Event Tech Startups Dominate Launch Academy’s Pitch Day
Vancouver’s Launch Academy held a science fair inspired Pitch Day last night in and showcased 21 up-and-coming startups to a sold out crowd of 250 people including investors, angels, VC’s, media, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals.
The evening kicked off with the two remaining Launch Academy’s Student Startup Challenge (SSC) finalists pitching head-to-head and Cognilab emeging the victor.
A total of 21 startups demoed science fair style showcasing their products at Launch Academy’s newly renovated 12,000 square foot headquarters.
Pitch Day attendees then voted for their top five favourite startups and once all all the votes were cast and counted, the top five startups then got the privilege to present their 5 minute pitch to a panel of five judges: Raseel Sehmi of HootSuite, Kim Kaplan of Plenty Of Fish, Amy Rae of VanEdge Capital, Andrew Jones of Garibaldi Capital Advisors, and Techvibes’ own Robert Lewis.
After the dust settled, the top five startups were:
- 1st Place: Tangoo – Songza for social dining and packaged night outs.
- 2nd Place: Pictatic – Crowdfunding and traditional ticketing platform for the events space.
- 3rd Place: Foro – A marketplace for students to buy, sell or exchange goods.
- Finalist: Venue Spot – an online marketplace where venues bid to host your event.
- Finalist: PlanetECG – Gamified training for healthcare professionals.
The winners got their choice of three prizes: 30 minutes with Superangel Mike Edwards, two tickets to a Canucks game, or a free pass to Launch Academy’s upcoming Lean Entrepreneur Program ($3,500 value).
Congrats to Launch Academy on another successful event. In just over a year the non-profit has grown from 12 desks in a shared office with GrowLab to being dubbed as “The Center for Entrepreneurship in Vancouver” and is home to Microsoft’s new Windows Apps Lab, Garibaldi Capital, Strutta, Perch, and more.
