MSC 2024 Recap

Maine Startup Challenge is a business plan competition organized by Maine Venture Fund for Maine’s startup ecosystem. Our goal is to encourage participation and entrepreneurial thinking across all ages and stimulate the next generation of innovative Maine entrepreneurs. 

We recognized all the finalists of the competition at the Maine Startup Challenge Showcase on November 13th at UMaine’s Maine Center in Portland, and this cohort of finalists did not disappoint. We received over 150 applications across the four age tiers, and almost 100 of the applications came from the K-8 and High School students. Finalists were awarded $17,500 in prizes to continue to develop their concepts.

This is the third year of the competition, and we’ve been excited to generate growing interest across the state over that timeframe. Below you can see the rate of growth of the number of applications and prize money awarded since 2022.  

As for this year, the biggest and best yet for the competition, we are excited to share a video recap:

https://youtu.be/E6cRV9bj_4w

Read on for the details on all the twelve finalists and pictures this year. 

K-8 Tier

First Place, $1,000 award: D-Max Merch, Dorian Pillsbury & Rocco DeVito

Runner-up, $500 award: Cate’s Party Beads, Cate Higgins, Waynflete 

Third Place: Green Plant, Freya Berg, Mabel I Wilson Elementary School

High School Tier

First Place, $1,500 award: Fanmi, Ella Fick, Cape Elizabeth High School

Runner-up, $500 award: Lobster Bots, STEM Coliseum team - Dylan Millis, Seth Jewell, Nick Anastasoff, Cooper Woods, Frejya Prescott, Jasper Bloomer, Ned Spalding

Third Place: Saltwater Sunscreen, Keele Ford, Traip Academy (Winner for a $500 Audience Choice Award, and you can read more about her venture here)

College Tier 

First Place, $2,500 award: Sporos, Carter Friese & Dave Boku, Colby College

Runner-up, $1,000 award: InclusiM, Yixin Li, Colby College

Third Place: BridgePath, Dawood Jimale, Northeastern University

Open Tier

First Place, $8,000 award: Lantern, Addison Godine, Lisa Gately, and Tony Pell

Runner-up, $2,000 award: Navimental, Michael Warren & Michelle Fong

Third Place: Educational Robotics Kits, Disleve Kanku

Thank you to our generous sponsors who make the Maine Startup Challenge possible. 

About Maine Venture Fund

Maine Venture Fund invests in Maine businesses that have the highest potential for growth and impact. For more information, visit maineventurefund.com. 

Inquiries:
Terri Wark
Maine Venture Fund
(207) 305-0006
terri@maineventurefund.com