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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X X V I I I N OV E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 10 B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E / I N S U R A N C E W inning $150,000 in back-to-back pitch com- petitions was a big coup for a little startup that set out to "make the world of mushroom cultivation accessible for all." North Spore, which produces and sells mushroom cultivation supplies and medicinal products, was just four years old in June 2018, when co-founder and CEO Eliah anhauser won $50,000 in the Gorham Savings Bank LaunchPad contest and $100,000 on "Greenlight Maine," a televised series currently in its eighth season. "at was a huge jump forward," anhauser says. "It was exhilarating, too — and amazing to win both. at was by far the most amount of money that had come into the business at once, and that helped really push us forward." e following year, anhauser powered through a Fair Food Network Business Boot Camp pitch competition with a hoarse voice that was "so soft and distracting that no one could hear me," and lost. Such is the roller-coaster ride of business-pitch contests with a growing number of options, including a "Greenlight Maine College Edition" and "Elevating Voices" spinoff to showcase diversity. is year's new- comers include Main Street Skowhegan's Business Lab Competition, which debuted in November, and Dirigo Labs in Waterville, an accelerator program that crowned its first pitch winner in June. Win or lose, all participants get practice time in the competitive fundraising arena — a spring training of sorts for the major leagues. "Business-pitch contests are gateways to net- works," says Katie Shorey, president of Startup Maine, a Portland-based, volunteer-run nonprofit. "It's a critical part of the startup ecosystem … People need practice pitching, so the more we can have them [contests], the more money can get infused. It's good for entrepreneurs." Along similar lines, "Greenlight Maine" producer and host Julene Gervais says that the team views all contes- tants as winners and promotes them on social media. "We help the contestants produce a pitch they can use over and over again to gain potential business through various investment and promotional oppor- tunities," she says. While pitch contests are not for everyone, they offer an entry point for aspiring entrepreneurs in a state that ranked in the lower half (No. 38) on a recent Forbes list of where to start a business in 2022. Some Maine startups are racking up pitch-off wins before going on to other fundraising, while others prefer more specialized accel- erator programs and grants. NKENNE's winning streak NKENNE is an African-language learning app founded by Michael Odokara-Okigbo, an entrepreneur of Nigerian descent who splits his time between Maine and New York City. e idea for the business grew out of his interest in learning Igbo (pronounced EE-boh), the principal language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group from southeastern Nigeria. "I was wanting to learn the traditional language of the tribe I come from and there was no easy way to learn it," Odokara-Okigbo tells Mainebiz via Zoom from Nigeria. He launched ESM Global Consulting in Portland in 2017 before adding language learning with NKENNE. "It was during the pandemic and I had been learn- ing French, but there was no easy way to learn the Igbo language," he explains. While ESM is still active in IT P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S Eliah Thanhauser, co-founder and CEO of North Spore, is a Maine business pitch-contest veteran, winning $150,000 in two back-to-back victories in 2018. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F G R E E N L I G H T M A I N E North Spore's Eliah Thanhauser on "Greenlight Maine." Money talks From pitch contest wins to specialized grants, how some Maine startups are becoming fundraising stars B y R e n e e C o r d e s

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