Vancouver Startups Pitch For $85,000 Prize

GrowLab | BCBusiness
Local startup Change Heroes won the July 29 competition.

A for-profit online crowd funding platform wins a contest for local technology companies


Nine local startups gave three minute pitches at the event held July 29 and hosted by insitute B in hopes of winning a prize package and a spot in Startup World‘s global contest. 

For-profit B.C. companies no more than two years old that had raised under USD$1 million  were eligible to take part in the 19th edition of Startup World, a competition for young companies previously held in Mexico City, São Paulo, Berlin and San Francisco.

Change Heroes, a for-profit online crowdfunding platform for non-for-profit projects, netted the prize valued at more than $80,000. The company allows participants to fundraise for charitable projects abroad with their friends and family, while skimming an 8.9-per-cent fee.

The judging panel included Neda Amidi (Investment analyst, Plug and Play Ventures); Saeed Amidi (CEO, Plug and Play Ventures); Tommy Lee Lewis (Technical Evangelist, Microsoft); and Boris Mann (Managing Partner, Full Stack). 

The winner gets gets a spot in a three-month incubation program at i/o ventures, one year of Rackspace hosting and a subsidized trip to San Francisco to compete against other winning companies from around the world in the Startup World Grand Final.

The nine local finalists included:

ienextweb
Cognilab
DomaStay
Playdeal
Change Heroes
Presantate
Kurate Style
Thinkific