Business Consulting Opportunity with Tuck Business Bridge Program

Free business consulting for Dirigo Labs alumni from a team of undergraduate students, one week in January 2027. Applications close Friday, November 20, 2026.

Dirigo Labs alumni are invited to apply for free business consulting from a team of undergraduate students in the Tuck Business Bridge Program, an intensive January course in business fundamentals from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, covering finance, accounting, marketing, and strategy. For one week, small teams put those skills to work on real questions brought by Maine founders. There is no cost to take part.

At a glance

What makes a strong project

The best projects are focused questions a student team can make real progress on in a few days. For example:

Projects that need legal or tax advice, accounting, engineering, a new website, or selling on your behalf are not a good fit.

What to expect

The students are capable and motivated, and they are still learning. Their work offers a fresh outside perspective, not professional advice. Please do not include confidential information in your application. If you are selected, we will talk with you about what to share with your team and whether a non-disclosure agreement is needed.

How selection works

The Dirigo Labs team reads every application and looks for a clear, focused question, a good fit with what students are learning, and the founder’s availability during the week. We will select a small group of companies and let every applicant know by Friday, December 4, 2026. The program depends on final confirmation in early December.

Apply

This application takes about 15 minutes. Please do not include confidential information. If your company is selected, we will talk with you about what to share with students and whether a non-disclosure agreement is needed. Legal, tax, accounting, and engineering questions are outside the scope of this program.

About you and your company

Short answers are fine throughout.
Your name(Required)
Optional. Paste the full URL.
Town or city.
What you do, for whom, and how you make money. Three to five sentences.
Optional. Number of full-time and part-time people.

Your business question

This section carries the most weight in selection. The best projects are focused questions a student team can make real progress on in about four days.
A few words. For example: Pricing our wholesale line.
Frame it as a decision you need to make, such as which of three customer groups to focus on first. Three to six sentences.
Optional.
Which areas does the question involve?(Required)
Choose up to three.
For example, a recommendation with the analysis behind it, a ranked list of target customers, a pricing comparison, or a simple spreadsheet model.
Optional.

Information students can use

Students can only analyze what they can see. Nothing here is shared until your company is selected and we have talked with you.
If selected, what could you share with students?(Required)
Choose all that apply.
Optional.
Will you need students to sign a non-disclosure agreement?(Required)
Optional.

Availability

The program runs for one week in January 2027. Exact dates are confirmed in December.
Can you present your challenge to students on the first day of the program week?(Required)
About 15 minutes plus questions.
Name. This can be you.
Can that person join one or two check-in calls of about 20 minutes during the week?(Required)
Can you attend the students' final presentations at the end of the week?(Required)

Permissions and acknowledgment

May Dirigo Labs use your company name and logo in course materials and in later reports about the program?(Required)
Acknowledgment(Required)
Optional.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Questions? Email Jeff Frank at jeff@centralmaine.org.

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