PITCH With a Twist - Celebrating International Women's Day

Wednesday, March 4th, 2026

5:30PM to 7:30PM EST

$10,000 in prizes!

Join us on March 4th, 2026, to support women entrepreneurs at Pitch with a Twist, a competition dedicated to breaking down barriers and celebrating innovative ideas from diverse voices. In honor of International Women’s Month, this event will highlight the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of women-identifying innovators.

Experience inspiring ventures as finalists showcase their startups at interactive booths, allowing judges and attendees to engage directly with these talented entrepreneurs. The event will also feature a panel of women-identifying judges who will evaluate each startup.

Attendees can look forward to exceptional speakers sharing their journeys and insights, offering valuable lessons in entrepreneurship. This is a unique opportunity to network with leading companies and immerse yourself in the excitement of entrepreneurship in action.

Panelists:

Ria Khan (she/her)

Ria Khan is an award-winning scientist-entrepreneur, health-tech founder, and graduate researcher at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Medical Science. She is the CEO & Co-Founder of NephroTech, a startup translating clinical research into real-world impact through the commercialization of DialySnake, which is the world’s first minimally invasive medical device designed to unblock peritoneal dialysis catheters at patients’ bedsides, improving access to renal care globally. Ria has represented Canada at the Hult Prize Global Accelerator 2025 and has won multiple pitch competitions, including iCUBE’s Pitch with a Twist, the SICIEEIL Student Startup Award, and H2i’s Pitch Perfect competition. She also placed in the Top 10 out of 130 women-led ventures in Firehood’s Women in Tech Pitch Competition at Startupfest 2025 and was recently ranked among the top 12 teams nationally in the ongoing Enactus Canada National Competition. She is passionate about evidence-driven innovation, ethical commercialization, and supporting founders who build solutions rooted in genuine clinical and social impact.

Arlyne James (she/her)

Arlyne James is the Founder of My Dorm Store, a residence-approved dorm essentials and care package company serving students across Canada. While studying engineering at UofT, Arlyne launched My Dorm Store to simplify the move-in experience for families and help students feel at home from day one. The company now partners with campuses nationwide to deliver curated, pre-arrival dorm essentials and meaningful care packages directly to residence buildings.

Crystal Wong Kruger (she/her)

Crystal Wong Kruger (she/they) is the founder of LIOHAN, an EdTech company helping entrepreneurial families connect and thrive. With degrees in Engineering Science and an MBA from the University of Toronto, she blends systems thinking with creativity to design practical, experience-based tools that strengthen communication, curiosity, and shared growth across generations.

Moderator:

Brooke Gordon (she/her)

Brooke Gordon is a Speaker and Trainer with over 20 years of experience in leadership and business strategy. She specializes in leadership resilience and workplace dynamics during times of transition, designing workshops that help leaders and HR professionals respond effectively when teams face unexpected change. Her approach ensures compassion and trust remain strong while organizations continue to perform under competing demands and capacity. Passionate about opening conversations often left unspoken in professional settings, Brooke equips leaders to navigate seasons of change with clarity, confidence, and impact.

Eligibility Criteria

Must have a self-identified woman founder or co-founder.
Have an idea or an early-stage start-up that aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Submission to uphold equity and inclusion practices, which includes “creat[ing] a climate of understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of each person”, in keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Registrants must be a student or alumni of the University of Toronto; OR participants of any of the U of T CLA/Incubator programs.
Product or service idea must not be in the market (pre-launch)
Must be incorporated in Canada
Less than $25k in investments (Angels, VCs, grants) as of February 17th, 2026
Less than $50k in revenue earned as of February 17th, 2026

All finalists must be able to:

Available to showcase the venture at a booth to judges for the duration of the event
U of T students and alumni are strongly encouraged to register and complete the free UTE IP Education Program – Level 1 modules (~2 hours) before the competition.

Important Dates:

Applications open: January 22nd, 2026
Applications closed: February 23rd, 2026
Event: March 4th, 2026 5:30pm – 7:30 pm

Prizes

$10,000 in cash prizes
1:1 Coaching Package: Powering startup growth with Product-Market Fit
- If you’re a startup founder looking to get your first few customers or you’re just beginning to scale with a few hundred thousand in revenue – there’s one milestone that will make or break your business: that’s Product-Market Fit. With this 6-month coaching program (1hr session per month) you can expect to learn the foundations of launching a successful startup, assess where you stand, and what you need to do to improve and achieve fit with 3 core strategies that drive growth. Miss this at your own peril, poor Product-Market Fit is the #1 reason for startup failure! This coaching package is run by Chris Bardos, a product commercialization and growth expert with 14 years in the trenches. He drives growth for early-stage, venture-backed founders by maximizing product-market fit, so teams can go from pushing their product, to having the market pull it from them. Past teams hit Canada’s Fast 50 and raised >$53M. See www.chrisbardos.com
Booking Keeping/Account Support: A set of financial statements, Corporate income tax return, Sales tax return, T4/T5 slips for founders/shareholders. See srjca.com

Judging Criteria

Problem Statement: Clearly defined, communicated, solution solves problem.
Venture Concept (Feasibility): Unique (patent, trademark, trade secret), innovative customer validation, experience with concept.
Size of Opportunity / Competition: Scalable, market, customers, competitive environment, innovation.
Validation/Traction: Demonstrated interest from potential clients or growth in sales or users.
Business Model: Operationally feasible, financially attractive, investment required to get to market.
Marketing/Sales/Partnerships: Distribution network established / accessible, potential for revenue, partnership opportunities.
Strength of Entrepreneur/Team: Leadership, experience, commitment, coachable, team experience, understand missing skills.
Global Considerations: Does this idea incorporate any of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals? (i.e. poverty, education, clean water, etc.).
Equity/Intercultural Lens: Inclusive, reaches a diverse audience; aspires to have a positive impact on underrepresented groups.