East Coast Startups Pitching Investors In Moncton Next Week
MONCTON–On September 22 Atlantic Canada’s startup accelerator Propel ICT will host Demo Day, an event that showcases its top startups to an audience of potential investors, partners and customers. It’s being held at the Capital Theatre in Moncton.
Though Demo Day presentations are relatively short – the twelve companies presenting this year will have three minutes each – they have to pack a lot of punch into that short period of time.
This year the audience will include a Who’s Who of investors from across the region, including Jeff Grammer from RHO Canada Ventures, Patrick Keefe and Rob Barbara from Build Ventures, Gerry Pond from East Valley Ventures, Nicole LeBlanc from BDC, Dawn Umlah and Andrew Ray from Innovacorp, as well representatives from Pelorus and NBIF.
So with so many VCs and angel investors in attendance, is Demo Day one big “Cinderella Story” for startups?
According to Propel ICT’s Vice President Gillian McCrae, it’s the beginning of a lot more hard work.
“After Demo Day, these companies work on execution and get ready to go to market,” she says.
“Propel’s Team will continue to offer a lot of help and targeted support throughout their journey. This year our plan includes post-programming for Alumni. We want to give them the fundamentals to help them take their business to market, or in some cases expanding their current markets.“
McCrae says that what companies need after Demo Day is dependent on what they have behind them.
“For Build companies investor readiness is key as they have already proven customers, traction and have a viable product. Most companies in Launch still need to get those things in place, so that’s where our support is geared for our Launch alumni.”
Companies are selected for attendance based on the commitment they’ve demonstrated to their business throughout their time in the accelerator program. Propel ICT’s accelerator programs also involve smaller, local Demo Days with performance at this event being another key factor in determining which companies will attend the Moncton event. The ability to take their product to market is also key to being chosen.
With all participants coming from Propel’s programs, it’s a competitive process: the Build program has a single cohort of six companies for all of Atlantic Canada, all of whom will be presenting this year. Launch, on the other hand, takes place simultaneously in Halifax, Fredericton and St. John’s – meaning only a few companies from Launch are invited to Demo Day.
New Brunswick is making a good showing in this year’s event, with five of the twelve companies presenting calling New Brunswick home. Ongozah, Simptek and SITEFLO from the Build program will present, and Ella and Liv9 will represent the province from Launch.
Anyone can register to attend Demo Day, but if you can’t make it to this year’s event you can watch it in a live stream webcast being run by Startup Kitchen here.