Innovate for Maine - OBBC
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Innovate for Maine lands full-time role with MVF Portfolio company, Orange Bike Brewing
Innovate for Maine is a curated fellowship program that places interns with Maine-based startups to provide companies with capacity and talent while creating meaningful job experience for the intern.
Below you can read about UMaine student Chloe MacVane’s internship with MVF Portfolio company, Orange Bike Brewing. The internship created an opportunity for her to put her business and marketing degree to work, and ended up turning into a full time role!
Innovate for Maine Applications are now open for companies and students! The deadline for companies to apply to host a fellow is Feb. 8, 2026.
For more information, please visit the Innovate for Maine website or email program manager Emma Wilson.
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Chloe MacVane was just a couple of weeks into her 2025 Innovate for Maine Fellowship at Orange Bike Brewing when she and the Orange Bike team began to discuss the prospect of a permanent position at Portland’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery.
For MacVane, a 2025 UMaine business graduate who majored in marketing, it was an unexpected and welcome twist.
“Post graduation, everyone’s biggest concern is ‘What am I going to do after school?’ Innovate for Maine was a great option for me to jump into something for the summer and see where it could go,” said MacVane, who grew up in South Portland. “I was open to anything.”
MacVane selected Orange Bike as one of her top internship choices, intrigued by a project focused on building standard operating procedures for a young startup.
“I didn't know a lot about the brewery when I applied, but I really liked the project scope,” MacVane said. “It felt like a good start for an internship – an opportunity to focus on something I’d never done before, but that felt like something I could do well.”
The first lesson MacVane learned was one that Innovate for Maine is designed to teach: Startup life requires frequent pivots.
“I started out working on standardizing our processes for how employees log into different business-related accounts, but quickly began to take on other responsibilities, like managing Orange Bike’s newsletter, and that’s when the conversation about a full-time role started,” MacVane said.
When hired as an Innovate for Maine fellow in June 2025, MacVane was joining a team poised for growth. Orange Bike, founded by Tom Ruff, uses naturally gluten-free grains like millet, buckwheat, and quinoa to create beer while centering a “triple bottom line” mission of social, environmental, and financial impact. The brewery opened its tasting room in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood in November 2023.
“As a company with two investments from the Maine Venture Fund, we feel a responsibility to invest in Maine’s future,” Ruff said. “Partnering with UMaine and programs like Innovate for Maine is part of how we live that commitment in alignment with our triple bottom line ethos—by helping develop the next generation of leaders and building a stronger, more resilient Maine economy. The Innovate for Maine program has been a direct talent pipeline for us, and Chloe’s transition—from intern to trusted team member—speaks volumes about both the program and the caliber of students UMaine is producing.”
Six months after beginning her Innovate for Maine Fellowship, MacVane’s role at Orange Bike spans marketing and operations, and she is thriving at a small-business startup in her home state.
“My Innovate for Maine training and internship experience really prepared me for the reality that every day is going to be different,” MacVane said. “I do a lot of social media, our weekly newsletter, and answering our general emails, plus handling booking and logistics for private events, live music, and community events.”
When asked to consider what she loves about her job, MacVane says she loves the team at Orange Bike, and the way they support one another in a community-oriented mission that extends well beyond brewing and selling beer.
“From the back end to the front end of the house, I work with some really, really great people, and Tom has been a mentor to me in the best possible way,” MacVane said. “It's awesome to be part of a growing business that partners with area non-profits and really looks out for the community.”
About Maine Venture Fund
Maine Venture Fund invests in Maine businesses that have the highest potential for growth and impact. For more information, visit maineventurefund.com.
Inquiries:
Terri Wark
Maine Venture Fund
(207) 305-0006
terri@maineventurefund.com
