2015 Funding Roadshow Kicks Off Today In Ottawa

The 2015 Funding Roadshow, organized by Fundica and presented by Intuit, kicks off in Ottawa today, the first stop in its 11 city tour to match investors at all levels with start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises hoping to pitch their big idea.

“For 11 fortunate entrepreneurs across the country, participating in this initiative will be a game-changing moment,” says Extreme Venture Partners Managing Partner Sunil Sharma. “The Funding Roadshow has a unique ability to span the entire country and unite people with diverse areas of expertise and a shared passion for technology and innovation. I look forward to attending both the DMZ and MaRS stops.”

The panels will include representatives from financial institutions and government organizations, as well as venture capitalists and private lenders.

“The opportunities for Canadian investors to participate directly in the growth stories of technology startups has never been greater both in terms of quantity and quality,” Sunil Sharma told Cantech Letter. “We are seeing tremendous potential of many of these private companies moving quickly along the path to IPO. Savvy US tech investors are already aware of the investment opportunities inherent in Canadian tech and we are helping put even more companies on the radar.”

Each stop on the tour will feature up to 20 entrepreneurs pitching to a panel of 8 to 10 funders, with the pitch limited to five minutes, followed by an eight minute Q&A session.

Eligible pitchers need to be Canadian incorporated businesses with a strong technological component at seed or growth stage, with expected revenue growth >50%.

A winner will be chosen at each stop, making for 11 lucky entrepreneurs who will be awarded prize packs including six months of office space in the greater San Francisco area with round-trip airfare, cloud hosting packages from CANARIE and SoftLayer, and one year of Intuit QuickBooks online.

Aside from the pitch session, attendees will also have the opportunity to see several workshops and talks relating to scaling up a business, Canada’s venture capital scene, or how to understand business tax credits.

Participating panelists at Ryerson DMZ in Toronto include: BDC, First Stone Ventures, Impression Ventures, MaRS IAF, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Plazacorp Ventures, R&D Capital, Real Ventures, Relay Ventures and Ryerson Futures.

“We are very pleased to be organizing the Funding Roadshow this year with our presenting partner Intuit,” adds Fundica President Mike Lee. “We are particularly pleased to be visiting Toronto twice in 2015 and making stops at both Ryerson DMZ and MaRS Discovery District. I would also like to thank the 58 collaborative, supporting, hosting and community partners across Canada who make the Funding Roadshow possible.”

Interested parties can register here.

2015 Funding Roadshow Schedule
-Ottawa, March 19
-Toronto, March 25
-Halifax, April 1
-Winnipeg, April 21
-Vancouver, April 29
-Victoria, May 1
-Calgary, May 5
-Edmonton, May 7
-Toronto, May 22
-Montreal, May 28
-Montreal, June 5