A speed pitch contest at a ballpark might conjure up thoughts of 98-mile-per-hour fastballs, but pitches of a different kind were delivered earlier this week at Raymond Grant Chabot Thornton Park.
A record crowd of more than 100 angel investors, entrepreneurs and community partners was on hand at the home of the Ottawa Champions for the Capital Angel Network Mashup and Social.
The speed pitch contest featured nine entrepreneurs. They were each given three minutes to sell the judges on their companies, with $7,500 worth of startup consulting services and prizes on the line.
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Early stage companies from L-Spark, Hub Ottawa, Startup Garage, Invest Ottawa and Algonquin College took part, but it was Liora Raitblat of Go Give-Back who came out on top.
Ms. Raitblat, a recent graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, co-founded the mobile donation platform just over a year ago. Go Give-Back is also part of this summer’s Startup Garage cohort at the University of Ottawa.
Ms. Raitblat said she was excited to win the competition.
“Not only does this help the platform gain exposure as we roll out our expanded solution for larger non-profits, but we made some connections to causes that we can help support in their fundraising efforts,” she said in a statement.
The exposure all participants received is one of the main reasons the Capital Angel Network holds the event, according to its chair Jennifer Francis.
“It was a really fun evening, tons of energy in the room, great conversations and real excitement about these emerging companies. And we know it will result in solid follow-up business meetings,” she said in a statement.