Rules and FAQ for contestants – Le Moment Pitch 2024

FAQ

How many teams can compete in the competition?

A maximum of 8-10 teams will be allowed to enter the competition, depending on the average team size and the total number of individual participants.

How many people can be on my team?

Please note: we strongly encourage each team to have a total of 3 or 4 members.

However, your team may have one to four (4) members total.

Who is eligible to compete in this competition?

This competition is open to all* post-secondary students (college/CEGEP or university), recent graduates of post-secondary academic institutions (5 years or less following the most recent date of graduation), and young/emerging professionals aged 18-35.

*Note: Current leadership team and staff members of any ACSioN Canada administrative unit are not eligible to be contestants in this competition.

Do I have to be Afro-descendent/Black to participate?

Not necessarily – however, each team must have a minimum of 50% (in this case, 2 or more) of its members who self-identify and generally present themselves as being of African descent or Black.

Why?

The overall purpose of this competition is to encourage and center the experiences and perspectives of Afro-descendent young adults as they explore the world of entrepreneurship. Though 100% Afro-descendent teams are absolutely welcome and are highly encouraged, ACSioN has also permitted team compositions where less than 100% of members are of African descent in order to reflect the wide range of contexts in the Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem.

How do I sign up?

To sign up, all participants must be registered for the competition finals, set for Friday, February 2nd 2024. Register now!

How do we communicate with the organizers and fellow team members?

Duly-registered contestants will receive an email invitation to join ACSioN on the Slack instant messaging platform.

Several key details for contestants will be communicated via Slack only.

To remain eligible to participate, all contestants must be connected, visible, and reachable on Slack throughout the competition and immediately afterward.

When is the deadline to complete my team?

NOTE: DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED BY 24 HOURS

New deadline: Thursday, February 1st, 2024 at 6:00pm EST is the deadline to have all your team members registered for the competition AND connected to Slack.

Will there be a chance to ask questions and learn more about this competition before the deadline?

Yes! There will be at least one virtual pitch prep session, held on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm via Slack.

Bring all your questions!

Just remember to sign up as a contestant first!

How will I confirm who's on my team?

Once you’ve decided who will be on your team, one of your team members must:

1. Make a post with your team’s name including tags of all the team members’ names in the “Le Moment Pitch 2024” competition channel on Slack.
And that’s it! 😄

Please note that only those who have registered for the “Le Moment Pitch 2024 Conference & Finals” event will be eligible to form teams.

What if I don't have enough people on my team?

Don’t stress – competitors who don’t have a full team yet are STRONGLY encouraged to connect with each other and join forces! 🤝🏿✨💪🏿

Remember, this is just a PITCH competition 🏆 – so it’s absolutely wonderful if you continue working together with your team members after the competition, but it’s absolutely not required!

Who needs to be there on the day of the competition final?

All members of each team must be present on the day of the competition final. Any team with less than 100% of its members present during the pitch competition final on Friday, February 2nd 2024 will be automatically disqualified, barring extenuating circumstances.

How will we identify ourselves?

All team members must bring one piece of photo identification on the day of the competition final.

Accepted forms of identification include:
1. Valid student IDs with photo;
2. Any valid government photo ID.

What time does my team need to be there?

All teams must be present with all their members at 11:00am on the day of the competition final.

When does my team's pitch deck need to be ready?

All pitch decks must also be ready by 11:00am on Friday, February 2nd 2024. There are no guarantees regarding the acceptance of last-minute adjustments to the pitch decks after this time.

What's the format of the pitch deck?

Your pitch deck must be composed of individual slides in PowerPoint or PDF format, and must be uploaded to the Google Drive folder which will be posted on Slack for this purpose.

What language do I have to use for the pitch?

Your visual pitch deck as well as your verbal pitch presentation may be delivered in either French or English, as you wish.

Will my team be able to rehearse on-site on the day of the final?

Yes! Spaces will be provided for teams to rehearse their pitches between 11am-2pm.
Lunch will be provided.

What time will the actual pitch final session happen?

Pitching will start promptly at 2:30pm and will generally run until 4pm, or until all teams have completed their pitches and responded to the judges’ questions.

When exactly will it be my team's turn to make a pitch?

The precise order of the team pitches will be determined on the day of the competition final, based on the number of teams present.

How long does our pitch have to be?

Your pitch presentation must be no more than 5 minutes! (Aim for 4 minutes 30 seconds, and you’ll be in good shape! 😉)

Immediately after each team’s pitch presentation, judges will engage the team for an additional 5 minutes of questions which team members will have the opportunity to answer.

Who can deliver the pitch?

Any member(s) of a team can deliver their team’s pitch. Yes, it can be multiple members – just make sure you don’t run out of time! (The more people who speak, the less time you will generally have overall unless your transitions between speakers are extremely tight, so 1 or 2 people is ideal.)

Can I deliver my pitch remotely?

NO. Only in-person pitches will be permitted.

Who will the judges be?

Judges will be members of the professional community and partner organizations, as well as ACSioN! The judges will be introduced by name at the start of the competition.

What kinds of business solutions can be pitched?

Pitches for business solutions in any sector are allowed.

However, all business solutions must be based in Canada, even those meant to also operate internationally.

What criteria will the judges use to evaluate the pitches?

Generally, the following rubric will be used to evaluate each pitch:

1. Creativity of the business solution presented.
2. Quality of the elocution during delivery of the verbal presentation.
3. Financial feasiblity of the business model.
4. Positive impact on the physical environment.
5. Positive impact on African-Canadian communities.
6. Ability for the business to create jobs.
7. Quality and thoroughness of the visual presentation deck.

What are the prizes?

The prizes are a monetary value in Canadian dollars. Generally, the more members a winning team has, the larger its overall prize will be.

First-place teams are eligible to win:
> 3 members or more: $5000.
> 2 members: $2500.
> 1 member: $1000.

Second-place teams are eligible to win:
> 3 members or more: $1500.
> 2 members: $1000.
> 1 member: $500.

Why are the prizes set up like this?

We want to strongly encourage the formation of solid entrepreneurial teams (composed of 3 members or more), while still enabling the participation of one-person and two-person pitch teams who may not be able to find additional teammates.

If my team wins a prize, when and how will we receive it?

Monetary prizes will be split equally among all team members.

Complete delivery of any prize funds is generally expected to take a few weeks.

Following the event, ACSioN Canada will contact winning team members regarding the exact methods to be used for prize delivery.

Agreement and Code of Conduct for contestants

  1. I understand that my eligibility for and participation in this activity and event series (“Le Moment Pitch 2024”) which includes a business pitch competition – is at all times solely according to the pleasure and discretion of the organizer, the ACSioN Network of Canada.

     

  2. I understand and accept that it is my responsibility to fully review and stay up-to-date with the terms and conditions of participation in this activity and event series, including the frequently-asked questions page, as well as this agreement and code of conduct which may be updated at any time by the ACSioN Network of Canada.

     

  3. I will treat all the participants in this activity and event series with the utmost respect and consideration, including all other contestants, as well as the organizers of this activity and any of their duly-authorized representatives, partners and collaborators.

     

  4. Throughout my participation in this activity and event series, I agree to maintain timely communication with the event organizers and other necessary participants using the communication method(s) and platform(s) provided by the organizers.

     

  5. I agree that all the contributions that I will make to this activity and competition are solely my own.

     

  6. I understand that any failure to respect this agreement and observe this code of conduct may result in my being disqualified from the competition and/or asked to leave the activity immediately, at any time.

     

  7. I understand that I am not guaranteed to be awarded any specific prize or prizes as a result of my participation in this activity, and that the awarding of any prize is entirely up to the discretion of the ACSioN Network of Canada and/or its duly-authorized representatives.

     

  8. I agree to indemnify and hold harmless ACSioN Canada as well as any of its trustees, officers, directors, staff, partners, volunteers and event attendees from liability and claim for damages related to this activity.