After starting his career working in Governor James Longley’s administration, David Evans Shaw realized he preferred the world of business. He liked the idea of helping others, though, and has focused his career on that goal. “While motivated by public service, I discovered that the framework of entrepreneurial business was especially fulfilling,” he says. “Over the past 35 years, I have come to love building and supporting organizations that create exceptional value through innovative thinking and game-changing technology.” Shaw has founded some of Maine’s largest companies, including Idexx Laboratories and Vets First Choice. He has also been chairman of the board at the Jackson Laboratory. His endeavors have been driven by “restless dissatisfaction with the status quo” and a desire to find new, creative solutions. “Their success is a result of impassioned discovery of novel ways to tackle important opportunities in the world,” Shaw says. The business leader is now a managing partner of Black Point Group, an investment partnership based in Portland. He says it’s important to him to be involved in work that creates jobs in Maine and adds to the state’s technology industry, especially as it relates to health care. “We are all beneficiaries of stunning advances in modern healthcare, and I’m proud to be a contributor,” Shaw says. Looking to the future, Shaw envisions entrepreneurs leading the state forward. “Entrepreneurship thrives on a sense of taking responsibility in life, and this resonates with an element of Maine’s culture,” he says.