TURNER — Zach Vanier thought about pitching for a $25,000 investment in a pair of new treehouses at Martin Stream Campground and on second thought, went for an upgraded septic.

Now, to see if it pays off.

Vanier and nine other college students across Maine are taking part in a pilot for a new TV entrepreneur competition spun off from “Greenlight Maine.”

Episodes of “Greenlight Maine Collegiate Challenge” start airing Sunday, March 17, at 10 a.m. on WCSH.

After going head-to-head for five weeks, the three highest-scoring students will pitch-off on April 21, according to Nat Thompson, a producer on “Greenlight Maine.” They’re competing for a $25,000 cash prize along with free internet, free phone, accounting advice and legal advice for one year.

Students come from the University of Maine, Bates College, Colby College, Central Maine Community College and Southern Maine Community College.

Plans already call for a full 13-episode collegiate challenge next season, Thompson said.

Among his competition, Vanier’s was one of the rare businesses that was already up and running. His father bought Martin Stream, with 52 campsites on 20 acres, in 2016 and gave it to then-19-year-old Vanier the next year.

“I had no idea what I was doing, how to manage a campground, even a business itself, and having all these responsibilities,” Vanier said. “I kind of just sucked it up and it’s been the best thing ever since.”

Finding out about the competition coincided with having to draw up a five-year business plan in a class at CMCC in Auburn, where he’s graduating with an associate degree in business management this spring.

“I thought practicality: What’s the most practical thing I can do with $25,000 to make my campground more than it has?” he said.

An investment in a new septic system would allow him to add another 30-40 sites.

He enlisted the help of Kathleen Edwards, another CMCC student, for the filmed second-round pitch after filming fell during a planned backpacking trip to Sri Lanka.

“She did an amazing job,” he said. “It’s a great thing for students to go through this process and kind of make their brains work and figure things out for the future.”

Bates’ Benjamin Nussbaum, who couldn’t be reached on Monday, also pitches in the Greenlight competition with a business called Floor.

He won the annual Bobcat Ventures business competition at Bates College last April with that idea, which creates a space for online retailers to use for customers to try on their offerings in person before they buy.

kskelton@sunjournal.com