Heather Blease's Corporate Comeback

How one entrepreneur went from running a multi-million dollar company, to filing for bankruptcy, and right back to running a multi-million dollar company.

- Anthony Elio

Heather Blease’s story is one containing lucrative highs, challenging lows, and a price tag in the millions. One day she was starting college and launching her career as an electrical engineer. The next she was in control of a multi-million dollar company, signing contracts with giant tech companies. However, a string of unfortunate incidents would result in Blease filing Chapter 11, seeing her family torn apart, and spending a weekend in jail. This makes the third act of her story that much sweeter, as she eventually came back stronger than ever with a new company and a new lease on life.

Upon graduating from the University of Maine, Blease spent some time working at the Digital Equipment Corporation in Massachusetts before returning home to Maine. After the company was sold in the mid90s, Blease was directionless. This inspired her to take charge, as she soon launched EnvisioNet in 1995, a company that provided remote technical support for the technology industry. Within a few years, EnvisioNet had grown to become a $30 million company employing over 2,000 people, with Blease going on to be recognized as Maine’s 1999 Economic Developer of the Year.