Entrepreneur

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Luke Nielson pictureFOLLOWING GRADUATION in 2012, Luke Nielson landed a position with a fast growing tech company. Being a quick study with a strong work ethic, the IBL graduate was given extensive responsibility and was instrumental in building the brand into a highly reputable player in the industry.

Having ‘side hustles’ helped scratch his entrepreneurial itch. In 2015, he started Seasonal Maine, selling Maine-made items. It grew rapidly, shipping over 25,000 products from his basement to customers around the world in four short years. Prior to selling the business, Seasonal Maine was buying whoopie pies by the pallet!

Nielson’s entrepreneurial spirit has become his primary focus and he is fully self-employed. He founded Big Funnel B2B, working as a technical consultant for business-to-business software companies. “The freedom is nice, but prioritizing correctly can be difficult. You know approximately where you want to end up but the distance between there and where you stand today is wide open.”

As if he isn’t busy enough, he founded Best of Maine, a digital media company. Best of Maine boasts the largest digital audience in the Maine niche, with almost 500,000 subscribers. He notes that Best of Maine is “different because we’re a marketing agency with a built-in audience. We’ve created content and run great ad campaigns for clients like MaineHealth, Reny’s, and many others.”

So how did MMA prepare him for these enterprises? “Above all, MMA taught me to quickly adapt and push through obstacles to get the job done. I’m not sure I would have the same appreciation for determination and grit today if I didn’t spend my college years in a community of such hardworking and humble people.”

Truly an entrepreneur, Nielson will continue buying multifamily rentals in Southern Maine and envisions a long life building, buying, and selling all kinds of different businesses. “Perhaps sneak in a family there one day, too!”

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