Uber is testing the idea of an entrepreneur “elevator pitch” with UberPITCH, a service inviting entrepreneurs to share a 15-minute ride with an investor to pitch their startup or idea.
On April 7, UberPITCH will launch in seven cities across Canada and operate between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. To use the service, entrepreneurs must use a promo code according to their city; for example, Toronto would use PitchTO and Kitchener-Waterloo would use PitchKW. All rides — which end at the entrepreneur’s initial pickup point — are free. Entrepreneurs have seven minutes to pitch and seven minutes for feedback.
The service will be available in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver.
“UberPITCH is a collaborative project that facilitates innovation within local startup communities,” the company said in a statement. “We’re pumped to help connect local entrepreneurs with the resources they need to accelerate the growth of their ventures.”
Investors include Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes, Dragons’ Den judge and Snapsaves co-founder Michele Romanow, Extreme Venture Partners managing partner Sunil Sharma, BDC IT Venture Fund managing partner Ron Warburton, iNovia associate Antoine Nivard, and Minhas micro brewery founder Manjit Minhas.
