Virtual Pitch Competition | Startup Canada Equal Slice

​ABOUT
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.

​PITCH COMPETITION DETAILS
Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Venue: Virtual (Zoom)

​​​Entrepreneurs that are interested in pitching, apply by registering for this event. A Startup Canada team member will review your application. If you are eligible, you will be emailed a confirmation with a zoom link and a specific time slot for their pitch approximately 2 weeks before the virtual pitch day.
PLEASE NOTE: You are not guaranteed a spot by applying. Only 1 person per company may pitch and only the person pitching may be present.

​​​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 pitch is verbal (no pitch deck/visual aid).
The Top 10 companies will be announced live at Virtual Pitch Final, please ensure you are present.
Of the Top 10, a Top 5 will be selected by the judges and will be awarded a $10,000 grant each.

​​​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

​​​​WHO IS THIS PITCH COMPETITION FOR?

• ​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

• ​PLEASE 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.
To learn more about the Startup Canada Equal Slice Pitch Competition, please visit the Startup Canada Equal Slice Webpage.   

​​​​PARTNERS
The Startup Canada Equal Slice Program is presented by Pizza Hut Equal Slice and powered by Startup Canada.