We are thrilled to announce the third year of U of T’s PRIDE Pitch hosted by ICUBE. Students, staff and faculty from all three campuses and community members are welcome to apply for #UofTPRIDEPITCH – a competition that offers $5,000 in cash prizes to recognize, reward and accelerate the U of T’s 2SLGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Selected individuals or teams will compete by showcasing their idea via a five-minute pitch to a panel of judges.
Eligibility
- Students, staff and faculty from all three campuses and community members from the Peel region are welcome to apply. Start-ups members of one or ore of the UofT Accelerators or OnRamp are also eligible to participate.
- At least one of the team members identify themselves as 2SLGBTQ+
- Open to all sectors
- Applicants must have less than $100,000 cumulative funding or investment, and less than $25,000 cumulative revenue as of May 2, 2022.
- Previous PRIDE Pitch winners are not eligible to compete.
- Entrants must be able to present their pitch in person to the panelists on June 15th, 2022
- Competition preparation with an advisor: The finalists will be notified by June 6th and encouraged to work with an advisor ICUBE to help them prepare and perfect their pitch.
Competition day on June 15th, 2022: The competition will take place from 5:00-6:30PM on Wednesday, June 15th in-person at The University of Toronto Mississauga. Each team will present a five-minute pitch to a panel of experts followed by a five-minute Q and A from the panel. Two winners will be announced the day of the event and win cash prizes to develop their ideas.
Judging Criteria
At both the entry and competition day stages, the panel of judges will be looking for the idea’s:
- Opportunity: A clearly identified a problem and articulated and compelling value proposition
- Viability and impact: Demonstrated market opportunity and knowledge
- Growth potential: Sustainable and scalable idea Innovation: Intellectual property and/or strong competitive differentiation
- Talent: A strong team
- Communication skills: An effective and persuasive overall Application and pitch presentation