Apply for The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch – Canada

Benefits

• With The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch, you could receive prizing, resources, education and more valued at up to $90,000 CAD to help your business thrive:
  • As an applicant, you will
    • Find clarity for your business – its purpose, goals, and key value proposition – as you practice sharing your vision with others.
    • Gain access to an active community that will support and fiercely champion you for years to come – with potential to meet future investors, mentors, buyers, partners, collaborators and more.
    • Benefit from educational programming (valued at $500).
  • As a semi-finalist, you will
    • Receive a paid trip to the Toronto and Vancouver Semi-Final events and the Finale in Vancouver. This is a great opportunity to meet your nation-wide community of champions in-person, make new connections and activate your social capital.
    • Receive 1:1 mentorship (valued at $5,000) from experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts.
    • Get complimentary access to E-Series (valued at $1,500) – a transformative educational program for women entrepreneurs that provides essential education and tools to push your business to the next level.
  • As a finalist, you will
    • Receive one of three prize packages each with an estimated value of $30,000 CAD, in financial, social, and wisdom capital, which will help you fund your business, continue to improve your skills, access specialized support and more.
    • Gain brand exposure through national PR coverage (valued at $5,000) and The Forum’s Canada-wide community of women entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors and sponsors through program updates shared on its website, social media pages and newsletters (valued at $30,000).
    • Receive exclusive videography and photography files from The Forum that highlight your business story and program experience to share throughout your community (valued at $15,000).
    • Receive performance coaching (valued at $2,500).

What they’re looking for?

They’re looking for 3 key things in your 1-minute video

• Business Vision
  • What impact does your business have & what do you want the future to look like? How do you and your business stand out? Who are you? What do you value? What motivates you?
• Plan for Growth
  • What is your business model? What market need or opportunity are you addressing? What is your path for growth?
  • Feel free to include any successes you’ve already had like existing contracts or financial projections.
• Passion & Impact
  • They aren’t looking at your video making skills or how perfect your execution is.
  • They’re looking for passion & potential for impact that excites them and opens the minds to all kinds of new possibilities.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch is for you if:
  • You are a legal resident of Canada
  • You are a self-identifying woman, non-binary, and transfemme majority or equal stakeholder, (co-)founder, or (co-)owner actively leading or launching a business operating in Canada
    • This includes a woman manager or staff member who is a key decision maker in an Indigenous band- or community-owned business
  • You are able to participate, if selected, in:
    • two in-person Semi-Final events – one in Vancouver on February 15, 2024 and one in Toronto on February 29, 2024, respectively
    • the live in-person Finale event on April 25, 2024; and,
    • mentorship meetings and filming sessions, which will be scheduled at mutually convenient times during December 2023 – March 2024
  • You are not a Finalist in any previous Pitch for the Purse/The Forum Pitch
• While the program is for all industries and markets, and all sizes and stages of business, organizations that are structured as nonprofits and charities (societies) are not eligible to enter The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch.

For more information, visit The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch.