Alicia Gaiero, founder of Nauti Sisters Sea Farm, presents on the business plan she developed with Venture Forward Yarmouth at the Roux Institute in Portland on Oct. 22. (Sophie Burchell/Staff Writer)

Ten Yarmouth small businesses successfully completed Venture Forward Yarmouth, a new small business development initiative headed by Northeastern University’s Roux Institute in Portland. The Yarmouth entrepreneurs are the first to participate in the program, which numerous Maine communities are interested in replicating.

From coffee roasters to primary care providers, the 13 entrepreneurs representing the 10 businesses learned how to scale and modernize their operations and expand into new markets. Over eight weeks, the business owners attended trainings and workshops, and they met with a personalized mentor and Roux Institute staff to develop their business strategies.

Bonnie Freitas and Danielle Gaglini opened River’s Edge Acupuncture in May and heard about the launch of the program months later.

 “We’re a new business. We want to be open to any and all, and let’s see how we can possibly collaborate with local businesses in our community,” said Gaglini.

The business partners and acupuncturists said the program gave them confidence in their business plan and an opportunity to slow down and focus on their vision.

“It seemed like a little gift. We just started. We hit the ground running, but it was nice to get some guidance,” said Freitas.

On Oct. 22 at the Roux Institute’s campus in Portland, the Yarmouth entrepreneurs presented their business strategies and takeaways from the program, followed by a catered lunch from program participant Maggie Mae’s, a grab-and-go restaurant that developed its catering strategy through the Roux Institute program.

One more established business to participate in Venture Forward Yarmouth was Estabrook’s Farms and Greenhouses Inc. A giant in Yarmouth’s relatively small business sector, the garden center and nursery, which operates a second location in Kennebunk, is on track to celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. The company’s success further motivated its president Tom Estabrook to participate in this future-oriented program.

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” said Estabrook, who is the third generation to run the company.

Over the eight week course, Estabrook developed plans for expanding the company’s online shopping and consumer education, and hopes to launch an AI chatbot that provides gardening advice next year.

Other program participants included the snack company Diggables Buckwheat Puffs, the financial consultants Shepard Financial, the restaurant Gather and the oyster farm and experience company Nauti Sisters Sea Farm.

Venture Forward Yarmouth was sponsored by Yarmouth’s Economic Development Advisory Board, which used $40,000 of tax-increment financing for the Roux Institute to provide the free training for Yarmouth business owners.

Tori Hill, Yarmouth’s director of community and economic development, said the partnership with the Roux Institute expanded the capacity of the town to support the local economy. Unlike more typical business development programs for small towns, Venture Forward Yarmouth was not centered around attracting new business to set up shop in the area, said Hill.

“This program was really exciting because it’s taking care of the businesses that are already here and saying, ‘We’re here for you, we support you, and we’re excited for you to grow here,’” she said.

The local focus of the program also lent itself to businesses collaborating, thinking about how they could promote each other’s services or offer joint products.

“It’s tightened the weave of the small business community,” said Hill.

“Having the town being at the heart of the program made it so that there was that much more willingness to collaborate,” said Anna Ackerman, entrepreneurship program manager at the Roux Institute.

Both Hill and Ackerman have heard from other Maine municipalities since the Venture Forward Yarmouth was announced this summer about possibly bringing the program to their towns. Ackerman said that 15 towns, such as Falmouth and Bath, have indicated interest and six towns are in more serious conversations about having a Venture Forward program run next year.

While the Roux Institute has offered entrepreneurship programming in Maine since 2020, the focus was on startups in climate and health care technology as opposed to established small businesses.

“Maine is a small business state, and we thrive on our small business community, and I think we just want to enhance what’s already happening through the resources that the Roux Institute has,” said Ackerman.

With a passion for being outdoors and fishing, Yarmouth resident Bryan Deerwester began sewing durable gear pouches in his basement as a hobby. After selling some creations on Etsy, Deerwester’s participation in the program prompted him to view Royal River Threadworks as a real business. His website selling the handcrafted pouches, cut and sewn in Yarmouth, debuted the day of the showcase.

“I’m a very conservative person, I’m not a great risk taker. I needed a push to get over that,” said Deerwester.

“Now I’m at a point where this feels like a real thing. It’s an awesome program,” he said.