That’s A Wrap: Shrink-wrap company wins Rising Tide Award at MMA
Start-up competition features range of company ideas, from fishing lures to an app for local odd jobs
April 28, 2026
By staff
Spencer Bigman brought props to his business pitch for a company that shrink-wraps outdoor furniture. Photo by Emily Baer.
CASTINE–A start-up company that aims to shrink-wrap outdoor furniture won the inaugural Rising Tide Award at Maine Maritime Academy on April 27 in a competition among student teams who pitched their ideas in front of a live audience.
MMA senior Spencer Bigman won the $3,000 grand prize with his idea for That’s A Wrap, a company that will come to residential properties and shrink-wrap outdoor furniture on-site for easy winter storage during the harsh New England winters. He would then retrieve the shrink wrap in the spring and recycle it for customers.
Bigman, who held aloft a small table he had shrink-wrapped as a prop for his presentation, said he hustled to pull his presentation together. Despite the unnerving experience of having to pitch his plan to a roomful of people, both strangers and classmates alike, “I put everything forward that I knew I had,” he said.
The event was the culmination of a new class offered at MMA where students spent the semester creating, refining, and ultimately pitching their business ideas. Thirty students signed up for the class—triple the number originally anticipated by its professor.
“This was the first business class I’ve taken,” Bigman said. “It’s humbled me and given me experience with what I want to do. Now I understand the financial and logistics part of it.”
Bigman plans to use the prize money to purchase the equipment he needs for the business so he can launch the company in his home state of Connecticut.
More than 125 people packed MMA’s Alfond Student Center for the event, which was a partnership between The Rising Tide and MMA’s Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics. The event was also sponsored by Machias Savings Bank, Castine Community Partners, and several anonymous donors. A video of the event is posted online.
In addition to the grand prize, audience members voted for two People’s Choice awards with a cash prize of $500 each.
One of those, the Sea Change Award for most innovative company, went to Wicked Works, a company that wants to create an app to pair local residents with workers for odd jobs, from grocery runs to stacking wood. The company’s four-person team consisted of Delaney Ennis, Megan Springer, Emily Fuller and Chase Carmichael.
The other, the Crew Sign-On Award for highest investment potential, went to Rip-X Baits, a company designing durable rubber fishing lures. The company idea was created by avid fishermen James Tiano and Cole Dumond.
“This is a totally different type of exchange between people who have lived here a long time and these students. This experience puts an entirely different face on the breadth and depth of the students.”
A total of 12 teams presented their ideas around the edges of the event hall in a trade show-style format, with company ideas ranging from woodworking to a bakery to home-based services for people with special needs. Seven of those student companies were selected in a semi-final final round and given the chance to present their ideas in front of the competition’s live audience.
Castine resident Bobby Vagt said the event offered a different glimpse of MMA students.
Bigman holds his winnings, flanked by Prof. Kate Kana of MMA and John Boit of The Rising Tide. From far left are James Tiano and Cole Dumond of Rip-X baits, which won the “Crew Sign-On Award.” From far right are Emily Fuller, Delaney Ennis, Megan Springer and Chase Carmichael of Wicked Works, which won the “Sea Change Award".”
“This is a totally different type of exchange between people who have lived here a long time and these students,” Vagt said. “This experience puts an entirely different face on the breadth and depth of the students.”
All of the contestants were students in a first-of-its-kind business class taught this semester by MMA professor Kate Kana. The class focused on helping students plan the launch of their entrepreneurial ideas. Kana and John Boit, publisher and editor of The Rising Tide, then hatched a plan to have the class culminate in a public competition in front of a live audience with a panel of judges, who would decide the grand prize winner.
The panel of judges represented a mix of business leaders with local, regional, national and international experience, including: Oscar Adams of Deloitte Consulting; Steve Hindy, founder of Brooklyn Brewery; Dan Leader, founder of Bread Alone; Jamie MacNair, owner of Compass Point Real Estate Realtor and Northern Bay Market; Mark Morgioni of Amazon; Peyton Penny, a vice president at Bangor Savings Bank; and Matt Powell, owner and proprietor of the Pentagoet Inn.
“Small businesses are built on community and relationships, and that’s exactly what this event represented.”
“Small businesses are built on community and relationships, and that’s exactly what this event represented,” Kana said. “These students are building a network of support and mentorship with the surrounding community. When we can come together like this, it creates momentum that carries these businesses far beyond the stage. They have built the foundation in the classroom; now they can build the business structure in reality.”
Boit said the evening represented the importance of the exchange of ideas, brought community together, and showcased the dreams of the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“What I saw at this competition was a group of young people who took their dreams, figured out a plan, and articulated that to a roomful of people. Their energy and enthusiasm was absolutely electric. This was all about fresh ideas, and ideas are the path to the future. I can’t wait to see what they do from here–and judging from some of the business cards these students were handed afterward, I’d say they have a bright path ahead,” Boit said.
Kana and Boit are already making plans to host the event again next year. Anyone interested in becoming involved is encouraged to email Boit or Kana.
More photos from the event are below.
