Cape Breton’s Navigate Startup House is hosting a day-long “reverse pitch event” Oct. 13 that will see startups pitch their companies as if to investors, after which existing backers will explain why they bought in.
Dubbed Bring It Together, the day will also include several Q&A and panel events, including one featuring MC Permjot Valia, an innovation economy veteran who serves on the boards of Halifax’s Aurea Technologies and Bluelight Analytics, and Danielle Strachman, founder of the San Francisco-based 1517 Fund. That conversation will deal with the process of cultivating an innovation ecosystem.
“The elevator pitch would be, ‘How about learning from real case studies of what inspired investors to invest in a variety of Nova Scotia-based businesses?’” said Valia of Bring It Together, which Navigate believes is the first event of its kind.
“What if we actually hear the pitch, and we learn — despite whatever gaps there will be in the pitch, because there’s no such thing as a perfect pitch — why the investors still invested in local companies.”
Halifax startup hub Volta is organizing transportation to the event so Halifax founders can attend. A bus will leave from Volta at 1505 Barrington Street the afternoon of Oct. 12.
The regular price to attend Bring It Together, including HST is $123.17, and tickets are available here. Volta members can either buy a package deal that includes the bus ride, a one-night stay in the Sydney Holiday Inn and an event ticket for $200 or buy only an event ticket for the reduced price of $25.
Here’s a look at the startups that will present alongside a sizeable cohort of angel investors and venture capitalists:
Sydney
Click2Order is a platform that allows restaurants to accept online delivery orders while circumventing third-party delivery services like Uber Eats and SkipTheDishes, which have fee structures that can erode eateries’ profits.
Halifax
Aurea sells portable wind turbines that hikers and other outdoorsy people can use to charge their electronic devices when an electrical outlet is not available.
Sydney
Talem Health uses artificial intelligence, including image-recognition technology, to help auto insurers assess claims, cutting down on delays and cost overruns.
Sydney
Carbide, previously called Securicy, sells a SaaS product that partly automates the creation of information security strategies for businesses, such as complying with HIPAA regulations in the United States, and offers feedback about how companies can improve their security practices.
