Croft, a Rockland-based eco-friendly building company, won the Dirigo Labs pitch competition and its $25,000 cash prize.
The competition, held in early May, was the capstone event for Dirigo Labs, an accelerator program in Waterville that runs a 12-week program that provides startups with a structured curriculum and mentorship from experts in various industries.
Croft, one of 11 companies that went through this year’s program, creates high-performance buildings made of all-natural materials that actively sequester carbon from the environment, creating carbon-negative buildings.
Evan Ryan, Croft’s co-founder, said he plans to use the prize money to launch the Croft Apprentice Program to train the next generation of tradespeople on how to build carbon-negative buildings.
Judges for the pitch competition evaluated the 11 pitches on pitch delivery, capital strategy, innovation, team, and potential for economic growth and job creation in Maine. Skowhegan Savings Bank sponsored the $25,000 prize.
The audience choice award was presented to Waterville-based SledTRX, a web-based snowmobile trail mapping application.
