Gorham Savings Bank has begun accepting applications for its seventh annual LaunchPad small business competition.
The competition, which the bank has held since 2013, features entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas on a stage in front of a live audience and panel of judges. The winner will receive a $50,000 grant from the bank.
The bank is accepting applications beginning March 1 through April 1 at 5:00 p.m. Entrepreneurs, startups, and established companies can enter via a simple online application. An early review process will narrow the field down to five finalists who will pitch at the event, to be held June 4 at USM’s Hannaford Hall in Portland.
In 2018 nearly 200 businesses applied to LaunchPad. Past winners include Bixby Chocolate (2014) and Flowfold (2015). North Spore, a Westbrook-based company that grows and sells mushrooms and mushroom-growing kits, won last year’s competition. In total, Gorham Savings Bank has provided more than $250,000 in grant money since 2013.
In addition to the top prize, there’s an additional $10,000 grant, along with $10,000 of in-kind business and marketing-related services, for the winner of the Emerging Idea Award.
“Gorham Savings Bank strongly believes that Maine’s innovators and entrepreneurs are the driving force behind a successful and sustainable Maine economy,” Steve deCastro, president and CEO of Gorham Savings Bank, said in a statement. “Every year the ideas we learn about and then see live on stage are so inspiring. We can’t wait to see what Maine’s small business owners have in store for the 2019 competition.”
