Independent Banker - January 2019 - 67

Trailblazer
Launch pad for success
Gorham Savings Bank of Maine teams up
with financial coaches to prepare local
entrepreneurs to move
forward. By William Atkinson
their businesses
orham Savings Bank's idea to provide
financial education to local businesses came
about as a result of a successful business competition
that the $1.1 billion-asset institution had
already had in place for a number of years.
" For the last six years, we have been running a
Shark Tank-like competition called LaunchPad
for latter-stage
startup businesses, "
says
Stephen deCastro,
president
of the Gorham,
Maine, community
bank. Each
year, the bank
Name: Gorham
Savings Bank
Assets: $1.1 billion
Location: Gorham,
Maine
gives away $50,000 in prize money to the business
that made the most successful presentation to a
panel of judges, as well as another $10,000 to a
business under its Emerging Idea Award.
To date, more than 550 applicants from more
than 100 local cities and towns representing 25plus
different industry groups have signed up to
compete in LaunchPad. Gorham Savings Bank
usually receives 100 to 200 applications each year
from businesses that are typically just below the
" bankable " level, deCastro adds.
Looking at the challenges and opportunities
those businesses have faced over the years, the
bank wanted to come up with a way to provide
businesses with financial tools. " We wanted to
help them make the next leap in the right direction
with their businesses, " says deCastro.
The community bank came up with an invitation-only
workshop series that started in March
2018 with 15 small businesses. The program, Forward
with Funding, consisted of six 2.5-hour eveG
ning
sessions at no charge. " We created the program
as a way to help entrepreneurs become more
profitable, " deCastro says. Topics in the program
included how to better understand their businesses'
financials, how to present their business plans,
how to make financial projections, how to optimize
their businesses financially and more.
However, Gorham Savings Bank didn't want its
own staff to present the information in the sessions.
It wanted outside experts. The community
bank had been involved in government-sponsored
programs like the U.S. Small Business Administration's
ScaleUp America Communities initiative,
which deCastro says put them in touch with local
experts who could serve as the program's financial
advisors. The bank selected Michelle Neujahr and
Gerry Brown, business consultants and coaches,
who had both been involved in ScaleUp. Together,
they brainstormed the details of what Forward
with Funding would include.
Quick stat
$50,000
The amount
Gorham Savings
Bank gives to the
top business in
its LaunchPad
competition
Gorham Savings Bank maintained a presence
in the program, however. Bank executives introduced
the program to participants on the first
night, and when the program was completed, participants
could meet with the bank's commercial
lenders to review where they were, what potential
financial needs they might have and how they
could go about meeting those needs.
Participants in the 2017 program found the
information useful, deCastro says. " These were
people with very different types of businesses,
but in very similar stages of their business lifecycles,
so they could relate to a lot of common experiences
and challenges, " he says. " In addition,
when business owners better understand how all
these pieces fit together, the odds of success increase
remarkably. "
The program's most significant benefit deCastro
has seen is participants realizing the importance
of organizing their financial information.
In fact, a couple were able to articulate some specific
financing requests to the bank's commercial
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Independent Banker - January 2019

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