Waterloo Region, August 25, 2016- Communitech is pleased to announce the winners of its third Communitech Fierce Founders Bootcamp Pitch Competition Thursday. The top three winning founders were awarded a portion of the $100,000 prize. Borealis Wind took first place with a $40,000 prize and is the first startup accepted into the Communitech Fierce Founders Accelerator. Navi and Oneiric Hockey shared second place, each with a $30,000 prize.
The bootcamp took place over two weeks during summer 2016, bringing in 24 companies and 26 female founders to learn how to grow their businesses. The winning founders are also welcomed to take the first spot in the Fierce Founders Accelerator focused on women-led businesses beginning in Sept. 19, 2016. They’ll receive up to $30,000 in funding, six-months residency at the Communitech Hub, and mentoring and business support from Communitech’s Executives in Residence team.
Eight founders pitched their startup to a panel of expert judges, including Steven Woods, Senior Engineering Director at Google Canada, Mallorie Brodie, CEO and co-founder of Bridgit, Janet Bannister, general partner of Real Ventures, Alison Nankivell, Vice President of Funds and Co-Investments at BDC Capital, Louise Upton, Management Consultant Partner at Deloitte, and Andrew Lipstein, head of Global Programs and Governance at Thomson Reuters Labs. The top eight founders will also pitch at Toronto’s Ryerson DMZ on Friday, Aug. 26, including the top three startups and Pression, The Mod Market, BridesMade, Brizi, and Neuescence.
“Our goal is to increase the number of female founders participating in the tech ecosystem. During the bootcamp we help participants build on their ideas and learn business fundamentals,” said Danielle Graham, Women in Tech Program Manager at Communitech. “We will continue to work with the founders to establish successful businesses, connect them to the tech ecosystem and help build their network of community support,” Graham said.
This year’s bootcamp and $100,000 award was sponsored by Deloitte, BDC, Google and Thomson Reuters.
PDF version.
For media inquires please contact:
Samantha Clark
Public Relations Specialist
Communitech
519.221.3466
samantha.clark@commmunitech.ca
About Communitech
Communitech is a private-public innovation centre in Waterloo Region that supports a community ecosystem of more than 1,000 tech companies—from startups to rapidly growing mid-size companies and large global players. A member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs, which is funded by the Ontario Government, Communitech helps tech companies start, grow and succeed.