New startup competition offers $20,000 in seed funding

NEW GLASGOW, N.S. — A new startup competition launched this week in Pictou County with $20,000 up for grabs for local startups.

The goal of this competition is to find and support high-potential, early stage companies, and encourage entrepreneurial activity in the region.

Jim Fitt said he was inspired to create this Pictou County-focused competition after being a judge for the provincial Spark Innovation Challenge. He said he was surprised to find out that there were no entrants — at least that he is aware of — from Pictou County.

So he approached Innovacorp and ACOA to see if they would support the contest and was happy when they agreed to provide the funding.

The first ever XLR8R (accelerator) Startup Competition features two awards: one IT related and one not IT. This countywide competition for early stage companies offers two chances to win $10,000 and guidance from seasoned business professionals to put their idea into action.

“This is a great opportunity to advance an idea to the next stage,” said Fitt, competition coordinator. “The hope is to remind ourselves that our community was built by entrepreneurs and if we are to expect more economic growth, we have to get back to celebrating and supporting our entrepreneurs.”

To be eligible for this competition entrants must be a startup based in Pictou County with a new product or service and zero sales revenue since inception. Entrants must also be the majority owner(s) (51 per cent or more) of the startup. XLR8R is accepting applications until March 21.

For more information, visit XLR8R’s website located at http://www.xlr8r.ca.