Rising Tide and MMA to host business pitch competition
Public invited to attend Rising Tide Award Competition as teams compete for $4k in prizes for the best business ideas
The public is invited to attend—and vote on—a business pitch competition at Maine Maritime Academy on Monday, April 27. File photo.
April 1, 2026
By staff
CASTINE–The Rising Tide, in partnership with Maine Maritime Academy’s Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics, will host the “Rising Tide Award” competition on Monday, April 27 at 6 p.m. on the school’s Castine campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Kate Kana, the professor at Maine Maritime Academy who launched the Small Business Management Course from which contestants will be chosen. Photo courtesy of MMA.
This competition will feature students from MMA’s Small Business Management course who have developed their own small business plans throughout the semester. Teams will compete for cash prizes totaling $4,000, with business ideas ranging from consumer products to service apps to marine-related start-ups, and many others.
The event will showcase 12 businesses vying for either the grand prize or one of the smaller “People's Choice Awards.” Of the 12 businesses represented, six student teams will be pre-selected to present their original business idea to a “Shark-Tank”-style panel of judges for the grand prize in front of a live audience. All teams will have the opportunity to compete for the People’s Choice Awards, judged by all attendees.
Teams will compete for cash prizes totaling at least $4,000, made possible through the support of Machias Savings Bank, The Rising Tide, Castine Community Partners, and several anonymous donors.
Community members, business leaders and potential investors are encouraged to attend the evening that will showcase the next generation of innovation and entrepreneurship. Refreshments will be available and a cash bar will be offered.
“This is a great opportunity for the public—and even potential investors—to hear directly from the next generation of business leaders and the ideas they’re bringing forward,” said Prof. Kate Kana, who teaches the new course on entrepreneurship at MMA from which the competing teams will be chosen. “Our students have been developing these concepts over the course of the semester, and this event gives them a real-world opportunity to showcase and pitch their business ideas.”
“This is a great opportunity for the public—and even potential investors—to hear directly from the next generation of business leaders and the ideas they’re bringing forward. ”
The Rising Tide, a nonprofit digital newsroom serving the Blue Hill Peninsula and surrounding communities, is a key partner in the event.
“Innovation and new ideas are at the very heart of what we do,” said John Boit, publisher of The Rising Tide. “Supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs is closely aligned with the principles that guided the founding of The Rising Tide, and we’re delighted to be a partner in bringing the Rising Tide Award to life.”
The Rising Tide Award is designed not only as a competition, but as a community event—bringing together students, educators, local residents and the business community to celebrate creativity, ambition and the future of entrepreneurship in Maine.
While the event is free and open to the public, RSVPs are requested to estimate audience size.
Event Details:
What: The Rising Tide Award - Student Business Pitch Competition
When: Monday, April 27, 2026 at 6 p.m.
Where: The Alfond Student Center at Maine Maritime Academy on Pleasant Street in Castine
Admission: Free and open to the public. Please RSVP to help estimate audience size.
Publisher’s note: All funds raised for The Rising Tide Award were specifically designated for the competition prize. No funds donated to our newsroom operations have been or will be used as part of the cash prize for this event.
Click on the image above to be taken to the RSVP page for the event.
