Julene Gervais

Members of the inaugural cohort include a handcrafted screen door maker in Waldoboro and a Portland-based fast-casual breakfast-food concept with long-term plans to expand nationally.

Newcastle-based Singing Pastures plans to use its $25,000 prize money to fund a new website ahead of a rebrand and expansion.

The Saco-baed designer and maker of non-plastic packaging solutions currently has nine employees and plans to hire 20 more in the next year.

Abbie Anderson won the $10,000 grand prize in the "Greenlight Maine College Edition" TV business-pitch contest for the social media platform she developed.

Some Maine startups are racking up pitch-off wins before going on to other fundraising, while others prefer more specialized accelerator programs and grants.