$100k Best of the Fest Investment Prize

The $100k Best of the Fest Investment Prize has always been the most coveted prize at Startupfest, where hundreds of founders pitch for the chance to be crowned "Best of the Fest". We bring together a fantastic team of angel investors, relevant startup mentors, and legal experts to award one startup with a $100k investment in the form of a convertible note.
 
This year, the audience will also get to see the pitches of the top 3 “Best of the Fest” finalists while the judges deliberate on who’s walking away with not only a minimum $100k investment, but access to a network of strategic partners and, of course, the highly sought after Best of the Fest trophy and title.
 

 

Eligibility Criteria

This prize is open to ANY startup registered and at the event – There is no application process, no form to fill out and no video to submit. All you need to do is register for and attend Startupfest, and be ready to pitch to our esteemed Investor Judges.

 

The Process

Pitching
Your goal is to get at least one Investor Judge to shortlist your startup during the first two days of the event.
  • Pitch your startup to the Investor Judges at the $100k Best of the Fest Investment Prize space in The Startupfest Village.
  • If you connect with a judge elsewhere onsite, you can ask to pitch to them on the spot! Connect with as many judges as possible; it only takes one to make the shortlist.
  • Judges will be wearing an Investor Judge badge and a green lanyard to pitch onsite. Avoid pitching in bathrooms, but anywhere else is fair game!
  • Your pitch needs to be no more than 1 minute but be prepared for questions from the Investor Judges.
 
The Shortlist Process
  • Each Investor Judge will submit their chosen startup to the shortlist by Thursday afternoon, July 10th. Shortlisted startups will be contacted by a Startupfest team member.
  • The evening of Thursday July 10th and morning of July 11th shortlisted startups will be invited to a pitch and preparation session with select prize mentors. These mentors will help prepare startups for the finals.
  • 10 startups will be named as phase 1 finalists. After additional pitches of these 10 startups 3 will be selected for phase 2 of the finals. 
 
The Finalist Process
  • On Friday, July 11th, phase 2 finalists will have 1 minute to pitch their companies on the main stage to the audience. This is followed by a Q&A with the Investor Judges.
  • The winner of the $100k Best of the Fest Investment Prize will be announced at the closing ceremonies on Friday afternoon.

 

Prize Details

The Best of the Fest prize is an investment from up to 10 angel investors. Our default terms are based on an industry-standard SAFE agreement (for reference, please see this standard SAFE agreement) The winning startup will sign the SAFE agreement with each of the investors individually. The investors are willing to create a voting trust, if and when the SAFE agreement converts to equity.

Think these terms shouldn’t apply to you? Need a tweak? We can discuss that. Not sure how to tweak? Don’t worry that is why we have mentorship and legal support for all finalists. While we adopt industry standard agreements for the sake of simplicity, the judges are willing to discuss alternate terms proposed by shortlisted startups during their meeting.

2024 Judges

Gary Pudles

Gary A. Pudles, a prolific "serial entrepreneur," excels in optimizing organizational success while fostering enjoyment. As Founder and CEO of AnswerNet and co-founder of TextGen, SA Billing, Splendtastic, and Subout, Pudles has earned numerous accolades, including the SmartCEO Best-Run Companies award and "Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year." His leadership propelled AnswerNet to the 21st spot on the Inc. 500 list. Additionally, Pudles shares his expertise as an Entrepreneurship lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, emphasizing tailored approaches to enhance efficiency and profitability.

Heather Adelson

Ms. Adelson, with 30 years of investing experience, has made over 15 angel investments in the past 8 years, spanning various industries in Quebec's startup ecosystem. Armed with a Commerce degree from McGill, she leverages her expertise in finance, strategy, and business behavior in every deal she pursues. Continuously updating her knowledge, she attends trade conferences, reviews business plans, and engages with professional advisors to refine her analytical skills. Active on numerous boards, she extends her influence into both for-profit and non-profit sectors, while her philanthropic efforts have earned her several prestigious awards, recognizing her invaluable societal contributions.

Anne Martel

Anne Martel, a serial entrepreneur, co-founded Element AI, acquired by ServiceNow, overseeing key operational functions. With a background in medical device manufacturing, she holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. Engaged in Montreal's entrepreneurial scene, she serves as a spokesperson, investor, and board member for various organizations, including OSMO Foundation and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation.

Cary Goldwax

With over 25 years of experience, Cary, now a seasoned Judge at the festival, has worn many hats including Angel Investor, C-Level Executive, Board Member, and Mentor in accelerator programs. Following the successful exit of Coradiant, a Web APM company he co-founded, Cary has spearheaded numerous prosperous ventures, currently serving as COO of IONODES, a company revolutionizing AI and cloud camera technology. With over $300 million in exits, Cary advocates for elevating Canada's tech presence globally, showcasing his commitment to fostering innovation and growth in the industry.

Jason Van Gaal

Jason van Gaal is a 37 year old, 5-time, exited, serial entrepreneur who has a thirst for knowledge, loves complex problems and inspiring others. Current areas of focus include: -Helping other Canadian entrepreneurs scale their companies to unicorn status -Making a disproportionately large contribution towards solving global warming through his family office 0MC -Macro economic forecasting.

Anouk Robillard

Anouk has 25+ years’ experience in helping companies strategically grow. In the industry, she is seen as a growth catalyst involved in strategy, corporate development, product innovation, new markets, new business models, M&A, strategic partnerships, and digital transformation. She started her career in investment banking (both in Canada and Europe), then joined Aeroplan/Aimia, Accenture and BDC. She has a special interest and knowledge for every Xtech sector, mainly fintech, healthtech, cleantech, IoT and AI. She is also an Angel investor since 2019 and sits on Boards of SMEs. She brings strategy (growth vision), operations (implementation) and economic model in support of entrepreneurs.

Julia Goldberger

This Startupfest holds special significance for Julia, completing a full circle from her previous role as a stage manager at our 2019 event to her upcoming debut as a judge for this year’s Best of the Fest investment prize. Julia holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary has spent the past few years working for Amazon as a Sustainability PM for their North America Customer Fulfilment network, driving Amazon buildings to be fully electric, utilize industry leading energy efficiency technologies, be powered by renewable energy (solar, battery, microgrid), and reduce embodied carbon in the building’s construction materials and equipment. Julia has recently relocated to sunny Los Angeles, CA and is now managing Preconstruction for Amazon’s Emerging Country fulfilment network in Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Singapore. Julia has been consulting on the operations side on DTC/SaaS startups and looks forward to meeting the companies joining the fest this July!

Lexi Kaplin

Lexi is a founder turned investor, currently serving as a Venture Partner with Pender while actively making angel investments. With a robust background in entrepreneurship, Lexi leverages this experience to identify and support promising startups. As the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of conversationHEALTH, Lexi spearheaded the development of an AI-driven platform that revolutionized engagement between healthcare companies and their customers. Their immense growth attracted the attention of Real Chemistry, leading to the acquisition of conversationHEALTH in April 2022. Before this milestone, Lexi started her entrepreneurial journey while studying engineering at Queen’s University, where she founded her first company and joined DDQIC and the Next 36 to engage with Canada’s top entrepreneurs. As a young leader, Lexi has learned how to assert her passion, unique expertise, and foresight to successfully initiate digital transformation initiatives in an industry that might just be the slowest to embrace change.

Ian Jeffrey

An entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience launching and scaling businesses in Montreal and Silicon Valley, Ian grew up watching his father, an insurance advisor, and understood from an early age the power these products could have. He never thought he would get into insurance, but now, as a father of 2 young boys, he is driven by having a positive impact in people’s lives. He was formerly VP Product Marketing at PasswordBox and took on the role of General Manager after the acquisition by Intel. He has played a key role in the launch of several startups and Co-Founded FounderFuel, Canada’s leading startup accelerator, as well as MTLinTech, Montreal’s voice of the startup community.

Felicity Meyer

Felicity Meyer is the Investment Manager for Climate + Foodtech at BoxOne Ventures, a Montreal-based early-stage venture capital firm with investments across biotech, AI/ML, climate, life sciences, food/ag, and beyond.

Felicity blends her hands-on operator experience and research background in life cycle assessment to support BoxOne's cleantech portfolio, which spans energy storage, alt-proteins, and synthetic biology. Before turning towards investing, she ran operations at Boston's fastest growing biotech accelerator and R&D at two early stage startups. During her graduate studies, Felicity was a McGill Sustainability Education Fellow and Fonds de recherche du Quebec Grad2VC Fellow. Today, she is a mentor for Simmons University's NASA Funded DREAM-WSTEM program, which aims to strengthen opportunities for underrepresented women pursuing STEM careers. Felicity holds an M.S. in Bioresource Engineering from McGill University and dual B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Physics from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts.