Seed Your Startup
... is designed to help young entrepreneurs make the transition from ideas to formalized action plans, with the opportunity to win funding! Students from Western University are invited to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas for a chance to win up to $2,000.
Adapting to our new virtual world, we are revamping our competition and digitizing it! We're expanding our pitch competition from a one-day event to a celebration spanning several weeks, concluding with a virtual “finale” on September 29, 2021. This new format will allow us to promote your business more than ever before!
About Our Pitch Competition
Prizes
There are over $11,000 in prizes up for grabs at Seed Your Startup 2021.
New to Seed Your Startup this year, we are excited to announce three startup categories to compete in:
1) Technology
2) Product
3) Service
New to Seed Your Startup this year, we are excited to announce three winning opportunities for each category (technology, service and product):
- 1st place prize: $2000
- 2nd place prize: $1000
- 3rd place prize: $500
Bonus: Additional $500 prize up for grabs for our competition “Fan Favourite” winner.
In total: $11,000 in prizes will be given away.
Grand Prizes: 1st prize of $2000, 2nd prize of $1000 & 3rd prize of $500
The Seed Your Startup winner will be selected based on the quality of their startup, delivery of the pitch, and your ability to move the business forward.
Each finalist participating in Seed Your Startup will submit a 6-minute pitch video to our panel of judges. All judges will view the video submissions virtually and determine the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
The winner will be announced on September 29, 2021.
Seed Your Startup contestants will be granted a feedback opportunity after the competition, should they wish to receive feedback or ask questions.
Bonus: Fan Favourite Prize $500
Through a public voting platform, each Seed Your Startup participant will be eligible to submit a one-minute pitch video to be entered into the 'Fan Favorite' prize category. The pitch video that receives the most public votes will win this prize category.
All *current students from Western University (including affiliated colleges) are invited to submit their early-stage business idea in our all-new, virtually revamped, competition.
*Current: You must be an active Western student at the time of application (April 11, 2021).
Competition Timeline
If selected to move forward in Seed Your Startup 2021, please be aware of the following important dates:
March 15, 2021.
April 11, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Week of April 12, 2021.
18 teams will receive an email indicating if their application is proceeding to the next round in Seed Your Startup 2021.
Week of May 3, 2021.
The final 9 teams are selected to move forward to the Seed Your Startup 2021 finale.
May 12, 2021.
Finalists must attend our virtual “Polish Your Pitch” workshop with one of our Business Advisors. This workshop will be vital in helping finalists develop the strongest pitch for the competition.
Week of August 30, 2021.
Finalists will submit their 6-minute pitch videos for the judges to watch virtually. These videos will be used to determine the winner placement of Seed Your Startup 2021.
September 8 - 28, 2021.
Our 9 finalists will be automatically entered into our bonus prize "Fan Favourite" valued at $500. This prize is determined by a virtual public voting competition, spanning over a few weeks in September.
All Seed Your Startup 2021 finalists will be asked to complete social asks to uplift the public portion of this competition. Tasks may include (but are not limited to): liking and uplifting social posts, submitting Instagram stories for promotion, and posting on personal social channels.
September 29, 2021.
Last Year's Winners
Each year, we challenge student entrepreneurs to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas and pursuits to the Western community. Our Seed You Startup 2020 finalists were a talented group of driven individuals.
We're proud to learn that last year's winners, AfterSell and Apricotton, have continued growing the businesses.
Where are they now? Click the buttons below to learn where their entrepreneurial careers have taken them.
Snapshot of Important Dates
Open
Applications open on March 15, 2021.
Close
Applications close on: April 11, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Winner
Winners will be determined on September 29, 2021.
Questions?
Our team at Morrissette Entrepreneurship is excited to offer this opportunity. Should you have any questions, feel free to send us a message.
Get in Touch!