Funding Criteria
Your organization or project must meet the following criteria to be eligible for Business Innovation Funding.
Expand each criteria for more information
You must be a Maine-based organization
To qualify as a Maine-based organization, you must:
- Be registered with the State of Maine’s Bureau of Corporations.
- Be predominantly based in the State of Maine.
- MTI looks at a number of factors when making this assessment, including but not limited to: whether an organization has a physical headquarters in Maine, whether key-decision makers for the organization are based in Maine, and the ratio of full-time employees in Maine to employees in other locations.
MTI occasionally receives applications from organizations with plans to establish a presence in Maine. Typically, any investments approved by MTI will not be disbursed until substantial progress has been made in securing a location and/or activities are underway in Maine.
Your innovation must fall within one of the seven targeted technology sectors
- MTI has a comprehensive approach to investing within and across seven Targeted Technology Sectors. Your innovation must fall within one or at the intersection of two or more sectors.
- The seven targeted technology sectors are:
- Biotechnology
- Composites & Advanced Materials
- Environmental Technologies
- Forest Products & Agriculture
- Information Technology
- Marine Technology & Aquaculture
- Precision Manufacturing
Your organization must have an innovation
- MTI defines innovation as an effort to create something new, or improve an existing product, service, or process. Innovations should be substantially differentiated from existing alternatives. We support new or substantially improved products, processes, or methods with the potential to grow and diversify Maine’s economy and increase the number of quality jobs throughout the state.
- MTI helps applicants assess their strengths and weaknesses to maximize their chances of successfully commercializing their innovation.
- MTI invests in activities or initiatives that move innovation forward and use a systematic approach to the innovation process.
- MTI recognizes the six stages of innovation. We support projects in all phases of the innovation process—research, development, commercialization, and sustainability—as long as a sound methodology is applied.
Your innovation must enable your organization to create additional Economic Impact in Maine
MTI funds projects that grow and create economic impact in Maine via new jobs or additional tax revenue. If you’re not sure if your project or organization contributes to economic growth in Maine, start an interest form and we can help you assess whether your project is the right fit.
You must have access to matching funds
MTI requires a matching investment equal to or greater than the amount of MTI funding requested. All MTI funding requires a concurrent cash investment by the client. In some cases we will consider “sweat equity,” in-kind services or costs for existing equipment or facilities for part of the match, but the cash match is weighted higher than other match in the application review process. Learn more about matching co-investment funds here.
VIRAL
MTI has chosen a nationally recognized assessment tool to help our clients identify their most urgent needs to maximize their chances of successfully commercializing their innovation or launching their program. This tool is called the Venture Investment Readiness & Awareness Levels or VIRAL® assessment.
What is VIRAL®?
VIRAL, Venture Investment Readiness Assessment Levels, is a framework originally developed by Village Capital, a nationally recognized leader in investment and entrepreneurial development.
It is a self-assessment tool for measuring the maturity of an organization or business across eight different areas including the development of:
- Team
- Problem and Vision
- Value Proposition
- Product
- Market
- Business Model
- Scale
- Exit
While the VIRAL® levels were developed with a focus on venture-investment readiness for a startup, MTI has chosen this tool because it can be used to assess nearly any type of product, service, process or organization and at every stage of development.
How does MTI use VIRAL®?
MTI, in partnership with Village Capital, has adopted and adapted this framework to help guide our investment decisions. While the tool is focused on venture-investment readiness, we believe it is applicable to nearly every type of organization, so anyone applying to MTI for funding should start with this assessment.
We invite you to take a look at the VIRAL framework and perform a self-assessment in advance of your conversation with MTI staff. The VIRAL assessment is now available to Maine enterprises in an online version called Abaca. MTI invites potential applicants to visit the site, complete a self-assessment and set up a profile to access information about resources available locally and nationally tailored to your VIRAL level and type of enterprise.
Knowing and understanding your VIRAL® level can help us ‘speak the same language’ and get to a shared understanding of what an MTI applicant needs to do to get to their next level of growth. Our goal is to be able to advise each applicant on what types of work are likely to be approved and how much MTI funding you are likely to qualify for. These recommendations directly correspond to your VIRAL level, with a goal of “leveling up”.
MTI plays a vital role in the Maine innovation community and economy. Defendify would not be where it is today without MTI’s early and ongoing support, financially and strategically.
–Andrew Rinaldi, Co-founder, Defendify
