Five Maine companies are vying for $30,000 from Gorham Savings Bank
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Claudia Raessler, CEO of Maine Textiles, in front of a cone winder at the Saco River Dyehouse in Biddeford.
Five finalists have emerged in the final round of Gorham Savings Bank’s third annual LaunchPad Competition, and they’ll each have seven minutes to pitch their business plan Thursday night for a chance to win $30,000.
Gorham Savings Bank said LaunchPad’s mission is to “help fund the growth of a Maine business and help mitigate one of the biggest barriers for entrepreneurs — the lack of funding.”
LaunchPad’s pitching event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center in Portland. The event, which is free to the public, is the culmination of a competition that began with a pool of 88 applicants. Ten semifinalists were then selected for a public voting phase, which resulted in the final five companies that emerged last month.
Thursday night’s judges will be Chris Claudio, CEO of Portland-based IT firm Winxnet; Michelle Neujahr, director of Southern Maine Community College’s Entrepreneurial Center; and Melissa Smith, president and CEO of South Portland-based fleet card service Wex Inc.
Here are LaunchPad’s five finalists, as described by Gorham Savings Bank:
Beach Glass Transitions
“A Senior Care Advising company based in South Portland, providing personalized transition assistance to families and their aging loved ones.”
Casco Bay Butter
“A Scarborough-based business that makes all natural and organic-flavored butter sourced from local farmers.”
Flowfold (returning finalist)
“Designs, produces and sells wallets, totes and other everyday carry gear that are made in Maine from some of world’s strongest material.”
Saco River Dyehouse (returning finalist)
“A manufacturing operation supporting the production needs of textile designers, yarn manufacturers and businesses selling into the artisan/craft markets.”
St. Germain Collins
“A Westbrook-based consulting firm that developed SentryEHS, an innovative web-based tool used by businesses to protect the environment and safeguard workers, all while lowering overhead costs.”
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