Dan’s studies helped power his startup
Marketability mindset
Maine Maritime Academy graduate Dan Peabody-Harrington was a supply chain analyst, managing inventory for 1,200 retail stores. In his spare time, he was working on his startup: Mallard Enterprises, which Peabody-Harrington co-founded with his father. Mallard is developing amphibious planes that can land on airport runways or directly on water—improving access for areas that aren’t near airports. Their ultimate goal is to design and manufacture the planes in Maine, creating high-paying jobs in their home state.
While developing the startup, Peabody-Harrington wanted to increase his advancement opportunities and earning potential by earning a graduate degree. When the South Portland native discovered the nearby Roux Institute, he instantly knew it was the right move to help him advance his career and his startup. “I wanted a global institution and world-class university. Roux blended my needs perfectly,” he says. Eager to gain new skills, Peabody-Harrington was the very first student on campus enrolled in the master’s in project management program.
“My Techstars co-op was like earning an MBA in startups, and the learning was phenomenal.”
DAN PEABODY-HARRINGTON
Graduate
Building his startup at the Roux
It was fall of 2020 and while many classes were online, he welcomed the chance to take in-person classes. “I got so much out of being on campus—meeting professors, talking to researchers. It’s a very collaborative environment,” he says. He opted to do co-op and aimed to find a job that would help him continue to build Mallard Enterprises.
For his first co-op, Peabody-Harrington served as the senior program and operations associate in the Techstars program, supporting 10 startups in the inaugural Roux Institute Techstars Accelerator. “It was an amazing experience. Techstars touts this associate position as earning an MBA in startups, and the learning was phenomenal,” he says.
When it came time for his second co-op, Peabody-Harrington got to zero in on his passion—growing Mallard. He worked on building his venture at the Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education among fellow entrepreneurs. “We all got to learn from each other, even though we were on different projects.”
An education in entrepreneurship
As for his future plans, the Northeastern alum is exploring joining a new organization while continuing to develop Mallard —potentially tapping into the vast network he joined at Roux.
“‘Give first’ is the Techstars mantra. If you can help someone, you help them,” he says. “Everyone [at Roux] wants to help the same way, to create an ecosystem and improve Maine as a place to live and work.”