Central Maine Growth Council’s Dirigo Labs, Main Street Skowhegan, Colby College, Thomas College, and Kennebec Valley Community College have announced the winners of their collaborative pitch contest series.

The Halloran Lab $40K Venture Showcase held recently at Colby College provided a platform for innovators to compete for funding. Mawjam Energy Analytics secured the first-place prize of $25,000; Pachyceph received the second-place prize of $12,500; and Good Balance received the Audience Choice award of $2,500.

Scrapdogs Compost and Watermelon Pie were winners at the Top Gun Regional Pitch for Waterville held recently at Thomas College. Both companies went on to participate in the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs statewide showcase in Portland.

KVCC hosted its Entrepreneurship Pitch Night recently at King Hall, providing a platform for local Maine businesses to fine-tune their pitches and showcase months of work on their business ideas. Among the winners were Vacationland Vans, offering adventure travel van rentals to enjoy the Maine outdoors with a low-cost outdoor experience, and Eat Neon, specializing in premium desserts and baked goods for events and special occasions.

The series culminated with Main Street Skowhegan’s Business Lab Pitch Contest and Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge held in June. 207 CPR, LLC won the Business Lab Pitch Contest prize of $5,000 with its lifesaving training services, featuring professional CPR, automatic external defibrillator and first aid instruction. The high school winners included Natalie Cooke of Cooke’s Corner Jewelry, Lola Caruso of Honeybelle Crafts, and Noah McConnell of NM Car Detailing, showcasing their entrepreneurial creativity and ambition while also taking home individual cash prizes.