Top Gun regional business pitch finalists announced

Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development The winners of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development's Top Gun semi-final events were announced after regional pitch-offs in Bangor, Lewiston/Auburn, Rockport and Portland.

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By Staff

The Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development and its partners announced the winners of the Top Gun Program’s semi-final pitch events.

Partners in the program are the University of Maine, the Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council and MaineStream Finance. Participating entrepreneurs presented five-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 participate in the Top Gun Showcase on June 7 and compete for a $10,000 cash prize sponsored by the Maine Technology Institute.

The winners were:

Bangor:

cityLIFE nature kits — Deanna Fahey, Mary Ellen McAlistar

GirlZone Fitness — Melissa Smith

Lewiston/Auburn:

Grojo — Jared Pinkham, Aaron Hasting, Brandon Bergman

Sofia Fima — Dianna Pozdniakov

Rockland:

Tempest in a Teapot — Tammy Smith

Herbal Revolution Farm and Apothecary — Katheryn Langelier

Portland:

Branding Compass — Emily Brackett

Thrivant Health — Michael Royals

Top Gun is an annual program for competitively selected entrepreneurs that combines mentoring with high-impact weekly gatherings held in Portland, Orono, Lewiston /Auburn and Rockland. Beginning with just a dozen entrepreneurs in Portland in 2009, Top Gun has now helped over 150 entrepreneurs across the state accelerate their businesses.