2026 Maine Startup Challenge Showcase
News
The Maine Startup Challenge (MSC) Showcase capped off another record-breaking year for the statewide business plan competition. MSC is run by the Maine Venture Fund to encourage entrepreneurial creativity across all ages and seed the next generation of great Maine companies.
We received 232 business plan applications across four age tiers, up from 150 last year. Applications in the college and open tiers doubled.
The business ideas came from 80 different towns across Maine representing all 16 counties.
We awarded $18,000 in prizes to finalists, including the new Innovation Engine Award for the classroom that submits the most business plans.
We received applications from 14 different colleges and universities, and 31 schools across our K-8 and high school tiers.
A panel of judges including Amanda Lacy, Founder & CEO of Bijou Build, Trish Higgins, Partner, Chenmark, and Jake Daniele, Small Business Development Manager, Maine DECD, selected the winners from each tier's finalists based on a combination of criteria that included feasibility, impact and value proposition. Here's how the competition shook out.
K-8 Tier
We had a strong slate of semi-finalists in the K-8 tier:
Access Accessibility (Melissa Rice, Waynflete): App to find wheelchair and walker friendly businesses and help people evaluate the accessibility of spaces.
Clearwater Cast Bait Co. (Leo Dyck, Waynflete): Water soluble soft fishing lure that reduces plastic in the environment.
LHSFC (Safa Hilarte, South Portland Middle School): Certification to help consumers understand whether the products they buy align with their values.
Petlink (Blakely Emmerich, South Portland Middle School): App connecting people with unadopted pets for short term stays to help loneliness.
Preserve Pod (Maeve Trac, Waynflete): Alternative to plastic food packaging using materials like paper, fabric, glass, seaweed, hemp, or metal.
Talk Together (Jussara Batalha, South Portland Middle School): App to support teen mental health with peer support and mood checks.
The young finalists impressed, with Clearwater Cast Bait Co. (Leo Dyck) taking the $1,000 top prize. Access Accessibility (Melissa Rice) earned runner-up and a $500 award, and Petlink (Blakely Emmerich) rounded out the podium in third place.
High School Tier
The high school tier semi-finalists:
AidBridge (Avery Leonhirth, Cape Elizabeth High School): App connecting seniors with students to help complete everyday tasks.
MindMap (Willow Nguyen Hayman, Baxter Academy for Technology & Science): App to map tasks and goals.
Simon Scraps (Simon Brainerd, Baxter Academy for Technology & Science): Free collection of electronic devices that are sorted into reusable and recyclable components.
The Clementine Club (Camille Merritt, South Portland High School): Subscription box that delivers entrepreneurial education to young girls.
The Sister Circle Project (Ellie Bea Sahlman, North Yarmouth Academy): Pairing middle school girls with high school girls to build connection and foster healthy communication.
TickReady Maine (Brendan Oakley, Cape Elizabeth High School): Free kit that makes Maine families tick-aware, and provides the tools for removing and ID’ing a tick.
TickReady Maine won the tier and its $1,500 prize. AidBridge finished as runner-up with a $500 award, and The Clementine Club placed third.
College Tier
The semi-finalists in this tier represented business ideas from five different institutions across the state:
E3 Bio (Siddharth Kakked, Roux Institute at Northeastern University): AI platform that predicts how a drug molecule will behave across properties (binding, absorption, toxicity, manufacturability).
Harbor Health (Harlie Burke, Washington County Community College): Mobile health unit that meets patients where they are.
NewStart (Amber Smith, Washington County Community College): Refurbishing used electronics to create affordable devices and workforce training for re-entry residents.
PFAS Phytosolutions (Henry Penfold, Bowdoin College): Phytoremediation to reduce PFAS contamination in Maine soils.
Vocis (Hasibuzzaman Hasib, Colby College / Dartmouth College): AI voice agent for merchants that fights fraudulent refunds.
Wood Rock Designs (Jonah Palumbo, University of Maine): High quality, fine minerals from Maine, specially curated from privately owned mines and collections.
PFAS Phytosolutions claimed the $2,500 first-place prize. Harbor Health was runner-up with a $1,000 award, and NewStart finished third.
Open Tier
The Open Tier
Ayryx (Joel Allred): Omniscient intelligence layer for airplane pilots.
Oat Mode (Kevin MacDonald and Brie O'Malley): Build-your-own oats, yogurt bowls, and smoothies for Maine’s health-conscious working professionals.
Portland PlayDates (Jordan Haddadi): Hyperlocal community platform connecting Maine families at parks, cafes, and community spaces.
Saco Bay Sea Farms (Michael Scannell): Restorative aquaculture positioned to serve the region’s expanding premium seafood market.
Savvyn (Catherine Del Vecchio Fitz): Intelligence platform that brings life sciences breakthroughs from the lab to patients that need them.
Velzee (Kellin Haley): Financial planning app that frames wealth in terms of time.
The Open tier carried the largest purse. Portland PlayDates took home the $8,000 grand prize. Savvyn earned runner-up and a $2,000 award, while Saco Bay Sea Farms finished third.
Beyond the tier competitions, two special recognitions were handed out. The Innovation Engine Award ($500) went to Mr. Chris Mockler's Classroom at Region 10 Technical High School in Brunswick. We were thrilled to see 18 applications from Mr. Mockler’s Job for Maine Graduates class.
Lastly, we asked the audience to get involved in the judging to help select an Audience Choice winner ($500) from the four third place finishers. The Clementine Club (Camille Merritt) took home the honors!
Congratulations to all 232 applicants, the finalists, and the winners. The Maine Startup Challenge once again showcased the depth of entrepreneurial talent growing across the state—from middle schoolers to seasoned founders.
A big thank you to all of our sponsors for making MSC possible, and thank you to all the educators who work with us to bring this opportunity to their students!
Be on the look out for more information about the 2027 Maine Startup Challenge early next year and join MVF's newsletter to be kept informed in the meantime.
