“Why I Had to Leave Maine to Build a Maine Brand” — Luke Holden on Business, Bureaucracy, and Coming Home

Maine is full of hardworking entrepreneurs, but too often, they have to leave the state to build something big. Luke Holden is one of them.

He grew up in Cape Elizabeth, a third-generation lobsterman with Maine roots as deep as they come. But when it came time to start Luke’s Lobster, he didn’t do it in Portland. Or Rockland. Or Bar Harbor.

He went to New York City.

Why? Because Maine made it impossible.

In this episode of Maine For Keeps, Jonathan Bush sits down with Luke to break down:

🔥 Why Maine businesses struggle to scale—and what has to change

🔥 The red tape, taxes, and regulations that keep entrepreneurs out

🔥 How Maine’s housing crisis is blocking economic growth

🔥 Why Luke eventually came back—and what it’ll take to keep the next generation from leaving

If we want to restore the Maine dream, we need to fix the structural issues that push our best and brightest elsewhere.

Can we actually make Maine a place where entrepreneurs thrive? Let’s talk about it.

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