Young Nova Scotian entrepreneurs with a good idea are invited to apply to this year’s 100 Entrepreneurs Planting Seed$ pitching contest for the chance to win $10,000.

Now in its fourth year, Planting Seed$ sells tickets to 100 people in the startup community at $100 per head. That money makes up the $10,000 prize that is awarded to the company with the most successful pitch.

Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 24 and resident in Nova Scotia.

Previous winners include: Eggcitables, a company that makes a vegan egg substitute from chickpeas; Aurea Technologies, a company that is creating wind turbine technology for the consumer and commercial markets; and Canada Cold Press Juices, which uses undersized fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. 

100 Seed$ is run by Halifax non-profit 100 Seed$ Atlantic. It was started in response to Ray Ivany’s Now or Never report which said only 12 percent of youth between the ages of 16 to 24 aspire to start their own business. The micro-funding pitching competition was the organizers’ solution to improve that statistic.

“It gets better and better every year,” said Allyson England, one of the co-founders and organizers of the event. “The pitches are awesome and I’m just happy to see more young people in entrepreneurship.”

The submission deadline is April 30th. The event will occur on June 5th from 4 to 6 pm in the McNally Auditorium at Saint Mary’s University. 

To make things easier, organizers have simplified the process this year, and are asking for short answers to seven questions instead of a pitch deck or business plan.

Application link: https://100seedsatlantic.com/pages/youth-applicants-2019