The 2024 New Ventures BC Competition, presented by Innovate BC, is right around the corner. Each year, more than 200 startups enter the fray to access mentorship, education, and validation of being named the province’s top startup.
Last year, RetreatsAndVenues, Browse AI, and Blanka finished as our top 3 startups, showcasing the diversity of companies, founders, and ideas that come through the competition. All three companies used the competition as a launching point and took what they learned to raise capital, add talent, and scale their companies.
“Last year was an epic experience,” said Cory Sivell, the CEO of 2023 winner RetreatsAndVenues, who noted the connection and camaraderie between the founders as one of his biggest takeaways from the competition.
Many startups enter the competition to gain guidance on how to navigate the early days of their business. Other startups — like Browse AI — took advantage of the mentorship and connections to help them scale their company as they tripled their headcount over the last 12 months.
Blanka, who took home the $35,000 Innovate BC Third-Place Prize, had a similar experience to past participants, citing the community and network as the biggest benefit of the competition.
“Hands down, the most valuable benefit for Blanka and our team has been the sense of community fostered by the competition,” noted Blanka’s CEO, Kaylee Lieffers. “It’s a tight-knit ecosystem here in Vancouver, where mentorship isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a real, tangible thing”
We sat down with Cory, Kaylee, and Browse AI’s CEO, Ardy Naghshineh to learn more about their competition experience and get their top tips and advice for startups entering the 2024 Competition.
About the founders
Cory Sivell: Co-Founder & CEO of RetreatsandVenues
Ardy Naghshineh, CEO & Founder of Browse.Ai
Kaylee Astle: Co-founder & CEO of Blanka
Tell us about your competition experience last year.
Cory: Last year was an epic experience. We met so many great investors, founders, mentors and advisors who will be lifelong friends.In particular, Angie and her team were amazing at supporting us and cheering us on!
Ardy: This was our first experience participating in a startup competition. We weren’t thinking about winning. Instead, we were trying to make connections and receive feedback and advice from the community. This whole experience turned out to be much more helpful than we anticipated. For example, the competition wasn’t even finished yet when one of the judges, Mehrsa, introduced us to Marjan who is now our COO. We have made invaluable connections and also received recognition that has greatly helped us with scaling and recruiting local talent. We are proud to be part of this supportive community and ecosystem.
Kaylee: Participating in the New Ventures BC competition last year was an incredible journey for us. While it definitely required a lot of effort, the experience was really rewarding. At each step of the competition, we found ourselves gaining valuable insights and connections, thanks to the feedback from experienced judges who really knew their stuff.
We approached the competition with a serious mindset (we were in it to win it!), but also made sure to enjoy the process. Securing a spot in the top 3 was a fantastic achievement, but what really mattered was what we gained along the way – a solid business plan and a pitch deck that we continue to use and refer back to.
The competition offers a wide range of support, including mentorship, new connections, brand awareness, and access to a community of fellow founders (just to name a few!). What was the most valuable benefit for your startup?
Cory: The most valuable part of the competition was meeting other founders who are at a similar stage as us. The thing that is exciting to me about that is helping each other reach our goals and dreams. There are so many opportunities to help each other by providing intros to potential investors, exchanging ideas, and just connecting to support each other. This sort of dynamic is invaluable. Big shout out to the Blanka, Browse.AI, and Ginger Desk founders who we have been able to connect with outside the competition and help each other out.
Ardy: The entire experience was truly valuable for us. If we had to choose, the most valuable benefit came from the connections we made with the judges, mentors, and the people they introduced us to. The prizes and the recognition have also been quite helpful for scaling.
Kaylee: Hands down, the most valuable benefit for Blanka and our team has been the sense of community fostered by the competition. It’s a tight-knit ecosystem here in Vancouver, where mentorship isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a real, tangible thing. Whether it’s someone making key introductions or sending potential customers our way, the support we’ve received has been super helpful.
Additionally, the boost in brand awareness has been phenomenal, especially as we’ve been actively recruiting for various roles locally. However, what truly stands out are the relationships we’ve formed with fellow founders. I’ve developed close bonds with several other participants in the competition – in fact, a few of us were recently up in Whistler together! I’m grateful to be building friendships with founders who understand the rollercoaster of running an early stage company.
It’s been about six months since the 2023 Competition ended. What have you been up to during that time?
Cory: We’ve been busy since the competition ended. We increased our headcount, hiring a CTO and three new customer success team members. We shipped new product features including improved filtering, in-app messaging, venue listing scores, and tools to make it easier for our corporate customers to compare venue options. We’ve met some amazing new mentors, advisors, and connections, including Ryan Holmes (Hootsuite), Matt Mickiewicz (founder of 99 Designs, Hired, and Flippa), Sharad Mohan (Trainerzie), Reza Sanie (Beanworks), Campbell McDonald (Proxi), Payesh Paramr (Gunkii), Praveen Varshney (Varshney Capital), Gabe Padva (Revenue Accelerator), Andrew Wilkinson (Tiny Capital) who have all gone out there way to help us out.
Lastly, we raised capital from world-class investors to fuel our growth, including Ryan Holmes at LOI who was one of my business idols growing up — it’s honestly a dream come true!
Ardy: In the six months following the competition, our focus has been on scaling and building new products. Transitioning from a small team of 10 to a team of 28 people over the last 12 months, we’ve been learning to navigate the challenges of scaling while staying agile and true to our mission. We’ve also been rebuilding and improving the existing product while building new products that are expected to significantly accelerate our growth. As we continue on this path of rapid growth, our focus remains on building products that shape the future of how millions of professionals across the world use information from the internet.
Kaylee: Since the competition ended, we’ve been in full growth mode. The past year was all about laying the groundwork for Blanka, from securing funding to hiring up a rockstar team and setting up essential infrastructure like our data and analytics platform. This year is all about growth, and we have some super exciting projects and partnerships we are working on.
There will be about 200 startups competing in this year’s competition. What advice do you have for the companies who will be looking to follow in your footsteps?
Cory: My main advice is use this as an opportunity to connect with as many other founders as possible in the competition. I would challenge other companies to view their competitors not as competition, but as team members who you can have great long lasting relationships with. Really think about this as your graduating class and think about five years from now when you will be connected with some of the smartest and brightest founders out there.
And most importantly, no matter how you place in the competition, you are amazing. There are so many companies who have not won the competition and still gone on to become very successful. Always work hard, find awesome mentors, advisors and investors who can guide you, and always follow your heart – it will lead you to where you need to go!
Ardy: If you’re entering the New Ventures BC competition (or any startup competition) here are some key tips that helped us succeed:
- Clearly define your value proposition and highlight what makes your startup unique and how you stand out from the competitors. Show that you’ve done your research about your market and customers.
- Craft a compelling, concise pitch that clearly communicates your idea, the market potential, and what gives you a competitive edge. Tell it like a story. Show your excitement and passion when you deliver it.
- Seek mentorship and feedback from advisors and people who’ve done it before to refine your business model and strategy. Approach every piece of feedback with an open mindset.
- Show evidence of your traction progress to demonstrate real-world validation. Even if you don’t have paying customers, have LOIs or surveys. We started our pitch with a chart of our early traction and that immediately grabbed everyone’s attention and made our audience much more engaged.
- Be ready to address potential questions and criticisms with clarity. When asked a challenging question, it’s okay to pause and think for a second instead of saying the first thing that comes to mind. Judges appreciate the thought you put into your answers.
- When getting anxious, keep in mind that there is no “losing” in startup competitions. Whether or not you win, you can find valuable connections that will last much longer than any prize.
Good luck and don’t forget to have fun!
Kaylee: I have two pieces of advice for founders. The first is to try and view this opportunity as so much more than a competition. Use the competition as a way to refine your business case, craft an investor-ready pitch, and forge valuable connections within the start-up ecosystem. Secondly, don’t let initial setbacks deter you, whether it’s the judges feedback or where you placed in a round. In fact, in Round 2, Blanka didn’t even make it into the top 10 — we had to pitch our way to secure a spot in Round 3. Despite this, we still ended up placing third!
If you’re interested in participating in this year’s Competition, applications are open. You can join us for an Info Session on April 3rd to learn more about the Competition and ask questions to the NVBC team. Applications close on April 11th at 11:59pm PST.
