We can still remember how the influx of Adrenaline pumping through our hearts felt from last Thursday, as over 150 people held their breath while five startups took to the stage during ICUBE’s annual Pitch Competition #PITCH18. The startups; Univjobs, CarbonQ, SmarTcane, TeamStudy, and GoReno, each got 4 minutes to pitch their idea and the progress they had made this year to five expert judges, and not to mention the over 150 eager students, faculty, staff and guests.
Thursday night was an iconic successful moment, and we were thrilled to share the ride with our amazing teams, as we have spent the past few months watching them grow, expand and iterate on their startup ideas every step of the way. We humbly thank all the teams for their hard work.
A massive congratulations goes out to our winner, Univjobs, and our runner-ups, SmartCane and CarbonQ, you guys did it! With bumps along the way, you did your best, and wowed our judges. And to our judges and panelists, thank you. It was an honour to have each of you and we appreciate you taking the time to be there with us and share your expertise and insights with all the participants. And a special thank you to our 150+ guests, consisting of students from all disciplines and years, professors, community members, innovators, and partners, who joined us in celebration of entrepreneurship in Mississauga and made this night amazing.
Probably one of the most incredible parts of PITCH18, was the level of engagement from our community. The support and help from UofT Mississauga along with the participation of SOTI, City of Mississauga, InSauga, Ridout & Maybee, Proton Mail, CrowdRiff, York Angels, Green Sky Capital, MNP, and more, made this event one for the books. The students who all made sure to network with the companies and our startups and stayed till last call, proved again that UTM and the city are an incredible hub for innovation.
Our judge Mohan said that “you can see that they (the startups) have the entrepreneurship gene”. If you think you have that gene, too, follow Innovation Association or icube on facebook, twitter or instagram at @icubeutm, to stay tuned for our next round of startup applications. If you enjoyed PITCH or had to miss out, make sure to register to ICUBE’s UofT Entrepreneurship Week event- Women in Tech.
