Maine’s Top Gun Program Seeking Applicants Interested in Accelerating Progress
“I feel the need, the need for speed!” That iconic movie quote is from the blockbuster movie Top Gun which starred Tom Cruise and came out in 1986.
Sharing an interest in acceleration, the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE) is currently accepting applications for its acclaimed program that shares the same name as the movie. Maine’s Top Gun Program is seeking entrepreneurs interested in participating in its 2019 cohort. The deadline for applications is soon approaching, November 9th, and I encourage all interested entrepreneurs to apply.
Maine’s Top Gun Program runs from February to May and helps deliver entrepreneurs with vital advice, training and connections to help them accelerate their progress. The genius of Top Gun is that it utilizes experienced coaches and mentors who have started and grown companies, developed products, penetrated markets, raised capital, and learned valuable lessons from their past successes and failures. These real-world experiences allow the mentors to impart valuable instruction and guidance to the promising entrepreneurs to help them avoid common pitfalls and position them for success.
In addition to being paired with mentors to help the entrepreneurs scale their ventures, Top Gun also hosts weekly gatherings for each 6-12-member class in Portland, Bangor, Rockland, Lewiston/Auburn and – – for the first time this year – – Waterville.
The Maine Technology Institute has been delighted to be involved with the Top Gun program since its inception in 2009 and we continue to marvel at its remarkable growth and impact – – having now graduated over 200 entrepreneurs from the program and having significantly grown employment and revenue in those enterprises. Additionally, MTI has a long and rewarding history of investments in Maine companies before, during and after participation in Top Gun.
The Top Gun Program culminates in June with a regional pitch competition that will generate 10 semifinalists who will face off in a Top Gun Final Showcase in Portland. The winner will walk away with a $25,000 cash prize sponsored by the Maine Technology Institute.
So, I encourage all Maine dreamers, doers, tinkerers and innovators to visit the website of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs https://www.mced.biz/ to learn more about the Top Gun Program and to put your best foot forward prior to the November 9 deadline.
And, happy Halloween!
Best,
Brian