Two healthcare-related startups won first place in the top two tiers at the inaugural Maine Startup Challenge, held recently in Portland.

The event, hosted by Maine Venture Fund, was designed to promote entrepreneurship across all ages. In addition to open and college tiers, there were also tiers for entrepreneurial high school and K-8 students to pitch their business ideas.

MVF received 44 applications for the competition, from which were selected 13 finalists for the final competition. Below are the six winners who took home cash prizes.

  • Maine-Lee Technology Group won the top prize in the open tier, taking home $5,000, for its innovative redesign of the surgical glove / gown interface that creates an integrated surgical sleeve and gown, which prevents fluids from leaking in or out, making it safer for the surgeon and the patient. Founder Lee Thibodeau is a Portland-based neurosurgeon.
  • Nkenne, an African language learning app, and Bijou Build, a collapsible and adaptable play structure, won the second- and third-place prizes in the open tier (receiving $2,500 and $1,500, respectively).
  • Wave Medical took the top spot in the college tier, along with its $1,500 prize, for its plan to provide risk counselors and image-based breast cancer risk assessment to breast centers to increase preventative care and improve patient outcomes. Founders Kendra Batchelder and Andre Khalil are students at UMaine.

MVF, which invests in early-stage Maine-based companies, could have stopped with those two tiers, but I love that they took the opportunity to get younger people involved in thinking about innovation and entrepreneurship.

“MSC’s goal is to encourage entrepreneurial thinking across all ages and stimulate the next generation of innovative Maine companies,” Nina Scheepers, MVF’s investment manager, told Maine Startups Insider. “Whether you are a student or an adult, most businesses start the same way—as a concept with potential.”

Scheepers said the quality of the high school and K-8 tier applicants demonstrated the next generation of entrepreneurial talent that exists in the state.

  • Julia Twomey from Portland’s Baxter Academy won the high school tier for Aoife, a free app for users to compare fashion and beauty products to ensure they’re buying the most suitable products for the best prices available. They received $1,000.
  • Hunter Murphy, a student at Waynflete in Portland, won the K-8 tier for iearnedapet.com, a concept website that would provide tools, templates, and coaching services “to help kids get the pet of their dreams.” They received $500.

Judges in the competition were Pat Panaia, Trish Higgin, and Peter DelGreco.

Here’s the full list of finalists and winners, as well as links to their pitches:

K-8 Tier – $500 prize

  • (Winner) iearnedapet.com, Hunter Murphy of Waynflete School – We provide a guaranteed set of tools, templates, and coaching services to help kids get the pet of their dreams! See pitch here
  • A.S.C. (Assistance, Support, Companionship), Lucy Russell and Olive DeSimio of Brunswick Junior High – ASC provides companionship for the elderly by providing healthy and pleasant experiences and decreasing the gap between generations. See pitch here

High School Tier – $1,000 prize

  • (Winner) Aoife, Julia Twomey of Baxter Academy – Aoife is a free app that uniquely analyzes and compares fashion and beauty products to ensure that users are buying the most suitable products for the best prices available. See pitch here
  • Arsenault Auto Repair, John Arsenault of Morse High School – An automotive repair shop that specializes in quality work and affordability. See pitch here
  • Landscaping, Evelyn Filatov, Scarborough High School – Mowing lawns on Maine properties.

College Tier – $1,500 prize

  • (Winner) Waved Medical, Kendra Batchelder and Andre Khalil, UMaine – WAVED Medical provides risk counselors at breast centers with an image-based breast cancer risk assessment to identify more high risk patients to increase preventative care and improve patient outcomes. See pitch here
  • ChitoCharge, Liam Hornschild-Bear, University of Groningen – Rechargeable batteries made from invasive green crabs that are environmentally friendly and affordable, produced and sourced in Maine.
  • Mycoworks, Matthew and Karoline Ellis, UMaine – Mycelium is sustainable, biodegradable and renewable. Our mycelium boxes and planters will replace existing plastic and cardboard solution. See pitch here

Open Tier – (3rd) $1,500, (2nd) $2,500, and (1st) $5,000 prizes

  • (Winner) Maine-Lee Technology, Lee Thibodeau and Bill Kimball – MLTG has designed a novel, bifunctional, fluid management sleeve that will solve the CDC-identified problem of fluid transfer at the surgical glove-gown interface and transform surgical gown technology. See pitch here
  • (2nd place) Nkenne, Michael Odokara-Okigbo – NKENNE is the first dedicated African language learning app. See pitch here
  • (3rd place) Bijou Build, Amanda Lacy – The world’s first collapsible, expandable and adaptable play structure. See pitch here
  • Kind Mind, Lee Sowles – Kind Mind offers a social-emotional learning curriculum and resilience toolkits for elementary schools. See pitch here
  • Orange Bike Brewing, Neil Spillane and Tom Ruff -Portland Maine’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery. See pitch here