Shannon Kinney joins area executives to present at the March 13 Top Gun session at the University of Southern Maine, hosted by the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development. The session, one of a dozen held by the entrepreneurial development program throughout the year, is entitled ‘Co-Founders, Hiring and Firing.’ Shannon will collaborate with a group of executives from Maine providing an overview and panel discussion of topics focused on:

• The importance of hiring quality

• Balance between training and hiring someone ready to roll

• Hiring and managing out of state

• Particular challenges of hiring in Maine

• Particular roles hard to hire for/critical to hire right for

With Shannon’s experience founding and running Dream Local Digital, a technology startup based in Rockland, Maine, her experience navigating the dynamics of a fast-growing company, is invaluable to the entrepreneurs attending Top Gun, as they seek the 360-degree business skills needed to succeed at the forefront of their sector.

“I’m really looking forward to this session, particularly as it relates to growing and scaling a business, an area I have considerable experience in.” Kinney shared, “Dream Local Digital is currently in rapid scale mode, and we are actively managing these very issues. It’s really timely. My presentation will also focus on the importance of communication, vision, team empowerment and culture as your business grows.”

About the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development: The Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, which started out as a traditional business incubator, is now a leading edge virtual resource for the most promising startups in Maine. One of the Center’s key programs is Top Gun, a customized, entrepreneurial development program that identifies highly talented entrepreneurs in Maine and matches them with mentors who will help guide them as they continue to develop their innovative business model. Top Gun teaches emerging entrepreneurs the critical skills needed to manage and grow a scalable, innovative enterprise.

About Dream Local Digital: Dream Local Digital is a marketing agency specializing in interactive media, marketing, SEO and social media. Dream Local Digital works with media companies, ad agencies, and directly with small to medium-sized businesses on all aspects of their online marketing plans, from website development to social media and e-mail marketing. Dream Local Digital’s expertise includes more than 20 years in media, 15 years in Internet product development and marketing, small business ownership, newspaper publishing, and more than seven years of consulting experience for companies large and small all over the world.

If you are interested in having Shannon speak to your group, email us at dream@dreamlocal.com. For more information about Dream Local Digital, visit our website, send us an e-mail, or contact the main office at 207.593.7665. To stay in touch, follow us on Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.