The two-day event brought together faculty, staff, community partners and young Maine residents to brainstorm business ideas that can help people who have moved from other countries.
Clarence Zulu lived in South Africa for over 30 years before moving to Portland, Maine.
Fortunately for Zulu, the family that is housing him while he goes through the asylum process has helped him adjust. They took him through the process of getting a driver's license, opening a bank account and enrolling in adult education classes.
But settling in a new country can still be difficult.
When the family heard that Northeastern University's Portland campus was hosting a business conference focused on helping people who had just moved to the state, they recommended the Zulus attend. After all, he was a businessman in South Africa.
Zulu used his own experiences at the Start Summit to come up with an idea for an app that is a “one-stop shop” for young Mainers, connecting them to local resources. He left the summit with more than an idea for a new business, but with hope for himself as a “new Mainer.”
“As Africans, we have this preconceived notion of America and how perfect it is,” Zulu said. “The whole process was a big culture shock.”
There were issues he didn't expect, he said.
“The whole summit was a wonderful experience because I really heard testimonies from people who went through what I went through and found success in their lives,” Zulu said. “Being around like-minded people who are very friendly and who showed a lot of empathy and sympathy for my situation helped me, it just gave me hope.”
In recent years, there have been more people like Zulu moving to Maine from outside the United States, according to evidence from the Office of Maine Refugee Services.
With that in mind, Northeastern partnered with the Immigrant Welcome Center of Greater Portland to host a two-day kickoff Summit focused on the integration of people who have relocated to Maine from outside the United States.
The goal was to bring community members together to brainstorm new business ideas that can help welcome these “new Mainers” to their new country and state.
“The theme for this Startup Summit is part of a bigger picture of what's happening here in Maine,” said Terra Dunham, entrepreneurship program manager at Northeastern's Roux Institute on the Portland campus. “It was a great way to integrate different groups on campus.”
The event attracted community members representing 21 countries. They kicked off the weekend with a talk by Santiago Zindel, director of the Founder Residency Program at Roux, about the challenges facing people who have moved to Maine. The following day, 29 people participated in the startup segment of the event, with workshops on entrepreneurship and pitching a business.
Both new Mainers from other countries and people more familiar with the area participated in the summit, resulting in six startup pitches to help immigrants new to the area.
One group floated an idea for a credit card for young Mainers to build credit. Another involved a platform to connect young Mainers with business owners to find work. And another suggested a platform where young Mainers could find community support, financial opportunities and resources.
“I was heartened by the overall sense of inclusion and respect with which the groups approached the issues,” said Stella Hernandez, business hub director for the Greater Portland Welcome Center. “This is a first step to good solutions in my mind. I was so excited to hear the ideas they had in their solutions. I'd love to see some of this actually happen (and it did), impressed by the Roux students involved – just the coolest people.”
The weekend was enlightening not only for newcomers, but for people from Maine as well. Jomkit Jujaroen was born in Thailand but grew up in the Portland area and recently returned. His team came up with an idea for a platform that connects Mainers looking for work with employers, based on his perspective and those of the young Mainers he met.
“I tried to get some inspiration from things in my life,” he said. “My family owns a restaurant and keeping the front room staffed can be a challenge. My idea focused on young Mainers who need employment and small business owners who need workers.”
Miranda Shinn, a graduate student studying project management at the Portland campus, was part of the team that proposed an app to connect young Mainers with interpreting services.
“Hearing about other people and their stories that brought them to Maine was really exciting,” Shinn said. “Hearing the struggles and triumphs was really cool because you really got to see someone else's lifestyle. … It's been very interesting and humbling to hear the stories and to be able to contribute in a way that looks like we're moving forward in terms of bringing great talent here to this state of Maine.”
