Top Gun finalists shoot for $10K prize tonight
Photo / Courtesy of Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development
Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development Executive Director Don Gooding speaking at last year's Top Gun Showcase competition in Portland.
With their sights on a $10,000 prize, 10 finalists will pitch the merits of their companies to a panel of judges in the Top Gun Showcase Wednesday night at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center in Portland.
Top Gun is an annual five-month program for competitively selected entrepreneurs, combining mentoring with bi-weekly gatherings in Portland, Bangor and Rockland. The class of 2015 is 70% larger than in the previous three years, both due to the addition of the Rockland location, and to the growth in the number of potential entrepreneurs in Portland and Bangor, according to Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, which coordinates the program.
The three-tier competition consists of an online vote; a semi-final regional pitch-off combining the online and live scores, which each contributed 50% to the total score; and finally the live competition on June 3. During the regional pitch contest, two winners were chosen from each of the three Top Gun locations. Four wild card spots also were added for the next four highest scores.
“If people think interesting things are only happening in Portland, our competition shows that equally exciting companies are all across the state,” Don Gooding, MCED’s executive director, told Mainebiz. “Each of the three locations is well represented.”
Of the 33 Top Gun program attendees, 27 competed in the online video pitch via scoremypitch.com and present.me. Seventeen online judges each reviewed eight out of the 27 companies, with no judge having the same eight companies. Every company had five judges, Gooding said.
Those results were counted for half the score of the regional competition, with the other half of the score from the live judges at each regional presentation. Those judges differed from the online judges.
The final judging will take place tonight with yet another set of judges. The panelists slated for tonight’s event are Heather Blease, CEO of SaviLinx and Savi Systems; Brenda Garrand, CEO of Garrand; Mark Kaplan, CEO of Alpha Loft; Jerry King, COO of Vet Direct Marketing; Jonathan LaBonte, mayor of the City of Auburn; Rumena Manolova, vice president, and Chris Peake, senior managing director, both of Blackstone Advisory Partners LP; Nancy Sauder, director of new venture development at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell; Sam Sezak, partner at Blue Heron Capital; Hugh Stevens, director of the Najim Center for Business Innovation and Social Responsibility; Stephen Voltz, founder of Eepybird Studios; and Brian Whitney, president of the Maine Technology Institute.
MCED coordinates the Top Gun program, which is made possible by the Blackstone Accelerates Growth initiative, MTI, along with local businesses, program advisors and mentors.
Here’s how the finalists describe their companies:
From Bangor
RockStep Solutions: RockStep Solutions is a tech startup that develops advanced systems for information management. The company focus is on improved user experience through integration of emergent technologies and algorithms into its CLIMB cloud-hosted product.
CourseStorm: By creating web software to make registering for classes impossibly simple, CourseStorm aims to connect everyone to local education. If you're interested in learning something new, chances are a class is being offered in your area and it's our job to make sure you can find it.
From Rockport
Pemaquid Mussel Farms: Pemaquid Mussel Farms is a vertically integrated company of owner-operators with the purpose of growing the highest quality rope-grown mussels along the coast of Maine.
American Unagi: This business is addressing the issue of sending eels around the world to reach out to plates in the United States by growing Maine-harvested glass eels to market size in Maine. No one is currently growing eels commercially in the United States, so this would bring the technology and techniques of recirculating eel aquaculture to Maine.
From Portland
Rapport: Rapport makes it simple and affordable for small- to medium-sized businesses to manage their sustainability efforts. Starting at $99 a month (per site), the platform helps customers: 1. Track key metrics (e.g. energy, water, carbon equivalents); 2. Identify cost-saving opportunities; 3. Catalyze employee and supply chain action to improve performance; 4. Tell their story, demonstrating engagement and progress to customers and other stakeholders.
NBT Solutions (VETRO FiberMap): NBT Solutions is developing a cloud-based fiber network planning and management tool that addresses the needs of small fiber network providers. Its VETRO FiberMap product aims to give small- and mid- sized broadband providers tools they can use to aggregate customer demand and maximize their customer “take rates” without over-building their networks. The product will bridge the gap between sales and engineering functions by seamlessly exposing relevant network mapping to both sets of users.
Wild Card
Zeomatrix: Zeomatrix is a University of Maine spin-off company founded in 2006 to commercialize value-added paper products using a patented zeolite composition from natural Maine resources. (Bangor Top Gun)
Downeast Dayboat (Maine Dayboat Scallops): I’m transitioning from a seasonal scallop purveyor to a year-round seafood sommelier, bringing you the very best products from Maine’s finest fishermen. You’ve seen how my unique distribution system brings you the best scallops you’ve ever tasted. I’ll be offering other premium Maine seafoods (guaranteed to knock your socks off) in the coming weeks. I expect to start offering lobster and halibut by mid-June. (Portland Top Gun)
Parent Technology Group LLC: PTG is developing intrinsically solar textiles capable of powering electrical devices. Intrinsically solar textiles can integrate with common products such as tents, tarps and garments, enabling these products to generate power. Textiles promise improvements over existing solar technology since they are lighter, flexible, wearable and more easily transportable. (Portland Top Gun)
LooHoo LLC: LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls have helped thousands of homes protect their family's health by providing a natural alternative to toxic dryer sheets. (Rockport Top Gun)
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