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Our Team:

Providing a strong foundation to help you.

 

The UpStart Center for Entrepreneurship, located Orono, Maine, was developed in 2002 by the Bangor Target Area Development Corporation in partnership with the University of Maine, the State of Maine and the Town of Orono.  We currently house seven start up companies, five market companies and provide help and coaching to hundreds of startups all over the Bangor region. 

 

Services

  • Free, confidential business coaching for companies bringing innovative products or services to market

  • Workshops and seminars

  • Business development planning

  • Mentoring and resource connections

 

We are proud to be:

  • A member of the National Business Incubation Association

  • A partner in Maine Accelerates Growth

  • Home of Top Gun Maine's Bangor Region Class

  • Winner of the New England Board of Higher Education's Excellence Award

Renee Kelly

Business Advisor

 

Renee Kelly is assistant vice president for innovation and economic development for the University of Maine. Her duties include serving as a liaison to the state’s economic development community and identifying opportunities for the University to partner with state, regional and local organizations to improve Maine’s economy. She also leads the Foster Center for Student Innovation, which helps students become innovators and entrepreneurs, and leads the development of the Center’s groundbreaking Innovation Engineering® programs for students and businesses. In addition, she teaches advanced courses in the innovation engineering program and regularly consults with businesses to help them innovate new products, services, processes and business models. She also serves on the boards of several economic development and service organizations.

E: rwkelly@maine.edu

P: 207.581.1401

Veena Dinesh

Business Advisor

 

Veena is the Director of Business Incubation at the University of Maine's Foster Center for Student Innovation. Veena provides business coaching support to entrepreneurs in their early stages of forming a business enterprise and helps them set milestones to create commercially viable business ventures. She is also involved in supporting entrepreneurial activities by providing access to resources and programs available for innovators on campus and in the Bangor region.

 

Veena comes with global experience in nucleating and nurturing early stage technology and knowledge based companies from ideation to market entry. She is passionate about cultivating innovation and entrepreneurship in the community. She has a diverse range of experience in working with technology as well as arts startups.

E: veena.dinesh@maine.edu

P: 207.581.1401  

Emma Wilson

Entrepreneurship Events & Marketing Coordinator

 

Emma is the Marketing Manager for Bangor Area Target Development Corporation and is also the president of Odigo, one of the incubating companies in the UpStart Center. She began her work with Odigo as an Innovate for Maine fellow, and eventually took over the day to day operations of the company, which is working to bring a new home composting solution to market.

E: emma.wilson@maine.edu

P: 207.866.2406

Rod McKay

BTADC Executive Director

 

Executive Director Rodney McKay is a University of Maine graduate with a degree in Public Administration. Following service as an Army Captain he served as the City of Bangor’s Director of Community and Economic Development responsible for managing the City’s planning, community development, economic development, and code enforcement activities, business attraction and assistance programs, and for securing funding and managing over $70 million of federal and state programs and City improvement projects including the City’s Waterfront, Kenduskeag Stream Park, downtown and neighborhood revitalization projects, and development of it’s business and industrial parks. Prior to his current position Rodney served as a member of the BTADC Board of Directors and as its President from 2011 to 2013.

 

Rod handles all facilities questions and lease management.

E: rodneygmckay@gmail.com

P: 207.907.5099  

The UpStart Center for Entrepreneurship is a partnership of the Bangor Target Area Development Corporation and the University of Maine

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