Game inventor: If disaster hits, just play along
An Auburn-based entrepreneur is among 10 'Top Guns' who pitch new products to potential investors at a Portland event.
By DENNIS HOEY, Staff Writer
November 20, 2009
Catherine Bickford pitches her business model, Artascope Studios, at the Top Gun Showcase celebration sponsored by the Maine Center for Enterprise Development on Thursday.
Jack Milton/Staff Photographer
Entrepreneur William Ashland unveils his business venture, The Disaster Game, at the Top Gun Showcase in Portland on Thursday.
Jack Milton/Staff Photographer
PORTLAND — If something terrible happens at your home or business, William Ashland says he has you covered.
The president of Auburn-based Disaster Game LLC says that by shuffling a deck of cards depicting disaster scenarios and rolling the dice that come with his tabletop game, a player can prepare a household or business for just about any emergency.
"Threats seem to be happening everywhere," said Ashland, one of 10 entrepreneurs who were invited to pitch their products to more than 100 potential investors Thursday night at the University of Southern Maine's Abromson Center.
The business owners recently completed the Top Gun program, an intense three-month training course in which mentors taught each one how to raise money and market their products. Each company also got free or discounted legal, marketing and accounting advice from industry professionals.
And on Thursday, each business owner got a chance to network with potential investors during a social hour that preceded the event.
"The Top Guns are all at different stages of developing their businesses," said Steven Bazinet, president of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development, which sponsored Top Gun. "Their only common denominator is that each person shares an interest in doing business here in Maine."
A total of 12 companies – selected for their innovation and their promise – graduated from the Top Gun program, which may be offered again next year, Bazinet said.
The 2009 graduates are diverse, from a company that converts plastic bottles and coconut shells into high-performance athletic gear to a pharmaceutical company that is seeking FDA approval to manufacture less addictive pain drugs.
Ashland, who designed the Disaster Game, wants the rest of the world to play along with him.
He said the family version of the game retails for $50. It puts family members in a crisis situation, such as a home invasion, and gets them thinking about solutions.
The game aimed at businesses will cost $300. Some of Ashland's better-known customers are Starbucks, T-Mobile and the U.S. Treasury Department. He says he is now in talks with the Disney company.
Jason Cianchette recently returned from Boston to form Liquid Wireless in Portland.
"I'm finally back home, pursuing my dream," he told the audience.
His incubator company plans to focus on mobile Web users, using proprietary software and Web sites to generate data and leads for advertisers.
Cianchette said more than 60 million Americans use their mobile phones or BlackBerry devices with Internet browsers to surf for information or products.
Jeremy Litchfield uses trash – plastic bottles, coconuts and crab shells – to create high-performance athletic gear that is safe for people and the planet.
His company, Atayne, is based on developing products that he says don't contain the toxins that go into the production of most athletic gear.
"You are probably thinking that Under Armour or Nike are going to squash Atayne, but that is not the case," he said.
Litchfield believes he can appeal to a market of "eco-actives" – people who are concerned about protecting the environment and their own health.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
