Turner company Grojo wins Microsoft Top Gun prize

PORTLAND — Last month, the Turner company Grojo took a top spot in a Top Gun entrepreneurial competition held in Lewiston.

The statewide final competition was held Wednesday night and while Grojo didn’t win this one, they didn’t do too badly – the company was awarded the Bizspark prize from Microsoft, a suite of services valued at roughly $120,000.

“It’s a huge deal for the company,” said Chelsea Fournier, who organized Top Gun L-A.

Grojo is an intelligent gardening system for indoor growers that could conceivably generate millions in profit.

“We want growers to concentrate on growing,” Jared Pinkham, Chief Operating Officer of Grogo, said at the competition last month. “And we want Grojo to worry about the details.”

A Portland company won the grand prize at the final competition held Wednesday night in that city.

Top Gun’s program to boost entrepreneurship has been in Maine since 2009, but this spring marked its first time in Lewiston-Auburn.

The program is out of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, which partnered locally with the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.

Local people behind five different companies met for 10 sessions starting Feb. 8, covering topics like strategic marketing, financing options and legal considerations.