The Desjardins Innovative Business Pitch Competition 2026

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Call for the Desjardins Innovative Business Pitch Competition is open now!!!

The Desjardins Startup Prize is U of T’s annual business pitch competition, offering over $100,000 in prizes to recognize, reward, and accelerate the most innovative startups. Ten finalists will be selected to pitch their business idea in the 2026 Desjardins Startup Prize Pitch Competition the week of March 2-6, as part of U of T Entrepreneurship Week. The shortlisted individuals or teams will compete by showcasing their startup via a five-minute pitch to a panel of investor judges.

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The competition includes two categories for startups: Early Stage and Later Stage, based on funding raised by the venture. Three prizes are offered for each stage and finalists will have the opportunity to win an additional $4,000 with the Dongjun Wang Family True Blue Prize (People’s Choice).

Early-Stage Prize:
This category is designed for newer ventures that have received less than $50,000 in cumulative funding or investment and less than $25,000 in cumulative revenue. The goal of this prize structure is to provide crucial seed capital to help launch and validate early-stage ideas. In this category, the first-place winner receives $15,000 CAD, the second-place winner receives $10,000 CAD, and the third-place winner receives $5,000 CAD. Additionally, there is an opportunity to win an extra $4,000 CAD with the audience-voted People’s Choice Award.

Later-Stage Prize:
This category targets more developed ventures that have demonstrated traction and are ready to scale. These startups must have secured between $50,000 and $250,000 in cumulative funding or investment and less than $100,000 in cumulative revenue. The larger prize amounts in this division are intended to provide significant growth capital for scaling the business. Specifically, the first-place winner receives $40,000 CAD, the second-place winner receives $20,000 CAD, and the third-place winner receives $10,000 CAD. Like the Early-Stage, this category also features an additional $4,000 CAD for the People’s Choice Award winner.

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Startups are rigorously evaluated by a panel of investor judges at both the application review stage and the final pitch competition. Ten finalists (five per category) are selected to present a five-minute pitch followed by a five-minute Q&A with the judges. The judges assess the venture across seven critical dimensions, focusing on market viability, innovation, and team strength. At both the entry and competition day stages, the panel of judges will be evaluating the startup based on:

• Problem Identification / Opportunity: A clearly articulated and compelling value proposition.
• Viability: Clear knowledge of the market and evidence of demand for the solution.
• Growth potential: Sustainable and scalable business model that can capture a significant market share and achieve substantial growth over time.
• Innovation: Unique solution, differentiated vs. competitors, including intellectual property considerations.
• Talent: Evaluation includes the strength, skills, and commitment of the founding team, as a strong team is seen as essential for navigating challenges and executing the business plan.
• Communication skills: An effective and persuasive overall Executive Summary and pitch presentation.
• Strategy & Financial Plan: The pitch must clearly detail the company’s outline how the prize money will be strategically used to achieve the next major milestone.