The Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University is looking for three startups to pitch at the Venture Capital Investment Competition taking place in Halifax on March 5.

The VCIC is an international competition in which teams of graduate and undergraduate students compete to see which one makes the best mock venture capital investment. As it has for the past few years, the Sobey School of Business will host the Canadian finals, which will be a virtual event.

It’s one of 22 sites around the world that will be hosting VCIC competitions, and each one needs three startups to pitch to teams of mock investors, including 14-minute due diligence sessions with each team. With six VC teams, it’s a chance for startups to practice their pitches and gain feedback from actual investors, who are judges and mentors at the event.

Ellen Farrell, the Sobey School professor who has spearheaded the VCIC initiative at SMU, said startups can request to pitch at the Halifax event, or one of the 21 other sites, allowing them to gain exposure to investors they never met before. 

"One of the bigger opportunities is for those start-ups who have exhausted the local VC network and would like to try their success in San Francisco, Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, Austin, etc.," said Farrell. "They could ask to be a contender there."

Any startup interested in participating can apply here, stating whether they prefer to pitch in Halifax or at another site.