Entrepreneurs are on alert: This spring, the 2017 Fundica Roadshow is touring Canadian cities. The top prize? A $1 million investment award provided by First Stone Venture Partners.
Now in its fifth year, the Fundica Roadshow offers early-stage innovators from across Canada the opportunity to pitch their startup to a panel of angels, VCs, banks, and government organizations. This year, the tour will stop in 10 different cities from Halifax to Victoria, and each of the city stop winners will be invited to the Grand Finale, where the $1 million investment will be awarded.
Who Is Behind the Roadshow
Fundica is a Montreal company that started out in 2011 as an online tool to help startups and small businesses find funding. According to its Wikipedia entry, it began as a part-time community project to make government funding easier to find, first for Quebec businesses and then for companies across Canada. Its search platform covers grants, tax credits, loans, equity programs and venture capital, and it’s been described as “a sort of eHarmony of the funding world.”
The roadshow grew out of that same matchmaking idea. Fundica ran the first one in 2013, and over the following years it visited cities including Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Waterloo, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria and San Francisco. At each stop, founders gave closed-room pitches to a panel of funders and mentors, sat in on workshops about funding, and met investors at an evening networking session.
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To pitch, a company needed a technology component, had to be incorporated in Canada, and had to be at the seed or growth stage with expected revenue growth of more than 50%. The feedback alone was part of the draw: founders got candid comments on their pitch and business model from people who make funding decisions for a living.
Why a $1 Million Prize Matters
For an early-stage startup, $1 million is a serious sum. Many Canadian founders at that point are still working with money from friends, family or small angel cheques, so a single investment of that size can pay for a year or more of hiring and product work.
Pairing the prize with a venture firm also changes what the roadshow is. It’s not just a pitch contest with a trophy: a real investor is watching every city stop and looking for companies it might back.
“First Stone is delighted to now be officially working with Fundica in the cross-Canada search for investment-worthy Canadian startups. Consistently we see highly credible prospects presenting at the Fundica Roadshow,” said Margo Langford, an FSVP partner and company recruiter.
The first three 2017 Fundica Roadshow stops will be in Toronto on February 28, Montreal on March 16, and Ottawa on March 24. For more information, click here.
Who Won the $1 Million
The prize didn’t go to just one startup in the end. In June 2017, BetaKit reported that the judges had named two winners, which the rules allowed in the case of a split decision. Toronto-based Quote Kong, which automates the quoting process for contractors, and Vini, an app for ordering and selling wine, split the $1 million award in half.
Other finalists included FLODocs, reDock, UGRAN Drive Safe, Bartesian, GreyLitMatters, thisopenspace, Certn and YodelUP. BetaKit also reported that two more companies, Nobal Technologies and Lexop, drew investment interest from First Stone Venture Partners, subject to further due diligence. So the roadshow’s value to founders went beyond the headline prize.
What Happened to the Roadshow
The 2017 edition was a turning point. That year Fundica officially incorporated, changed its business model to focus on licensing its funding search technology, and reshaped the roadshow into larger, theatre-style events in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
The competition continued for a while after that. In 2018, the roadshow returned with a new partner, Panache Ventures, which would consider investing a total of $500,000 in promising startups from the competition, with the final pitch session set for Montreal.
Fundica held the last roadshow in 2019. The company then dropped the annual event to concentrate on its software platform, its data and the AI behind its funding search. It went on to license that technology to government agencies, financial institutions and business advisors, with Desjardins among its visible partners, and in 2021 it expanded its database to cover government funding in the U.S.
What It Means for Founders
Pitch competitions come and go, but a few lessons from the Fundica model still hold. Treat a pitch event as a chance to get honest feedback from funders, not only as a shot at a prize. Read the rules closely, because details like a split prize can change what “winning” means. And remember that the investors in the room are often looking past the winner: a strong pitch that doesn’t take first place can still lead to a follow-up conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the top prize at the 2017 Fundica Roadshow?
The top prize was a $1 million investment award from First Stone Venture Partners. Winners from each of the 10 city stops were invited to a Grand Finale where the award would be presented.
Who won the 2017 Fundica Roadshow?
The judges named two winners, which the rules allowed in a split decision. Quote Kong, a Toronto startup that automates quoting for contractors, and Vini, a wine ordering and selling app, split the $1 million prize in half.
What is Fundica?
Fundica is a Montreal company founded in 2011 that runs an online platform matching startups and small businesses with funding sources such as grants, loans and venture capital. It ran the Fundica Roadshow from 2013 to 2019.
Who could pitch at the Fundica Roadshow?
Companies needed a technology component, had to be incorporated in Canada, and had to be at the seed or growth stage with expected revenue growth of more than 50%.
Does the Fundica Roadshow still run?
No. Fundica held the last roadshow in 2019 and then focused on its funding search software, which it licenses to government agencies, financial institutions and business advisors.