Submissions open for Synapse Pitch Competition 2025

The Synapse Life Science Competition pairs innovators with business and entrepreneurship students and provides the training, mentorship, and resources to be successful. The Synapse Competition combines the ideas and research of life science innovators with the intellect and strategy of students. The Synapse Life Science Competition is brought to you by Innovation Factory.

Benefits

• Innovator:
  • Develop your commercialization plan and pitch
  • Participate in business training workshops to help you bring your idea to market
  • Work with Masters/Ph.D. students with expertise in biomedical, business and engineering
  • Establish valuable connections within the life science community
  • PLUS! Compete for a chance to win BIG cash and in-kind prizes
• Student:
  • Gain business experience working with an innovative life science start-up company
  • Work hands-on to create a commercialization plan, poster and prepare a pitch
  • Attend business training workshops and grow your resume
  • Establish valuable connections within the life science community

Funding Information

• Innovator finalists receive training, mentorship, a $2,000 grant and a chance to pitch and compete for BIG in cash and prizes.
• Student finalists gain first-hand entrepreneurship experience and a $250 honorarium.

Eligibility Criteria

• Innovator:
  • Early-stage companies, innovators, scientists or researchers with a life science product, service or idea
  • A driven, coachable and collaborative leadership founder/team
  • Located in Southern Ontario
  • Companies who are incorporated in Canada, or will have completed incorporation by December 31, 2025
  • Has not placed in the top 10 at a previous LiONS LAIR, or placed in the top 3 at a previous Synapse Competition
• Student:
  • Upper-year college and university students
  • Master’s-level or Ph.D. students
  • Recent graduates
  • Experience in business, engineering, science or commercialization
  • Interest in partnering with an innovator to help commercialize their idea

Participation Guidelines

• Participants shall:
  • Complete and submit an online application by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 10, 2024;
  • Certify that any documentation shared in the application process is their own work;
  • Certify that they abide by all guidelines of the Forum;
  • Be limited to submitting only one application per participant.
• Any submissions received by the Organizers, which are illegible or have not been received through legitimate channels are automatically void.
• Participants must be residents and business owners in Ontario, Canada. Innovation Factory clients are eligible to participate in the Competition. Any corporation or enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 million are not eligible for the Competition. Applicants who have previously participated in both, LiONS LAIR and the Synapse Competition, or either competition more than once; and/or who placed in the top ten at a previous LiONS LAIR, and/or placed in the top three at a previous Synapse Competition shall be precluded from participating in this Competition.
• The Organizer assumes no responsibility for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network, telephone lines, computer online systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, or the failure of any application to be received by the Organizer on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination thereof.
• Participants selected to participate in the Forum will be notified by telephone or email. Up to three (3) attempts will be made to contact the selected participants within three days following their selection. The Organizers accept no liability for incorrect, incomplete or illegible contact information provided. If a selected participant cannot be contacted in the manner described above or fails to respond in a timely manner, its application will receive no further consideration by the evaluation panel.
• Impartial third-party judges will evaluate and score all applications, from which up to 15 (fifteen) finalists will be selected.
• The participants chosen are required to:
  • Participate in training sessions from January to March;
  • Submit a commercialization plan;
  • Deliver a verbal pitch that will be recorded and made available online;
  • Participate in sponsor-related engagements;
  • Participate in the in-person or virtual production of the Competition.

For more information, visit Innovation Factory.