WATERVILLE, MAINE, October 2019 — The Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation at Thomas College, in partnership with the Central Maine Growth Council, is pleased to announce that it will once again host a “Top Gun” program starting in early 2020 for entrepreneurs in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, as well as in the communities of Burnham, Unity, Thorndike, Freedom and Troy.
This program is open to businesses in all industries and sectors and concentrates on early stage businesses and those that are looking to get to the next level.
The Top Gun program is overseen by the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs and is designed to provide a cohort of between eight to 10 businesses with top-level instruction and mentorship over a 15-week duration. Entrepreneurs enrolled in the program will move through a designed curriculum that will bring industry and topic experts into the classroom weekly in order to assist participating individuals to take their businesses to the next level.
In addition to the weekly programming and mentoring that the program provides, participating entrepreneurs will also work toward developing a business pitch that they will first deliver in a competition within their cohort. Two of the entrepreneur’s business pitches will be selected from each regional program to compete in the state Top Gun Showcase business pitch competition at the end of the program. Prior participants have competed for a cash prize of $25,000.
Through grant assistance that the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs received from the Small Business Administration, along with sponsorship provided by the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation, the program is provided to participating businesses for a low fee of $500.
Entrepreneurs that are within the geographic area that could benefit from this immersive form of instruction, should go to www.mced.biz to submit an application for selection into the program or wwwold.thomas.edu/institute for more information. Applications are being accepted until November 20, 2019.
For more information or for assistance in applying, interested entrepreneurs can also contact Joshua Devou at the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation at 207-859-1159 or at [email protected].
About Thomas College: Celebrating its 125th anniversary, Thomas College offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in programs ranging from business, entrepreneurship, and technology, to education, criminal justice, and psychology. Its Guaranteed Job Program, the first of its kind in the nation, is built on students’ academic, career, and leadership preparation. Thomas is also home to the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation and the Center for Innovation in Education. In 2017, Money Magazine ranked Thomas 23rd in the country for adding the most value to their degrees, and data reported by the New York Times ranks Thomas in the top 15 percent of all college and universities in the U.S. for upward mobility of its graduates. For more information, visit wwwold.thomas.edu or contact MacKenzie Riley Young at [email protected] or 207-859-1313.