PORTLAND, Maine, May 10, 2019 – The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE) along with its partners, the University of Maine, the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council, MaineStream Finance, and the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation at Thomas College, announced the winners of the 2019 Top Gun Program’s regional semifinal pitch events.
Regional pitch events were held this week in Bangor, Lewiston/Auburn, Portland, Rockland, and Waterville. Participating entrepreneurs presented 5-minute pitches to a panel of judges, followed by a brief question and answer period. Scoring was based on presentation, innovation, scalability and feasibility. The top two finishers in each location will move on to participate in the Top Gun Showcase on May 23rd at USM’s Hannaford Hall, and will compete for one of two, $25,000 cash prizes sponsored by the Maine Technology Institute and David E. Shaw.
The regional pitch competition winners are as follows:
Bangor
Neuright
Vigilance Software
Lewiston/Auburn
i-Tell Alert
My Waffle
Portland
Hornet Water Sports
Sticky Sweet
Rockland
Boat Show VIP
Custom Skills Development
Waterville
Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants
MugBuddyCookies, Inc.
“The excitement is building as 43 client businesses, our largest Cohort ever, come down the final stretch of our four-month entrepreneurship program”, said Tom Rainey, Executive Director, Maine Center for Entrepreneurs. “These hard working graduates will join 250 alumni businesses stretching across the state from the Canadian border down to York County”, said Tom Rainey, MCE Executive Director.
About Top Gun:
The Top Gun program is supported by MCE partners including the University of Maine, the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, MaineStream Finance, and the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation at Thomas College. MCE receives funding support from corporate and non-profit sponsors, local businesses, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, FocusMaine the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additionally, Maine Center Ventures, the University of Maine System’s new Graduate and Professional Studies initiative, will host the 2019 Top Gun Showcase at University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Hall.
About MCE:
Founded in 1997, MCE is an independent non-profit organization based in Portland that helps the most promising Maine companies launch and grow through training, connections, and “hands-on” support from dozens of volunteer advisors and business mentors. Please visit www.mced.biz.