Twenty Edmonton companies are preparing to pitch on Oct. 7 for the opportunity to be a finalist at this fall's Startup TNT Investment Summit IV. At least one business will receive a minimum of $150,000 from participating angel investors following the Nov. 18 summit.
The top 20 includes modern shipping company Fly & Fetch; RocketFire Labs, which connects amateur and professional Esports athletes; and Rogue7, which provides digital assistants to industrial control rooms.
"When we compare this applicant cohort to the first summit we ran nearly two years ago now, we have overwhelming evidence that both the quantity and quality of startups is increasing in our ecosystem," Zack Storms, co-founder of Startup TNT, told Taproot.
"We're extremely excited to see many companies that have participated previously reapply with updates and new accomplishments to share. Our top 20 also includes many of the startups participating in Startup Edmonton's Launch Party 12."
The city's current investment of about $30 million per year to support small businesses appears to be paying off and, according to the Taproot Survey, the majority of city council and mayoral candidates say it should dedicate even more resources to nurturing homegrown businesses. Meanwhile, 12 candidates indicated the measures in place are effective, and 11 said the city should put more resources into attracting global businesses.
Shelvie Fernan and Victoria Celi of Fly & Fetch pitched at Startup TNT's first event in January 2020 and are back to pitch in the top 20 again. (Steven Csorba)
Startup TNT received more than 100 applications for the summit and has signed on more than 80 investors to participate surpassing its previous events.
The event kicks off at 4:30pm on Oct. 7, with each company getting three minutes to pitch. It will be live on Zoom or YouTube, with an Edmonton after-party at Polar Park Brewing. Concurrent events will also feature Calgary and Saskatchewan startups.