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.
