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Grow your business with Union River Center for Innovation!

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About Us

Since its inception in 2015, the Union River Center for Innovation has housed a variety of businesses, ranging from entrepreneurs in their planning stages to already established small businesses. Our focus and expertise is to work with biotech, life science, and high tech companies; however, we welcome all startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs looking to grow their companies. Through our extensive partnerships in the State, we offer business assistance and mentoring resources that empower businesses to overcome challenges and achieve their potential. 

In addition, the Union River Center for Innovation promotes collaboration through a mix of entrepreneurs, small-business owners, remote workers, and co-workers sharing our space, fostering an environment of problem solving and mentoring. Our programs and services also cater to remote workers, co-workers, and the local small business community.

Programs & Services

The Business Incubator and Business Affiliate programs include mentoring, business coaching, networking, and promotional opportunities while also providing basic services such as office space, high-speed internet, and a mailbox and copier/printer. 

For emerging bioscience entrepreneurs and companies, we offer a community laboratory space outfitted with the essential tools necessary to perform research and development. The laboratory houses a state-of-the-art imaging system and modern equipment to meet the demands of today’s scientific procedures. 

For remote workers living in or visiting the greater Ellsworth area, our Center provides a co-working space with daily and monthly memberships. Longer-term private office rentals are also available. A conference room can be rented at an hourly rate for interviews, private meetings, or small gatherings. 

Union River Center for Innovation understands that many of our local small businesses face the same challenges, whether they are brick-and-mortar stores or digitally-based companies. With this in mind, our educational programming is designed to touch upon these challenges.  We host learning sessions to help improve your business, whether it be with accounting, marketing, legal, leadership, human resources, or financing.

Location

Located on the scenic Union River waterfront in downtown Ellsworth, adjacent to the City’s Harbor Park and Marina, and walking distance to Main Street, with various shops and dining options. 

Ellsworth is the year-round service center for the Downeast Maine and Acadia regions. The City boasts: 

  • Commercial corridors for all your shopping and day-to-day needs,
  • Various housing choices, from rentals to single-family homes, both rural and in-town living, 
  • Recreational trails and hiking include the East Coast Greenway, with access to lake and tidal waterfront. 

We are located: 

  • 45 minutes from an international airport (Bangor) and 15 minutes from a regional airport (Trenton) with daily commuter flights to Boston/Logan International Airport. 
  • Within an hour’s drive of five major universities/colleges. 
  • Less than 30 minutes from Acadia National Park. 
  • In reach of numerous business, biotech, and life science resources.

Testimonials

“URCI has taken a big step forward in providing an onsite administrator/entrepreneur with the time to conduct one on one mentoring meetings every 2-3 months. Mypitch development process has improved by giant steps and they are attributable to his mentoring/coaching! The connectedness to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Maine hasbeen empowering. URCI’s credibility in the ecosystem provides validation for the entrepreneur as acceptance is essentially immediate once it is known one has been accepted by URCI.”
Jerry Collins, CEO, Treadwell Corporation
“We had concerns buying a house without high speed internet, and this is key to our remote jobs. Having our office at URCI enabled us to move here full time. The ecosystem at URCI is friendly, cooperative, and efficient.”
Lisa Matthews, Private Office Tenant
“URCI has an impressive bioscience community laboratory to support our preclinical drug discovery studies. It is well-equipped with a state-of-the art imaging system and an animal surgical unit, in addition to standard laboratory equipment. URCI’s culture promotes and fosters interactions with entrepreneurs across its vast network in the state, and lowers the activation energy for entrepreneurs by providing access to business coaches, DREAM series webinars, and investment financial resources.”
Novo Biosciences
“The private offices at the Center allow me to work from an office setting surrounded by other like-minded remote workers and entrepreneurs; while still having access to all amenities needed to do my job, like high-speed internet. I love the ability to work for one of the largest companies in the world, while still living in and being involved in the Ellsworth-area community.”
Kyle Shank, Marketing Science Partner, Facebook

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