This morning, I was celebrating The D-Max Effect® becoming a federally registered trademark, and literally hours later, I was navigating the startup challenges of launching a pilot and I absolutely love it all!
If entrepreneurship has taught me anything about success, it's to have gratitude for the moments you win, celebrate the people who helped you get there, and then get back to work. After building several businesses, I still get excited about solving a problem, only to be faced with another obstacle to figure out. I love the curiosity, the conversations, and that moment when something finally clicks and you can see a path forward. In my experience, it's not that the challenges disappear. It's that you develop a different relationship with them, and the speed at which you can identify a path forward changes.
It's the reps.
This morning's trademark was a beautiful full-circle moment with Hugh Stevens, a mentor who has been in my corner for more than a decade, and the incredible team at the Business & Law Clinic who helped me protect something deeply personal to me. It was a reminder of what makes Maine's entrepreneurial community so special and a testament to the ripple effect of investing in people.
And then, in the middle of navigating the challenges of launching our pilot, I received an email from a teacher implementing The D-Max Effect who shared this message from one of her students:
"Today I went to some more businesses and I've reached $500 yippee. I have sent a list of the places I've gone and what I can remember about what I left so you or I aren't surprised about being contacted. There's a very high chance some or many of these will contact you so don't be surprised."
I smiled reading this because I know that feeling, and if you've ever built something you believe in, you probably do too. It's the excitement of reaching a goal, the confidence that comes from putting yourself out there, and the anticipation of what might happen next.
$500 is absolutely worth celebrating but what’s more impressive is this student is walking into businesses, building relationships, taking ownership, and already thinking ahead about what comes next.
He's getting his reps in.
When I think about the students experiencing The D-Max Effect, that's what matters most to me. Long after their projects end, the confidence they've built, the relationships they've developed, and the experience of figuring things out will continue to shape how they approach life's challenges and opportunities.
The project is the vehicle. Their personal growth is the real win.
Today, I celebrated a trademark, navigated the challenges of a startup, and received a beautiful reminder of why I'm building this in the first place.
If you ask me what the biggest win of my day was, it might just be that student's "yippee."
That's The D-Max Effect. And we're just getting started.
A heartfelt thank you to the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) for funding this work. Their support is giving students the opportunity to have these experiences, and it's making those little moments of discovery possible.
And the exciting part? We still have room to bring The D-Max Effect into one more classroom! If you're an educator or know a school that would love to give students this kind of hands-on leadership experience, I'd love to connect.
