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    • Jun 10, 2021
    • 3 min read

Battle of the Pitch Decks Grand Finale 2021


Battle of the Pitch Decks Grand Finale 2021

The Battle of the Pitch Decks is an annual event hosted by Jordan Schley (Capital Investment Network) and Tessa Bousfield (VIATEC). Usually, this event takes place in person; however, with the current pandemic, it was held on zoom, and this time, the competition crossed regional borders and provincial ones too!


The Battle of the Pitch Decks took place in Vancouver, Whitehorse, Victoria, and the Okanagan. Each Startup had just 7 minutes to share their pitch deck with the virtual audience and panel of judges.



We heard pitches from:


The winner was decided by the end of the event, followed by panel feedback. 

Winners: 
March 11: Vancouver Winner - Lucent BioSciences
March 31: Whitehorse Winner - Proskida
April 21: Victoria Winner - LetHub 
May 5: Okanagan - Acterra Tech

The grand finale started with the CEO of Lucent BioSciences, Michael Riedikj. Lucent Biosciences is on a mission to address climate impact on global food security and nutrition with an innovative carbon-neutral fertilizer, Soileos, that regenerates the soil and delivers higher crop yields without runoff pollution. Soileos are made by upcycling by-products from the food processing industry, creating an entirely circular economy from crop to fertilizer. Extensive field trials in 2019 and 2020 have shown significant increases in yield and nutrient density in crops grown with Soileos compared with competitive products.


Next, we had Alastair Smith, the President and Co-founder of Proskida, a leader in sports performance software. Proskida gives coaches and athletics a faster path to better performance so they can beat their competitors. This software helps coaches and athletics understand the performance data they are most interested in. They can access their data efficiently and see where they lost or gained time, allowing them to achieve their goals quicker by training more effectively. Proskida currently has six national ski teams and two pro cycling teams using their software. They are currently actively selling in Europe and USD, with a monthly recurring revenue growing over 20%.


They were followed by Faizan Ali Khan, the Founder and CEO of LetHub. Faizan talked about how their AI-powered software is excellent for the rental property management industry. Their software rents out properties 10x faster than a leasing agent, increasing throughput and Net Operating Income. It improves lead management quality by filtering out renters that are less likely to respond and takes care of the whole scheduling process. For any investors looking to invest, LetHub is currently raising $500k for their pre-seed round.


Lastly, we had the winner from Okanagan, CEO of Acterra Tech, Marnie Lett, who is solving the problem of our agricultural soils failing. Acterra is the exclusive biostimulant co-marketed worldwide with the Bio-Agtive Method for crp production. While producers are seeding or spraying crops, they capture and solubilize biodiesel emissions and simultaneously apply the solution to soil or plant leaves, saving farmers up to $100/acre/year.

After careful consideration from the audience and the judges, Lucent Biosciences was not only the audience's favorite but the winner. Congratulations to Lucent Biosciences for taking home the bragging rights and The Battle of the Pitch Decks 2021 trophy. 


Audience Favorite:  Lucent Biosciences
Winner chosen by the Judges: Lucent Biosciences

Judges:

  • Erin Alexander (WEL Vancouver)

  • Steve Konishita (Start Yukon)

  • Carollynn Schafer (Accelerate Okanagan)

  • Pieter Dorsman (Angel Forum)

  • Robert Bennett (VIATEC)

  • Stephanie Andrews (Capital Investment Network)



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