Pitch It Growing in Popularity

Pitch It has grown to be one of our most exciting events every year. Recently we held the third annual Pitch It competition in partnership with PIE- Partners in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Northern Ontario Angels. The event targets post-secondary students and recent grads to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges in hopes of winning cash to move their idea further.

When we started this competition a few years ago we had four youth make a pitch, this year we had 16 applications, 10 of which pitched at the final event. The ideas that were pitched were so diverse, some of the ideas included a new type of LCD signs, sustainable wallets, a language translation app, a device to manage temperature in different rooms, retina health screening, and a carpooling solution. Having such diverse ideas made it really tough for the judges to select a winner.

First place- Snag Me. SnagMe is a mobile application that matches users based on start and end location and will efficiently allow people to carpool together using just their mobile phone and a car. SnagMe saves the driver money by splitting gas costs, saves the passenger time by providing a more reliable, inexpensive ride, and helps to save the environment by reducing the number of cars on the road.

Second place- Core. Core is an innovative new company offering animal-free alternatives to traditional leather products. Core products are made locally here in Thunder Bay.

Third place- GearHead. GearHead is a strategic consultant that integrates technology into businesses to improve cash flow. Founded in Thunder Bay, Ontario, our goal is to help businesses in Northwestern Ontario realize their potential, operate efficiently and give them a competitive edge, on a National level. 

There is a growing trend of youth starting their own businesses after graduation, and these type of youth events are great for our community. It helps to see how many youth are out there starting their own business, developing their own products, or trying to learn more about entrepreneurship, while introducing the youth to world of entrepreneurship and showing them all the support that it is in our community to move their idea forward.