Two Thomas College students took home thousands of dollars to aid their entrepreneurial adventures as the first- and second-place winners in Greenlight Maine’s Collegiate Challenge.
Jake Warn, a Thomas College junior from Winslow, has turned his passion for snowmobiling into a high-tech business that he created with help of the college’s Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation. In December, Warn, 21, launched SledTRX.com, a website catering to snowmobile riders. Contributed photo
Jake Warn, a rising senior, and Dylan Veilleux, who recently graduated with a master’s in business administration after finishing his undergraduate degree at Thomas, earned $10,000 and $7,500, respectively, to use toward their businesses.
“Greenlight Maine” is an Emmy-nominated show airing on Maine Public where business owners pitch their companies to a panel of judges — think “Shark Tank” — in a competition format. The show has different categories for established businesses and college students.
Warn, of Winslow, won first place for his digitized snowmobiling map service. SledTRX.com is a free, interactive map system for snowmobiling trails across Maine.
Dylan Veilleux of Thomas College and Tree Free Heat. Photo courtesy of Thomas College.
The website maps out more than 10,000 miles of trails along with points of interest and other amenities. Clubs listed on the map do not pay a fee, but the company earns revenue from advertisements.
Veilleux, of Waterville, launched his first company at the beginning of his junior year of undergraduate studies. Tree Free Heat, now expanded to Tree Free Brands, utilizes hemp-based technology to create bonfires and an expanding array of other products.
Warn and Veilleux continued building their brands during the coronavirus pandemic, and will use their newfound prize to jumpstart more initiatives.
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