Conference
April 14, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Free and open to all
Learn more about raising funds and rising as an entrepreneur. Register to hear from empowering speakers:
- Shahrzad Rafati, CEO & Chair, BBTV
- Teena Gupta, Co-Founder, Nurse Next Door & Co-Founder & CEO, Rosemary Rocksalt
- Judy Brooks, Advisor, Business & Community Leader
- Jessica Bruder, Award-winning journalist
Pitch Competition Finals
April 15, 6:15 am - 8 am
Upon Invitation Only
Companies from all industries that meet eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply!
The pitch competition is open to BC-based Pre-seed to Series A women-led or women-owned technology & Innovation businesses seeking venture investment. The pitch finale will be hosted virtually, by-invitation-only on April 15. Six finalists will compete for the Grand Prize in front of the panel of expert judges, including the following successful entrepreneurs and business executives. Submissions are open now and will close on March 31.
Submit your pitch online by March 31 for a chance to make it to the finals and compete for a minimum $25,000 cash investment from Disruption Ventures, along with a suite of participating partner services.
The winner of the Grand Prize will also be announced on the RAISE & RISE webpage on April 16, 2021.
The Grand Prize Winner will:
- Receive a cash investment from Disruption Ventures for a minimum of $25,000 (CAD), subject to standard terms and conditions;
- Enter the NITRO program powered by Blakes;
- Participate in a three-hour personal and corporate tax planning workshop with BDO Tax Expert;
- Participate in a series of three (60 minute) one-on-one sales effectiveness coaching sessions with Sonya Meloff, Co-Founder, Sales Talent Agency;
- Be featured in a Scotiabank Perspectives article.
All six finalists will be awarded a Finalist Prize Package consisting of:
- A series of three interactive workshops (75 minutes) facilitated by The Scotiabank Women Initiative in partnership with Scotiabank and Roynat Capital
- A 90-minute training session with Marc Shewchun (Founder and head of Nitro Powered by Blakes)
- Three roundtable discussions (90 minutes each) from BDO on topics of interest to start-ups such as SRED, Tax, and Valuations
"Raising capital is one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs generally, and particularly for women entrepreneurs," says Elaine Kunda, founder and managing partner of Disruption Ventures. "It is our goal to provide a platform that provides useful fundraising tactics as well as to bring exposure to potential investors for the companies that participate in our competition."