• 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 the Pop-up 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 $1,000 cash prize.

The winner of each Startup Global Pop-up Pitch Competition will receive a $15,000 cash prize.

In addition to the winner’s prize, the top 5 finalists at each Pop-up Pitch Competition will be eligible to win a $1000 People’s Choice Award, voted on by the audience in their respective city.

To be eligible for the Startup Global Pitch Competition, you must meet the following criteria:

• The intention/ability to export and expand your business internationally within the next 2 years
• A minimum of 1 year of generating revenue and/or actively fundraising for Research & Development
• Between more than $50,000 and less than $1,000,000 in revenue, as of February 2, 2026
• Less than $1,000,000 in fundraising or investment (grants, bank loans, equity funding), as of February 2, 2026
• Less than 8 years of operating your business, as of February 2, 2026
• Your business/operations are founded/headquartered in Canada

Please note these additional eligibility details:

• Employees of Startup Canada (and their immediate family members) are ineligible to apply.
• Submissions may be entered as individuals or teams; however, the maximum number of team members for a single pitch is limited to one person per company.
• A company may only submit one pitch to be considered for adjudication.
• You may only participate in one stream of the competition (in-person Tour stop or virtual). This ensures as many entrepreneurs as possible have the chance to compete.

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! This year, we’re expanding our programming with two brand-new standalone Pop-up Pitch Competitions. Meet the winners of our 2025 Pitch Competitions