Gorham Savings Bank on Friday announced the five companies that will compete for $50,000 at its 2019 LaunchPad business-pitch contest, being held next month in Portland. The bank also announced the five companies selected as finalists for the Emerging Idea award and its $10,000 grant.

More than 150 businesses applied this year for the chance to compete in the seventh annual LaunchPad competition, created by the bank in 2013 as a way to support early-stage companies.

Here are the five finalists for the main competition:

  • Casco Bay Creamery — A Portland-based butter maker. Management team includes Jennell Carter, Alicia Menard, Andrew Menard, and Sue Konkel). Casco Bay Creamery was also a Launchpad finalist in 2015.
  • CourseStorm — An Orono-based software company co-founded by Brian Rahill and Matt James that has developed a course-registration platform for small- and medium-sized organizations.
  • GO Lab — A Belfast-based manufacturer of non-toxic, renewable, wood fiber insulations. Co-founders are Joshua Henry and Matthew O’Malia.
  • Sidewalk Buttler — A Scarborough-based company founded by Mike Roylos and Nan McLaughlin that designs, manufactures, and distributes cigarette-litter receptacles.
  • Vintage Maine Kitchen — A Freeport-based company founded by Kelly Brodeur that makes small-batch potato chips with Maine potatoes.

Each company will have the opportunity to pitch before a panel of judges and live audience at the final event, which will be held on Tues., June 4, at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall in Portland. The judges for this year’s event are Ford Reiche, co-founder of Safe Handling Inc.; Chris Claudio, CEO and co-founder of Logically (formerly known as WinXnet); and Catherine Cloudman, shareholder and board member of Village Fertility Pharmacy. Last year’s competition was won by North Spore, a Westbrook-based company that grows and sells mushrooms.

The Emerging Idea award is in its third year. It comes with a $10,000 grant, as well as $10,000 of in-kind marketing, business development and public relations services. Here are the finalists for the Emerging Ideas award, which were selected from the same pool of applicants:

  • Friday — A South Portland-based startup founded by Luke Thomas that provides communication software for teams.
  • Kinotek — The Orono-based company out of the University of Maine that is creating virtual reality technology that visualizes the body’s muscles and the specific movements they generate. Co-founders are David Holomakoff, Justin Hafner, Jon Gagnon, and Patrick Breeding.
  • Lobster Unlimited — A Brewer-based company that is developing new ways to recycle waste from lobster processing and turn it into commercially viable products. Co-founders are Cathy Billings, Robert C. Bayer, Stewart Hardison, and Mathew Hodgkin.
  • MyBodyModel — The Portland-based company founded by Erica Schmitz that has developed a web application for clothing designers. MyBodyModel won last year’s Top Gun competition.
  • OpBox — A Rockland-based company founded by Emily and Ben Davis that converts shipping containers into a series of pre-configured spaces, including for pop-up retail shops, food venues, and offices.

Each Emerging Idea finalist will have the opportunity to submit a 60-second pitch video, which will be played at the event. The E winner will be announced just before the LaunchPad winner at the live event at Hannaford Hall. NavigatER, which MSI has profiled, won last year’s Emerging Idea award. 

“The entrepreneurial spirit is clearly alive and well in Maine,” said Steve deCastro, president and CEO of Gorham Savings Bank. “We really do have such talented entrepreneurs working hard to make our state an attractive place to work, live and eat. We’re looking forward to learning about the story and people behind each business next month.”