Thomas College students Cayo Novaes, Vitor Povoa, and Gabriel Guizelini Fortuna won second place on Season 11 of Greenlight Maine’s College Edition business competition show this weekend. They won $7500 and competed against students from both Colby College and the College of the Atlantic.
Novaes, from Brasília, Brazil, recently graduated from Thomas College with a degree in business management and marketing management. Povoa, also from Brasília, Brazil, is entering his senior year as an international business student. Guizelini Fortuna, from Birigui, Brazil, recently graduated from Thomas College with a degree in finance.
Novaes, Povoa, and Guizelini Fortuna pitched their business, MVP Development, an all-in-one athlete development platform built to solve a core problem: most players train and make recruiting decisions without a clear, personalized plan-and most coaches don’t have the time to individualize development for every athlete.
“It felt so reassuring to win and that the work we are putting into our project has a great future,” said Novaes.
On winning, Povoa said: “It felt amazing and honestly surreal. We put a lot of time, energy, and belief into MVP Development, so hearing our name called was a very rewarding moment. More than the placement itself, it felt great to see our idea and vision recognized on such a big stage.”
Novaes, Povoa and Guizelini Fortuna are the fifth group of Thomas College students to earn a finalist spot on Greenlight Maine. Previous winners included Zephyr Lani-Caputo with third place in 2025, Cole Ellis with second place in 2024, Dylan Veilleux with second place in 2021, and Jake Warn with first place in 2021.
Greenlight Maine College Edition highlights innovative college students who have a business idea in any stage of development, from a simple idea to a well-constructed business plan. The 10 contestants square off in a televised pitch-off to determine the three finalists. Those three finalists then pitch off against one another in the Greenlight Maine Collegiate Finale to compete for a cash prize. The cash prizes include: first place – $10,000, second place – $7,500, and third place – $5,000.
The television series kicked off on April 11 and aired on several television markets throughout the state: WGME CBS 13 – Portland and WABI TV5 CBS – Bangor, and WWPI NBC 16 – Presque Isle – The County.
Thomas College and Harold Alfond® Institute for Business Innovation are official partners of Greenlight Maine.