Here's how your startup could win part of a $100,000 prize pool

May 27 2020, 4:57 pm

Daily Hive has teamed up with Orbiiit to offer startups a bit of much-needed help; a chance to win part of a $100,000 prize pool.

From one startup to another, we want to help make sure that our community survives, our ideas thrive, and that passionate people have the opportunity to see their ideas through.

As the best platform for digital pitches (think online Dragons’ Den), Orbiiit acts as a place where fans can find talent. It’s a contest platform, a connection hub, and a veritable feast of unique human talent.

We’ve linked up with Orbiiit to provide an opportunity for tech startups to grab a little cash, and some free services, to help them during a trying economic time. Whether you’re looking to take things to the next level and need some funds, or you’re looking to get your product in front of a large audience, we’re here for you.

“Building startups can be volatile and challenging even in the best of times, and overnight the pandemic has impacted the fundraising process. We began to see these changes firsthand and pivoted Orbiiit into a platform where we can serve the very community that we are a part of,” said Nader Navabi, CEO and founder of Orbiiit. “We democratize the funding process.”

The top 10 start-up pitches will be selected based on public votes and final winners will be chosen by vote tally and weighted judges votes.

Meet the judges

Our panel of carefully vetted judges will pick three winners out of the top 10 startups picked by fans. This list consists of some of the brightest minds and successful names in Canadian tech.

Peter-Paul Van Hoeken – Peter-Paul is the founder and CEO of FrontFundr, Canada’s leading investment crowdfunding platform.

Jacqueline Leung – Jacqueline is the Managing Editor at Daily Hive, where she oversees the company’s editorial team in seven cities across the publication’s network.

Shane Flynn – Shane is the Director of the Incubator program and Alumni Relations at the DMZ.

Will Shaw – Will is the co-chair of Fasken’s Startup and Emerging Company Services group in Toronto.

Matt Hoffar – Matt, of Brickhouse Ventures, has over 20 years of experience in sports and the capital markets.

Jodi Kovitz – Jodi is the founder and CEO of #movethedial, a global movement she created to advance the participation and leadership of all women in tech.

Claudette McGowan – Claudette is a global information technology leader at TD with more than 18 years of success leading digital transformations, optimizing infrastructure, and designing new approaches that improve service experiences.

How to enter

As a startup, entering The Pitch: Tech Startup Challenge is easy. Register as a competitor through Orbiiit and upload a three-to-five minute video describing your startup. Accepted entrants will be placed into groups, at random, for the voting rounds and competition.

Head on over to The Pitch for more information and registration.

Contest Timeline

The Orbiiit submissions page for The Pitch is now open.

Submissions – Wednesday, May 26 until Thursday, June 18

Round One Voting (June 18 to 25) –  Public voting will help reduce each group to the top 15 startups.

Round Two Voting (June 25 to July 2) – Public voting will help reduce the top 15 to the top 5 startups in each group.

Round Three Voting (June 2 to July 9) – Public voting will help reduce the top 5 startups to 3 preliminary winners in each group.

Semi-Finals (July 9 to 16) – Preliminary group winners will be divided evenly into 10 semi-final groups. Public voting will determine one winner from each semi-finals group that will advance into the finals.

Finals (July 16 to July 22) – Public voting and the judges will help reduce the 10 finalists to the winners of the competition.

Winners (July 29 at 6:00 pm)

How voting works

On Orbiiit, fans can vote for a startup once, for free, and every time beyond that by purchasing voting packages that range anywhere from $5 (for 5 votes) to $100 (for 100 votes). A portion of the proceeds will be donated to our partner charities.

Rally your network to be voted through to the next round.

Each round will consist of eliminations until the field of startups has been narrowed to 10 companies. Once in the finals, our panel of judges will award their given 500 votes to the startup of their choice. The winner, alongside second and third place, will be determined with the judges’ votes and fan votes combined.

Prizing

The Pitch: Tech Startup Challenge is excited to announce that our total prize pool for the competition is $100,000.

First Place: $15,000 CAD cash + $35,000 in-kind

Second Place: $7,500 CAD cash + $25,000 in-kind

Third Place: $2,500 CAD cash + $18,000 in-kind

In-kind prizes include legal services from Fasken, advertising credits with us (Daily Hive), an optional nationwide crowd-funding campaign offered through FrontFundr, and expedited entry into DMZ’s incubator program.

To enter to win part of $100,000 in cash and prizes, head on over to Orbiiit today!

Wyatt FossettWyatt Fossett

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