PITCH YOUR BIZ MARKHAM 2021
I N F O R M A T I O N P A C K A G E
Presented by:
Markham Small Business Centre IBM Innovation Space – Markham Convergence Centre 3600 Steeles Ave E Markham, ON L3R 9Z7
905-477-7000 ext. 6722 msbc.markham.ca [email protected]
In partnership with: Sponsored by:
Updated 2021 -- alternate formats of this information package are available upon request PITCH YOUR BIZ MARKHAM 2021
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PITCH YOUR BIZ MARKHAM 2021
MISSION STATEMENT / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Markham and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade are committed to fostering and supporting the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of students and young adults of York Region.
The Markham Small Business Centre is administering Pitch Your Biz Markham 2021, in partnership with the Ontario Government, the City of Markham and other business sponsors The Competition is open to all High School, College or University students who reside in Markham, attend a school in Markham or attend Seneca College. The program will encourage the students to develop a business concept, undertake research to determine feasibility and create a pitch deck to share their work and plans.
The objective is to create opportunities for aspiring young entrepreneurs to experience the hard work required to research, plan and launch a business, and thus develop their entrepreneurial skills.
SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE CENTRES
The Markham Small Business Centre (MSBC) is part of a network of 57 Small Business Enterprise Centres operating throughout the Province of Ontario. The offices are partnerships of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade and the municipal governments. Their mandate is to provide assistance and support to small and medium-sized businesses in both their start-up and early growth stages; and to promote and encourage entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
KEY FEATURES
Objective
The main objective of the Pitch Your Biz Markham 2021 is to promote entrepreneurial spirit, skill and experience for young people in Markham.
Nominee(s)
The program is open to students in Grades 9-12 at any High School (including public, catholic and independent schools) of Markham. There is also a category for Post-Secondary students to compete.
The students can work alone or in a group (maximum 3 students).
Deadline
All submissions are to be received on or before May 23, 2021.
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Judging Panel
A panel of judges consisting of representatives from across will evaluate the submissions to determine the winners. The panel will include government representatives, members of the business and education communities and small business owners.
Evaluation of the submissions will be based on criteria outlined on the Judging Criteria as attached on Page 6.
Number of Awards
First Prize for High School level students: Gr 9 & 10 Pitch Deck, Gr 11& 12 Pitch Deck
First Prize for Post-Secondary students: Seneca First Prize – Post-Secondary Pitch Deck
The Video Pitch Award is open for all high school and post-secondary students.
Prize Structure
High School Students Post-Secondary Students Seneca First Prize (Pitch First Prize (Gr 9 & 10 Pitch Deck) $500/group $500/group Deck) First Prize (Gr 11 & 12 Pitch Deck) $500/group
All Students
Video Pitch Award $200/group
AWARDS CEREMONY
An Awards Ceremony, to be held in October 2021, will celebrate the successful students’ achievements. The Awards Ceremony will also include students who have completed the Summer Company Program, Mayor Frank Scarpitti, Councillors, MPs and MPPs along with extensive media coverage. (exact date to be determined)
Sponsors, representatives from the Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments, Pitch Your Biz Markham finalists and representatives from participating schools will be invited to the Awards Ceremony. Invitations will also be sent to teachers, family and friends of the finalists, as well as local business owners and associations.
Key dates
January 2021 – March 2021 Introduction of Competition to schools in Markham May 23, 2021 Application/Submission Deadline June 2021 Finalists Announced October 2021 Awards Ceremony
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Previous Prize Winners
2003 St. Robert Catholic High School 2004 Town Centre Montessori Private Schools Middlefield Collegiate Institute Thornhill Secondary School St. Augustine Catholic High School Markham District High School 2005 St. Brother André Catholic High School 2006 St. Brother André Catholic High School St. Augustine Catholic High School St. Augustine Catholic High School Thornhill Secondary School Markville Secondary School 2007 St. Brother André Catholic High School 2008 St. Brother André Catholic High School Markham District High School Thornlea Secondary School 2009 Markham District High School 2010 Markham District High School St. Brother André Catholic High School St. Brother André Catholic High School Thornlea Secondary School 2011 St. Augustine Catholic High School 2012 Unionville High School St. Brother André Catholic High School Markham District High School Thornlea Secondary School Markville Secondary School 2013 Markville Secondary School 2014 Markham District High School Bur Oak Secondary School St. Robert Catholic High School Markham District High School Unionville High School Pierre Elliot Trudeau High School Wilfred Laurier University 2015 Markham District High School 2016 Unionville High School Bill Crothers Secondary School Brother Andre CHS Bur Oak Secondary School Seneca College University of Waterloo 2017 Markham District High School 2018 Markham District High School Bill Crothers Secondary School St. Robert Catholic High School Markville Secondary School Markville Secondary School Bur Oak Secondary School Queen’s University Schulich School of Business Seneca College 2019 Unionville High School 2020 Markham District High School Bur Oak Secondary School Miliken Mills High School Markville Secondary School Markville Secondary School University of Waterloo Unionville High School Wilfrid Laurier Western University
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ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
High School applicants must be enrolled full-time in a Secondary School, or equivalent (i.e., alternative schools, home schooled, etc.), in Markham; and/or a resident of Markham. Applicants who are doing High School Equivalency (i.e., returning “mature students”) and/or are enrolled by correspondence are ineligible to enter Post-Secondary students must be enrolled full-time or part-time at Seneca College. Students from any other post-secondary institution can participate, so long as they are a resident of Markham. Students may choose to submit as an individual or as a group of a maximum of three students. At least one of the team members must be a resident in Markham (whether High School, College, or University) or attending a Markham school or attending Seneca College. All submissions must involve a business idea that is wholly original and based on the independent thinking of the applicant(s). Duplicating or copying an already existing/recognized business or franchise will not be allowed. Submissions for a not-for-profit idea are not eligible for this competition. Students who have entered a non-winning submission previously, may revise and resubmit it. The submission cannot have won any awards in the previous competitions. Applicants are able to use the same plan for Summer Company as for the Pitch Your Biz, Markham Competition and vice-versa. The judges’ decision is final.
SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO PITCH OR PITCH DECK (OR BOTH!)
We encourage the use of the Pitch Deck template included in the Appendix or directly at the MaRS Start Up Toolkit link which follows Guy Kawasaki’s Pitch Deck template: https://learn.marsdd.com/article/how-to-create-a-pitch-deck-for-investors/ (Scoring and structure will follow this template) Submissions must use Google Slides or PowerPoint to be accepted. Use the “notes” function in your Pitch Deck and attach appendices to include details that might not have space to appear on the actual slide. This will help the judges better understand the details behind your pitch while keeping your deck clean and succinct. You are also encouraged to follow the Video Pitch tips that are in the appendix of this document. The winning video should be less than 3 minutes, have a clear and realistic description of the business idea, clear identification of the target market; demonstrate a creative and interesting message and use of branding (e.g; company name, logo, tag lines). Judges will also look at effective use of video techniques, clarity in tone of message, convincing sales pitch and a compelling call to action.
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Submissions are to be sent in my email on or before May 23, 2021 to [email protected] All submission emails must include: o Business Plan Name o Student’s Name o School Name o Home Address o Teacher’s Name o Phone Number o Student’s Grade/Year o E-mail Address o Link to video pitch, if applicable o Note: Cover Page should indicate, “This submission is confidential.” o Video pitch submissions are sent via email with a link to a URL, the email must also include the above mentioned information.
JUDGING CRITERIA (VIDEO PITCH AND PITCH DECK)
Video Pitch Scoring Maximum Points
Under 3 Minutes in Length 3 Business, Student & Teacher Names in Video 2 Clear and Realistic Description of: - Business Idea/Description 5 - The Target Market/Marketing Plan 5 - Start Up Costs, Use of Funds, 5 Revenue Model and Projections Creativity and Interesting Message and Use of Branding 5 Clarity and Tone 5 Convincing Sales Pitch and Compelling Call to Action 5 Effective Use of Video Techniques/Production Quality 7 Overall Viability and Feasibility 8
Total Score /50
Pitch Deck Scoring Maximum Points
Title Page 2 Problem 7 Solution 7
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Business Model 10 Underlying Magic 10 Marketing and Sales 10 Competition 8 Management Team 5 Financial Projections and Key Metrics 10 Current Status, Accomplishments, Timeline, Use of Funds 8 Viability and Feasibility 8 Overall Continuity and Cohesiveness 5 Creativity and Innovation 5 Appendices (e.g – sample marketing materials, survey/feedback 5 results, product/prototype photos, resumes of founders, media coverage/awards, spreadsheets of financials)
Total Score /100
APPENDIX: PITCH DECK TEMPLATE & VIDEO PITCH TIPS
Guy Kawasaki’s pitch deck template as published in the MaRS Startup Toolkit - https://learn.marsdd.com/article/how-to-create-a-pitch-deck-for-investors/
Slide Content Comments Title Include your business’s The investor can read the slide—cut to the
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name, your name and title, chase and summarize what you do (for and contact information. example, we sell software, we protect the environment). Open simply with, “This is my company and this is what we do.” You want to get investors thinking about the potential for your company and the size of the market. Explain your investors the Avoid looking for a solution that is pain that you’re alleviating. searching for a problem. Minimize or Problem The goal is to get everyone eliminate citations of consulting studies nodding and buying in. about the future size of the market. Describe how you alleviate this pain and the meaning This is not the place for an in-depth that you make. Ensure that Solution technical explanation. Provide just the gist the audience clearly of how you fix the pain. understands what you sell and your value proposition. In general, a unique, untested business model is a scary proposition. If you truly Explain how you make have a revolutionary business model, money—who pays you, Business model explain it in terms of familiar ones. This is your channels of distribution your opportunity to drop the names of and your gross margins. organizations that are already using your product or service. Describe the technology, Aim for less text and more diagrams, secret sauce or magic schematics and flowcharts on this slide. Underlying magic behind your product or White papers and objective proofs of service. concepts are helpful here. Explain how you will reach Convince the audience that you have an Marketing and sales your customer and your effective go-to-market strategy that will not marketing leverage points. break the bank. Provide a complete view of Never dismiss your competition. the competitive landscape. Everyone—customers, investors and Competition Too much is better than too employees—wants to hear why you’re little. good, not why the competition is bad. Describe the key players on Do not be afraid to show up with less than a your management team, perfect team. All startups have holes in their Management team board of directors and team—what’s truly important is whether you board of advisors, as well understand that there are holes and you are as your major investors. willing to fix them. Provide a three- to five-year Do a bottom-up forecast. Include long sales forecast containing not only cycles and seasonality. Making people Financial projections dollars but also key metrics, understand the underlying assumptions of and key metrics such as number of your forecast is as important as the customers and conversion numbers you’ve fabricated. rate. Current status, Explain the current status of Share the details of your positive
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accomplishments to your product or service, momentum and traction. Then use this slide date, timeline and use what the near future looks to close with a bias toward action. of funds like and how you’ll use the money you’re trying to raise.
Video Pitch Tips
1. Lighting Ensure that the room is well-lit. Take sample videos and play them back so you can see how it looks. Avoid the light source coming from behind you.
2. Sound As with lighting, test your sound and play it back. The microphone from the camera will, not only pick up your voice, but the noise around you. Alternatively, if the room is quite empty, the sound may be echoey. By testing before filming your pitch, you will save time in the end!
3. Background Simple is better. Find a space that doesn’t have anything in the background that can be distracting. You want all eyes on you, not the room!
4. Neat Look critically at the space where you are filming and make sure it’s neat and clean. Clutter looks unprofessional.
5. Steady On If you can, use a tripod to record your video. Hands tend to become shaky. Don’t have one? Don’t worry! You can try stacking some books and creating your own tripod.
6. Time Your video pitch should be no more than 3 minutes. As you view your takes, pay attention to the time. You may have to edit down your pitch if you are going over 3 minutes.
7. If at first you don’t succeed… Don’t be afraid to reshoot your pitch! The professionals often do numerous “takes” to ensure that all the above elements are working together! After each take, look at the video and see what went well and what can be improved.