com.
Steven Koltai is a businessman, entrepreneur and diplomat with over 30 years of experience. He co-founded and ran Luxembourg (Europe) based SES-Astra, today the world's largest TV satellite system with 52 satellites and over $3 billion in 2012 revenues, as well as online event management company, Event411. Most recently, he was Senior Advisor for Entrepreneurship to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton where he created and ran the Global Entrepreneurship Program. Previously, he was an investment banker (Salomon Bros), consultant (McKinsey & Company) and for almost a decade, executive at Warner Bros Studios where he was Senior VP for Corp Strategy and Development and for a time, head of its 3-person operating committee. He and his partner, Ivan Zizek, live in Lincolnville and Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Washington DC and Los Angeles.
Lisa DeSisto is the Chief Executive Officer for Maine Today Media which publishes The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel, and The Coastal Journal.
Before joining MTM, she worked in a variety of positions at The Boston Globe. Most recently, she served as Chief Advertising Officer for The Boston Globe and General Manager for Boston.com. She pioneered the launch of RadioBDC (Boston.com Radio) an internet-only radio station in the summer of 2012. She spent most of her career at The Boston Globe as the VP/General Manager of Boston.com directing the site’s development into the most visited local media website in New England. She joined Boston.com as marketing manager just two days after the site’s launch in 1995.
Robert A. Martin is the President of The Maine Technology Institute, the industry-led venture organization that invests public funds into companies engaged in development of innovative technologies and propels them to commercialization. Since 2000, MTI has invested over $142 million in Maine organizations and currently manages a $92 million portfolio of companies.
Previously, Bob was the Managing Partner of Strategic Equity Partners, LLC, a consulting firm providing strategic counsel, financial restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, brand architecture, marketing and operations analysis to help enterprises focus on those matters most significant to their success.
Bob’s business experience includes senior executive roles at The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant, and the Reichhold and Earthrise subsidiaries of Dai Nippon Ink & Chemicals.
Bob did his undergraduate studies at The George Washington University and earned his MBA degree from The Kenan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mary is responsible for day-to-day management of Garrand and its client work, with a special interest in all things digital. Mary joined Garrand after more than 15 years in the cable business at HBO where she oversaw the development and growth of HBO’s web sites and e-commerce business, and received an Emmy Award for Interactive Television. Additionally, Mary serves as a moderator for a Creative Good council of senior executives focused on customer experience and interactive Prior to HBO, Mary led the Account Management team at Ross Roy/NY, was an Account Executive at Grey Direct and worked as a management consultant at R.S. Carmichael & Co., a firm specializing in the financial services industry. Mary is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a BA in International Relations.
Jim is a marketing strategist focused on creating and rehabilitating brands through strategic planning, product positioning, new products and tactical communications. His experience spans a wide range of national and global clients in diverse industries. Jim has held senior positions at Boston based communications and consulting firms. Jim is a graduate of Suffolk University. He is a mentor for Top Gun, and in addition, he is on the Board of Directors for the Association for Consulting Expertise, as well as a member of the John Murdoch Foundation. His enthusiasm for marketing stems from a keen interest in human behavior, and the ever-present challenges of a dynamic business.
Ezekiel Callanan is the managing partner at Opticliff ESQ (www.opticliff.com), a Portland law firm focused on trademark and business law. Callanan also founded the Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (www.mainevla.org), which opened its doors in 2008. He has extensive work with entrepreneurs and start-ups, and he specifically enjoys working with motivated and creative individuals and companies with vision and principle--legal work, brainstorming, coaching and poking holes--in an effort to help his clients achieve their goals.
As Market President for Maine, Bill serves as the company’s enterprise leader in Maine with a focus on integrating Bank of America business lines across the state and overseeing corporate social responsibility activities including philanthropic giving, community development lending and investing, environmental initiatives, diversity efforts, arts and culture projects, and employee volunteerism. Additionally, he serves as a Senior Client Manager in Bank of America’s Commercial Banking Group for Northern New England, and has served in similar capacities for SunTrust Banks, Fleet Bank and Bank of New England. He has 31 years of commercial banking experience. Currently, he manages the commercial banking for a diverse group of public and private companies in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Previously, he worked in the field of education as Director of Development for Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and Vermont Academy in Saxton’s River, Vermont. Bill has served as Director of School Administrative District #51 in Cumberland, Maine and as a board member of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce and the Susan Curtis Foundation. Currently he is a board member of Educate Maine and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. A resident of Falmouth, Maine, he is a graduate of Colby College with a B.A. in English.
Fletcher Kittredge is the CEO and founder of GWI in Biddeford, Maine. In 1993, the New York Times had a front page article about the Internet and how it was going to be very big. He took a small inheritance and started Biddeford Internet Corporation in 1994. Now known as GWI, it has 61 facilities state-wide and sells service in all 16 counties as well as three New Hampshire counties. In 2009, GWI received a $25.4 million Federal grant to deploy 1,110 miles of high capacity fiber optic in rural Maine as part of the Three Ring Binder (3RB) project. The network, now owned and operated by Maine Fiber Company, was completed on time and under budget. GWI is a telephone company as well as an ISP, has 72 employees and $15 million in annual revenue.
GWI is the top corporate sponsor and Technology Innovation and Mission partner for the Maine Center For Entrepreneurial Development (MCED) in their economic development efforts across the state. Fletcher is a mentor in the Top Gun Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program and also serves on the ConnectME advisory board as well as the board of Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. In 2011, Fletcher was named Large Business Leader of the Year by Mainebiz magazine and has led GWI to be recognized by INC. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies five times.
Suzanne Hamlin, principal of Transformative Knowledge Group, has extensive experience leading teams and companies through organizational change, planning for new product commercialization, and applying new and emerging technologies for revenue growth and streamlining of work processes. Suzanne has 20+ years operating experience in both large and small organizations in a variety of functional roles including strategic planning, marketing, product management, financial management, business process redesign, and the strategic leveraging of IT. She has served on boards of a number of high tech and community service organizations, has been a member of the Maine Technology Institute’s SBIR/STTR Technical Assistance Program team since 2004 and has served as an SBIR grant application reviewer for both the NSF and the USDA. She holds a BSE in Computer Science from Princeton University, with honors, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Sarah Speare is a designer, entrepreneur and non-profit executive. She has formed two design firms and was the first executive director of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD). After she moved to Maine in the late 90s she co-founded a consumer foods company, developing its products, attracting a management team, raising VC and selling it to a large player. A board member of AIGA/Maine, she is back in the non-profit realm as the Executive Director of the Institute for Humane Education in Surry, ME.
Chelsea’s passion for supporting local entrepreneurs and artisans has forged a strong connection between her law practice and the local creative business and technology communities in Maine. She graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 2008 with her J.D. Additionally, she was a former Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and served on the Advisory Council for the Bates Dance Festival. Chelsea was recently recognized in Maine Today's 2011 article "40 under 40 Rising Stars of Maine".
Jerry King has over 30 years of experience delivering new software products and services to market, both in venture-backed and corporate environments. Currently, Jerry works with several early stage Internet and mobile companies, either as a board director/advisor or management consultant, with a focus on generating growth and successful exits. Jerry also serves as Board Chair for The Capital Network and is on the Advisory Board for Goodwin Procter’s Founder’s Workbench. Jerry was also the COO at WHERE, Inc. and managed the company from start-up to profitability until its acquisition by eBay, Inc. in 2011. Earlier in his career, Jerry’s tenure as both board director and operating executive for C-bridge Internet Systems resulted in a successful IPO in 1999. He also served in leadership positions for Progress Software and Sybase and held a series of advanced technology roles on Wall Street. When not on the road, Jerry is often found on a chairlift wondering how deep the powder is…
Fred has done user research projects for such companies as Pepsi, ABC News, Philips Lighting, General Mills, Nabisco, State Of Maine, Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, California and Wisconsin, Disney, Yahoo, Yamaha, Hilton Hotels, Oakhurst, Hannaford, Kraft Foods, Lego, BankNorth and Idexx. Fred received a patent for Web browser detection and default home page modification device and was instrumental in winning two EXPLOR Awards.
Gigi has been writing, teaching, and practicing entrepreneurship for decades. She founded The Whole Blooming Landscape Inc., a design / build company in Charlotte, NC, owns The Husk Homestead, a Blue Ridge Mountain Vacation Rental property, and helps manage her family’s Lanata House Apartments in the French Quarter in New Orleans, LA. She currently contributes to the Bangor Daily News Column called Women @ Work, and was a columnist for The Charlotte Observer in the early 90s. As microenterprise coordinator, Gigi covers Cumberland and York counties for Women, Work, and Community (WWC) - helping entrepreneurs develop tools for business success. WWC is a statewide organization in its 34th year helping Maine people achieve succeed in their workplace, business, and communities.
Mandy Schumaker is founder of Higher Performing People, a company devoted to helping self-employed professionals and small businesses get more clients, grow their business and make more money faster than they would on their own. She gives her clients a practical step-by-step formula that makes it easy for them to create a clear, concise plan of action, get over their fear of sales and marketing and break free from the issues that can keep them stuck, confused and overwhelmed.
Mandy spent over twenty years as an advertising and marketing executive in the newspaper industry and has the gift to help people reach their full potential in their life and in their businesses. She holds a BS in Journalism from Indiana University and is a certified coach through Coach, Inc. She resides in Yarmouth, Maine with her husband Ted O’Meara and their two sons.
Greg Fryer is a Partner with the law firm Verrill Dana in Portland, and also is a member of the Maine Small Enterprise Growth Board. Greg is a securities law specialist and has extensive experience representing either startup companies or their lead investors.
Anthony Wing Kosner is a content strategist, designer and user experience consultant. He has extensive experience as an art director for print and digital projects and as a web editor and blogger. He writes a popular technology blog for Forbes.com called Quantum of Content, in which he follows all of the technologies that relate to the content business and their implications for user experience. He has developed domain expertise in the worlds of neurology and healthcare, business and personal finance, entertainment, travel and mobile technology through projects for major U.S. publishers. As founding editor of liveworkportland.org, he has participated in the development of the creative economy in Portland, Maine, and continues to be an ongoing contributor. A more complete bio and samples of his design work can be found at wingandko.com.
Dr. Kirsten Milliken offers Coaching to executives, entrepreneurs, students and business owners who are struggling to Break Through Barriers to fulfill their dreams. By working in a partnership her clients develop awareness of their unique set of strengths and challenges. Kirsten will be providing a quiet play room at Startup Weekend.
Randy Judkins is a seasoned, professional, new-vaudeville stage performer, a visually engaging motivational speaker, a highly interactive team-building facilitator, an educator who entertains, a coach for presenters of all kinds and a tour guide. At Startup Weekend he'll be leading team building exercises and coaching presentations.
Beth Shissler, co-owner and President of Sea Bags, Inc. was born and raised in Maine.
Shissler, with experience working for global companies and extensive overseas business travel, came back to Maine and bought into and incorporated Sea Bags, a privately owned company that designs and manufacturers tote bags and other products from recycled sails. Sea Bags products are now sold globally and are designed and manufactured in Portland, Maine.
Beth also serves on the Board for Make-A-Wish Foundation Maine and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and is on the steering committee for Maine’s Advanced Textiles Consortium. She earned an undergraduate degree in business and international studies from Heidelberg University and an MBA from Boston University, and recently finished Lifecycle of a Small Business at Harvard Business School. In 2011, she was named a “Woman to Watch” by Maine Biz. Beth and husband, Ben, live in Harpswell.
Amanda Blaine is a classroom teacher and dialogue facilitator at Seeds of Peace International Camp. She helps groups thrive by understanding each other better. A student of Non-Violent Communication, she is available Saturday night to support teams by listening for the fundamental needs or values that are behind conflict or confusion. She welcomes groups or individuals seeking clarity or just an empathetic ear
MaineToday’s live coverage: http://www.pressherald.com/blogs/commercialconfidential/199788191.html Bangor Daily News: http://whitrichardson.bangordailynews.com/2013/03/26/maine-business/bangor-resident-leads-team-that-wins-maines-first-startup-weekend/ One Participant’s Experience: http://melissawalshe.com/not-a-rock/
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Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form [...]