In March 2018, Mount Desert 365 invited local business owners and entrepreneurs to apply to participate in an intensive weekend of business skill development, facilitated by Jay Friedlander, sustainable business professor at College of the Atlantic. Before this program, most of the business owners had never made a PowerPoint presentation and few had a strong understanding of how to evaluate the financial health of their enterprises. By the time we reached the Pitch Competition on Sunday, March 11, every one of them could perform a breakeven analysis of how key business decisions will affect their cashflow and balance sheet. They could also deliver a succinct sales pitch on how their business meets customer needs, with PowerPoint slides, to a packed crowd in under three minutes. Pretty impressive growth in just a weekend!

Watch the video below and browse the photo gallery to get a closer look at the program: