Volta Cohort helps early stage, high calibre founders attract and secure venture capital sooner.
This program provides mentorship, resources and investments of $25,000 through a microfund co-founded by Volta, BDC Capital, Innovacorp and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Along with funding, Cohort companies are given space at Volta and access to a board of mentors comprised of CEOs and founders of Volta’s Resident and Alumni companies. The board will meet with each company every two months and hold the company accountable for agreed upon milestones and metrics. Between meetings, the companies have access to all relevant programming and support Volta provides. For companies outside of Halifax, support will be arranged with partnering organizations in other cities across Atlantic Canada.
How it Works
Volta Cohort participants are selected through an application process. Every six months, Volta hosts a pitch event to determine who is accepted into the program and only those chosen through the application process are eligible to participate.
Fifteen high potential applicants will be invited to pitch their business at the Volta Cohort Pitch Event – competing for investment. Up to five companies will be awarded $25,000 at each event.
The Volta Cohort Pitch Event
Volta Cohort’s Pitch Events are structured similarly to a pitch competition, where companies go on stage and pitch their company. Companies also have the opportunity to set up a display at the event to provide attendees with more information about what they are working on. These events are open to the public.
A selection committee of people from the larger startup ecosystem is established for each event. The committee will select the five companies to be awarded the investment at each event.
Eligibility:
- Are based in Atlantic Canada
- Have an ambitious idea
- Be a technology-based, early stage startup
- Have not received previous investment (i.e. have not closed a financing round)
Selection Criteria:
- Ambition of idea
- Disruptive level of the technology
- Ability of the team to execute
- Impact that $25,000 will have on the company
The next Volta Cohort event will take place on May 13, 2020.
Schedule for selecting companies is as follows:
- Applications open – February 19, 2020
- Applications close – April 10, 2020
- Company review and selection process – late April 2020
- Successful applicants contacted – April 22, 2020
- Volta Cohort Pitch Event at Pier 21 – May 13, 2020
Gabrielle Masone (Elliott-Bouchard)
Co-founder and CEO / Coloursmith Labs"Volta Cohort is the best first step you can possibly take to establish yourself as a business in Atlantic Canada."