Excitement in the Midcoast for Innovation, Creativity & Growth:

Big news coming out the Rockland/Camden area: tomorrow, MidCoast Magnet launches a new partnership with Blackstone Accelerates Growth (BxG) to host the newest “innovation hub”. The partnership between these organizations will result in a wonderful variety of new opportunities for companies to connect to programs and resources for starting, innovating and growing their business. That’s good news for job growth.

The BxG innovation hub program works to build intentional communities of innovation and entrepreneurship across the state. The Midcoast Hub is the third hub that’s been launched in Maine. Importantly, instead of recreating the wheel, BxG has again formed a partnership with an outstanding local organization to build the program, this time with the MidCoast Magnet. Their experience and credibility will be critical to the success of the “hub” because they have been working on successful events and programs for years in the community already.

The BxG innovation program has three primary focuses:  getting entrepreneurs and companies connected to the programs and initiatives that will help them accelerate their growth; identifying, recruiting, and coordinating talent for companies that support innovation and growth (like the Innovate for Maine internship program); and building sustained engagement between communities and entrepreneurs to encourage growth by engineering serendipitous “collisions” between people, ideas, and resources through events and programs.

The program has already working with some existing companies in the area, like Bixby & Co, Loyal Biscuit Co., Swan’s Island Blankets, and the 2014 Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber Small Business of the Year, Dream Local Digital. These folks are doing great work, hiring folks every day, and thinking big about how they can grow. I, for one, cannot wait to hear more about them.

Want to find out more about the partnership between Blackstone Accelerates Growth and the MidCoast Magnet?  Come to the kick-off event tomorrow, Feb. 25th, at 40 Paper Italian Bistro in the Knox Mill in Camden from 5-7pm.

Jess Knox

About Jess Knox

Born in Waterville, Jess Knox is a former high-ranking U.S. Small Business Administration official in Washington. Now living in Southern Maine, he is passionate about growing prosperity via entrepreneurship, innovation and startups in Maine. These days he helps companies pursue growth through his firm Olympico Strategies as a consultant and movement-maker. He also co-founded Maine Startup & Create Week