There are two ways to participate in the 2026 Startup Global Pitch Competition. You can pitch 1) in-person at one of our four Startup Canada Tour stops or 2) virtually.

👥 In-person 

To apply in-person to pitch, please register for the “Pitcher Pass” at the closest Startup Canada Tour stop to you. During this check-out process, you will be asked a series of questions about your business to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria.

• Halifax, NS | April 29th | Open Now
• Victoria, BC | September 29th | Coming soon!
• Mississauga, ON | October 29th | Coming soon!

💻 Virtual

• Our virtual pitch competition day will take place on Tuesday, May 26 (for the first-round pitches) and Thursday, May 28 (for the Top 10). | Open Now

• Pitchers will be given 3 minutes to pitch, followed by 3 minutes of Q&A from two judges. The pitch will be verbal, with no pitch deck. Participants are able to bring their product to the pitch. Please note, there is no set up time for products, therefore we can only allow small physical products. If you have a product that fits on a table top, you may bring it with you to your pitch.
• Following the first round of pitches, the judges will select the top 5 pitchers that will move on to the finals.
• The pitchers who have made it to the next round will be announced in the afternoon.
• The top 5 will then present to a panel of 3 judges on the Mainstage. They will have 3 minutes to pitch, followed by 2 minutes of Q&A.
• Following this, the judges will pick the winner, who will win a $15,000 cash prize!
• All finalists at in-person Pitch Competitions will also be eligible for the People’s Choice Award, where our audience will vote on their favourite business, and the winner will take home a $2,000 cash prize. 
• Pitchers must be present all day at Startup Canada Tour if they advance to the top 5 to be eligible for the main stage presentation.

• Pitchers will be given 3 minutes to pitch, followed by 3 minutes of Q&A from two judges. The pitch will be verbal, with no pitch deck. Participants are able to bring their product to the pitch.
• Following this, the judges will deliberate to select the top 10 pitchers who will advance to the Finals later in the week (May 28)
• The Finals will take place on Thursday, May 28th.
• One winner will be selected and awarded $15,000. Please note, there will not be a People’s Choice Award given at the Virtual Pitch Competition.

The winner of each Pop-up Pitch Competition at the Startup Canada Tour stops as well as the virtual pitch competition will win a $15,000 cash prize.  For the Pop-up Pitch Competitions there will also be a People’s Choice Award with a prize of $2000. 

In addition to the above prizes, the top 5 finalists at each Pop-up Pitch competition will be eligible to win a $2,000 People’s Choice Award voted on by the audience in their respective city. Please note, there will not be a People’s Choice Award given at the Virtual Pitch Competition.

Our criteria focus on answering one important question, “What is your potential to scale globally?” To help answer this question, our panel of judges will assess your business under the following criteria:

• Target market | Is there a clearly defined target market? Businesses that have clearly outlined their target audience will be able to identify the potential for scaling globally, such as understanding the current size and potential growth of a target market, the volatility or stability of a target market, or identifying particular characteristics like a high-priced niche.
• Objective | All solutions are built to fix an identified problem, but not all problems need scalable solutions. Does your business solve a problem from a short-term trend? Or is there a real long-term need for your solution? Businesses that have the potential to go global have long-run, sustainable business models.
• Solution | Businesses with a detailed, innovative solution with a strong unique selling proposition (USP) will be more likely to scale globally. This criteria assesses your overall product or service, for instance, price, convenience, uniqueness, innovation, quality, efficiency, and branding.
• Leadership | What does your leadership team look like? Does your team, mentors or board of advisors have industry experience, key relationships, and/or prior successes and failures? These are crucial facets in determining whether your business has the support and guidance to help successfully expand globally.
• Traction (if any) | A key indicator of being able to scale globally is a detailed assessment of the trajectory of a solution. This includes evaluating the minimum viable product (MVP), and existing partners.
• Competition | Going global means stacking up against an international community of innovators and entrepreneurs; how does your business stand out? Why should a customer choose your solution over another?
• Ability to go global | This criterion hopes to help our panel of judges ultimately answer the question, “Do you think this contestant has the potential to scale globally?”

In 2025, Startup Global awarded $70,000 in cash prizes to Canadian entrepreneurs through pitch competitions held in Calgary, Vancouver, Moncton, Mississauga and online! Meet the winners of our 2025 Pitch Competitions