KENORA — Calling all entrepreneurs: the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre is now accepting submissions for its third annual Pitch IT competition.
The competition is open to business owners in the Kenora and Rainy River districts with an idea for a special business project, start-up or expansion.
Just over $10,000 has been raised for the competition’s prizes, making it “one of the largest pitching events in all of northern Ontario,” said Corey Jones, the Innovation Centre’s senior business advisor. The first-place winner will take home $5,000, second place will receive $3,000, and the remaining $2,000 will go to the “people’s choice.”
“We encourage everyone that's participating in the event, friends and family of those that are participating in the event and regional stakeholders to go in and vote for whoever they think is deserving of that people's choice prize,” said Jones. “The goal there is really to get communities and get people involved in the events as much as possible.”
The competition has numerous sponsors and is hosted in partnership with the Northern Ontario Angels, an accredited angel investor group, and the Northwest Business Centre. Once the submission deadline passes, a review committee will pick five finalists to give their pitches in front of a panel of judges virtually on April 25.
Last year, Vic Moss took home the first-place prize for her idea to expand her business, Mosswood Adventures, an eco-tourism and rental service based in Kenora. She had only just started her business that winter when her friends began to encourage her to submit a pitch to the NWO Innovation Centre’s competition.
“I just came off a very busy winter season and wasn't quite sure if I wanted to expand right away,” said Moss. “People really said it would be a good idea, and I thought well I might as well try.”
At the time, Mosswood Adventures was a winter-based mobile operation, so Moss pitched the idea of securing a permanent location to begin offering summer experiences and rentals, making her business a year-round staple in the process.
Having since won the Pitch IT competition, Mosswood Adventures is now stationed on the shores of Rabbit Lake, and Moss has branched out into more than just equipment rentals to everything from beach chairs, umbrellas, sand toys, and even a snack tent.
She said that coming off of last summer’s expansion and another busy winter season, Moss will continue trying her best to get people out and into nature with Mosswood Adventures.
Both Moss and Jones from the NWO Innovation Centre stress how “straightforward” the submission process is and encourage anyone who is interested to submit a pitch. The judging panel will be announced on the competition’s webpage after the submission deadline on March 25.
Visit www.nwopitchit.ca to submit a pitch today.
Kenora Miner and News / Local Journalism Initiative
