Deadline: Ongoing
Applications are open for the Startup Canada Equal Slice Virtual Pitch Competition 2025. As part of the Startup Canada Equal Slice Program, The Startup Canada Equal Slice Pitch Competitions offer early stage, underrepresented entrepreneurs the chance to showcase their businesses, receive expert feedback, and compete for $100,000 in cash grants to help further develop their businesses.
This Virtual Pitch Competition will happen over the course of one day. The morning will consist of all the first round “heats”. Out of these heats, the judges will select a Top 10. The Top 10 will then pitch later that day at the Virtual Pitch Competition Final. Pitchers will have 3 minutes to pitch followed by 3 mins of Q&A from two judges. The Top 10 companies will be announced live at Virtual Pitch Final, ensure you are present.
Agenda
- First Round Heats:
- 10:00 AM – 10:40 AM ET | Group 1 Pitch
- 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM ET | Group 2 Pitch
- 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM ET | Top 10 selected
- Top 10 Virtual Pitch Final:
- 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM ET | Top 10 Pitch
- 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM ET | Judges Deliberate
- 4:00 PM – 4:15 PM ET | Winners announced
Benefits
- Of the Top 10, a Top 5 will be selected by the judges and will be awarded a $10,000 grant each.
Eligibility
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
- Be at least one of the following for the business the application is based on: founder, owner, co-founder, co-owner, person who owns or co-owns (51% or greater ownership) the entity, product name, or service;
- Be active in the business and a senior leader/key decision-maker;
- Have a business founded and based/headquartered in Canada;
- Have a business that has been operating, with a product or service in market for a minimum of two years;
- Have had annual revenues of no more than $400,000 CAD in at least one year of the business’s operating years;
- Be a member of an equity-deserving and/or racialized and underserved community(ies). Equity-deserving groups include, without limitation, the following:
- Indigenous, First Nation, Inuit, Métis
- 2SLGBTQI+
- Newcomer
- Black
- Other racialized community (East Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Mixed race)
- Woman
- A person with a disability
- NOTE: If you have previously received a grant from another Pizza Hut Equal Slice Program, you are not eligible to participate in this pitch competition.
Judging Criteria
Pitches will be assessed with the following guidelines: target market, objective, solution, leadership, traction (if any), and competition.
Application
For more information, visit Equal Slice Virtual Pitch Competition.
