Pitch@Palace, the pitch competition founded by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, is taking place in Canada for the first time.
The competition was founded by the Duke in 2014 as a way “amplify and accelerate the work of entrepreneurs.” The Duke is the third son of Queen Elizabeth. The program works with entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses, connecting them with CEOs, influencers, angel investors, mentors, and business partners.
Pitch@Palace global branched out of the original program and offers the pitch competitions around the world including 59 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Latin America, and Europe. This marks the first year that the competition is coming to Canada. The Rideau Hall Foundation, an independent charitable organization that amplifies the Office of the Governor General of Canada, was the official Canadian partner helping to bring Pitch@Palace to Canada.
The Canadian version of the competition, Pitch@Palace Canada 1.0, is currently making its way across the country. There are six event stops that will allow local entrepreneurs and businesses to participate, including Halifax, Regina, Waterloo, Vancouver, Whitehorse, and Montreal.
Winners from each location will move on to the bootcamp and final being held in Toronto on May 27 and 28. The winner of that event will join a number of entrepreneurs from other countries and will be invited to pitch their business at St. James’s Palace, England, in December.
The first Canadian event took place in Halifax last week. Four Atlantic finalists were chosen to move on to the Toronto finals, including automated timesheet solution Clockk, marine database eOceans, eHealth service Motryx, and cloud-based information security and privacy company Securicy.
The next stop on the tour is the Prairies where fifteen companies will vie for the top spots. Krugo, which was named on BetaKit’s top 11 prairie startups to watch in 2019, will be pitching. Based in Regina, Krugo has developed an app to build travel itineraries based on interests.
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Fellow Regina startup, Brew Ninja, will also be pitching. Brew Ninja has developed software to help breweries track inventory, sales, production scheduling, and tap room specific point of sales.
The entrepreneurs pitching at the other locations have yet to be announced. The events in Waterloo, Vancouver, and Whitehorse will be taking place throughout April, ending with Montreal on May 7.
Pitch@Palace is open to a wide variety of companies focused on tech and innovation, spanning healthtech, cybersecurity, FinTech, AI and VR, smart cities, and fitness technology.
Applications for the event are still open and can be found here.
Feature image courtesy PItch@Palace Canada