Twelve companies pitched at Halifax startup hub Volta’s first Investment Day event Wednesday, which it hosted in collaboration with accelerator Creative Destruction Lab Atlantic.
The event was held at Volta’s new offices in downtown Halifax’s Armoyan Centre and gave seed-stage and Series A companies the chance to pitch to an audience of funders and industry players from both inside and outside Atlantic Canada.
Founders delivered five- to seven-minute pitches, with some then decamping for one-on-one sessions with investors. To be eligible, startups had to be headquartered in Atlantic Canada and capable of demonstrating traction, such as evidence of having validated their business models, early adopter users or even paying customers.
“We have all four provinces represented today, which is really great to see, because they’re all very high-calibre teams,” said Volta CEO Matt Cooper. “What we’re focused on with these (Investment Day) events is really building relationships. The format … is really about getting teams in our region face to face with investors.”
Here’s a look at the companies that pitched:
Matt Stewart
Sydney
Click2Order has developed an online order-and-deliver platform for restaurants.
Dave Olsen
Halifax
NorthStar provides online payroll services to churches, charities, and small and medium-sized businesses.
Rafaela Andrade
Halifax
Myomar has developed a urine test to monitor muscle degeneration, which can be caused by diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Vince Payne
St. John’s
OPAS sells an operations management platform that improves safety, compliance and efficiency in the offshore industry.
John Matthews
Halifax
InkWell is developing a remote patient monitoring system for orthopaedic surgeons.
Allison Murray
Halifax
Acuicy sells business intelligence software designed to help reduce emissions from supply chains.
Hamed Hanafi
Halifax
NovaResp is developing an algorithm to help manage sleep apnea via a process called continuous monitoring of airway pressure, or CMAP.
Daniel Lirette
Moncton
GrowDoc is a cannabis-disease-recognition mobile application that automates identifying a plant’s deficiencies.
Christina Goudy
Halifax
Reach is developing a novel shoulder implant, designed to treat patients with massive irreparable rotator cuff tears.
Corey Yantha
Halifax
Dispension’s smart vending kiosks allow authorities to distribute opioids to only registered users or venue operators to sell alcohol to customers whose age is automatically verified by an AI system that checks their ID.
Sam Daviau
Halifax
UpBeing is a mental health and wellness app that analyzes users’ digital behavior for clues about their wellbeing.
Jordan Rose
Charlottetown
Tracktile is developing software that helps manufacturers design and operate their production process while ensuring verifiable traceability and gaining visibility and insights into their business.
