The Arena Pitch Competition
Awards Canadian student founders up to $10,000 in a national bracket-style pitch competition.
Sixty-four selected students compete in a single-elimination bracket, similar to March Madness, working through six rounds — Round One, Round Two, Round Three, the Quarter Finals, the Semi Finals and the Final. What each pitch has to cover grows every round: Round One is a one-minute pitch on just the problem and the solution, and by the Final, two remaining entrants each get four minutes to cover…
Open to student entrepreneurs across Canada with any business idea, regardless of industry. Entrants must be currently enrolled at, or have graduated within the last year from, a recognized post-secondary institution, and must own or co-own the business being pitched. The venture must not have earned more than $10,000 in annual revenue or raised more than $10,000 from outside investors or other competitions.
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Guides for this application
All guides →Grant Pitch Deck Example: Slides, Storyline, and Video Script
See a grant pitch deck example with slide outline, EIC-style pitch logic, demo-video script, and grant-vs-investor deck differences.
Start hereTRL Levels Explained for Deeptech Founders
Learn what TRL levels mean, how to estimate technology readiness, and how TRL affects grants, EIC Accelerator, SBIR/STTR, funding stage, and application evidence.
Write proposalHow to Write a Grant Proposal Reviewers Can Score
Learn how to write a grant proposal around reviewer criteria, evidence, work packages, budget logic, and commercialization for deeptech and R&D funding.
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