CASE STUDY
Tanbark designs and manufacturings non-plastic packaging solutions
Tanbark designs and manufacturings non-plastic…
Tanbark aims to solve the modern problem of plastic waste by leveraging Maine’s legacy of pulp and paper, using molded fiber packaging as a replacement for rigid single-use plastic. To date, Tanbark has been involved with each domain of the Roux Institute, a true testament to the level of talent and resources the Roux Institute is able to provide companies.
Bring your tech-based, big-impact idea to life in Portland, Maine. As part of our mission to create a diverse and equitable start-up ecosystem in Maine, we offer this residency specifically for women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and other historically marginalized people. The Roux Institute aligns with the definition of women and female that explicitly includes trans women and femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer and non-binary individuals.
You have a great idea — one you’re sure will significantly change the way people work and live. But what about the time, funding, and guidance to bring it to life? That’s what the Roux Institute at Northeastern University’s Venture Creation & Acceleration platform is all about. The one-year program supports high-growth technology ventures and founders who are out to solve the world’s most pressing challenges related to software, hardware, advanced supply chain, advanced manufacturing, biotech, and computational medicine.
Be one of 10 early-stage startups to join the Roux Institute and surround yourself with the talent, mentorship, and access to capital you need to drive growth.
Our program combines a $25,000 grant in non-dilutive funding for each company, with curated programming, mentorship, joint research opportunities, a network of expert advisors, and a peer community.
Founders have access to Northeastern’s global network of mentors and investors along with researchers, academics, and students in the fields of artificial intelligence, computer and data sciences, digital engineering, advanced life sciences, and medicine.
Why choose between a great place to work and a beautiful place to live? Maine offers the best of both worlds. Take advantage of this thriving innovation economy, with the ocean, mountains, world-class restaurants, and arts in your backyard.
Since our inception in 2020, our mission has focused largely on making a positive impact on Maine’s communities and economy. Through experiential, hands-on programs in higher-education, research, partnership, and entrepreneurship, we’re continually asking ourselves, “what more can we do for Maine?”
Our year-long residency includes three phases. Founders have access to the Roux Institute’s Portland campus throughout the program.
Phase 1:
Connections (2 Weeks)
Phase 2:
Intensive (10 Weeks)
Phase 3:
Build and Scale (9 months)
Mentorship
Tap Northeastern University’s global network of startup advisors, founders, and subject matter experts to turbo-charge growth.
Living Stipend
Use $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding to focus on building your venture full-time.
Peer Community
Join the Roux Institute’s network of 70+ portfolio companies for guidance that helps you solve routine issues fast.
Programming
Get up to speed on product-market fit, fundraising, design thinking, legal advice, and more, with leading subject matter experts and programs designed to help you succeed.
Workspace
Get inspired by the Roux Institute’s cutting-edge, open-concept campus in downtown Portland, surrounded by top researchers and experts in AI, life sciences, and data visualization.
Extra Benefits
Enjoy access to over $300,000 in credits and discounts from our partners at AWS, Google, Mixpanel and more.
The following companies are currently participating in our Founder Residency cohort:
Chargely is a mobile-first application solving electric vehicle charging anxiety by offering routing and EV charging recommendations powered by community-driven data.
Due to the labor shortage caused by COVID, many stores experienced understaffing, increased workloads, and poor customer service. EzOut offers an AI-powered, low-cost smart shopping cart that increases grocers’ profit margins and personalizes the shopping experience at brick-and-mortar stores.
P3RD is a material science R&D company commercializing microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) tree-plastic packaging. Using a newly patented molding system of 100% MFC, this ocean–compostable, fish friendly (OCFF) packaging is currently formed into drink lids and straws.
ReachMyTeach makes it easy for families, students, and teachers to connect in ways and languages that work for them. ReachMyTeach translates messages and PDFs into over 130 languages, and supports on-demand video interpreters, scheduled conferences, attendance management, and districtwide alerts for large communications like snow days.
The Small Wins Dashboard is a web-based app for educators that converts individual team members’ small win reflections into team-wide evidence of progress. The data helps schools answer, collectively and in real time, “Which of our practices are working for our students?”
Sotira helps D2C brands and stores optimize the highest returns on excess inventory, unsold inventory, and overstock. Sotira aggregates, recommends, and implements solutions for inventory overstock based on profitability and time constraints and alleviates the time and labor involved in making these decisions.
Thola offers compliance automation for the agricultural supply-chain. This includes the acceleration of auditing and global export compliance certification for farmers and their produce, as well as climate sustainability and quality standards. This is done through Thola’s digital compliance app, which links farmers to a team of licensed Thola agricultural auditors.
Trameter is a travel platform that plans a user’s entire vacation in 90 seconds or less. Using a deeply intelligent algorithm that automatically finds and combines the best hotels, flights, and experiences into a single travel package, all based on the traveler’s budget and preferences, travelers can book an entire trip in one click.
Videsk revolutionizes B2C communications in e-commerce by delivering a scalable, plug & play video contact center. Videsk leverages BI to humanize customer interactions, enhance service quality, and enable personalized experiences for sales guidance and customer support.
Zal.ai uses the latest technology in unified API providers, LLMs, and skill ontologies to help organizations of any size implement effective and equitable professional development for their workforce. Uses include helping to cultivate and retain employees, guiding teams through professional development and performance reviews, and providing employees with personalized career advisors.
If you’d like to discuss support and involvement opportunities, please reach out to Anna Ackerman at [email protected].
Yes. The Founder Residency is for founders with ideas or technology that have at least a basic level of market and/or technical validation. The ideal candidate has a an early product out to market. Our goal is to support you as you work full-time on your venture and give you the tools you need to accelerate growth.
No. We source applicants from across the globe through a competitive process. However, the Residency is located in Maine, and we expect founders in the program to be stationed at the Roux Institute’s Innovation Hub in Portland, ME for the duration of the program. We believe Maine is the best place in the world to start and run a business.
We support founders with the desire and idea or technology to create a scalable technology-based business that could have a meaningful impact for millions. We prefer ventures that utilize technology aligned with the Roux Institute’s core focus areas — artificial intelligence, computer and data sciences, digital engineering, advanced life sciences, and medicine.
Yes. We support for-profit ventures, non-profit ventures, and every venture in between. As long as your idea uses technology and has potential to drive significant change as outlined above, we’ll consider it.
Yes. The application considers your startup as a whole and we hope to have all your founders participate in the program.
No. You do not need to be a student or have any affiliation with Northeastern to be eligible.
Applications for the next cohort have closed. We will open applications for the 2025 cohort in the spring of 2025. Be sure to sign up for our Entrepreneurship newsletter to stay up to date with our programs.
