Volta Cohort
Helping 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.
Congratulations to the Spring 2020 Volta Cohort Pitch Event Winners:
– SmartMed
– Habit Forming Technologies
– Kute Lab
– KorrAI
– VMOpro Inc.
How to Participate
Determine eligibility
Applicants must be a technology-based, early stage startup with an ambitious idea. Startups must also be based in Atlantic Canada and not yet received investment (i.e. have not closed a financing round).
Submit an application
Apply before the deadline. Note that the selection committee will consider the following: ambition of idea; disruptive level of the technology; ability of the team to execute; and impact $25,000 will have on the company.
Perfect your 3-minute pitch
Fifteen select participants will have time on the day of to practice their three-minute pitch. Then, that evening, it’s the real deal. Pitch your heart out for a shot at mentorship, resources and $25,000 in investment.
Network while judges deliberate
After the 15 pitches are complete, judges will leave the room to deliberate, selecting up to five pitch participants for the program. Meanwhile, audience members have time to network and discuss their predictions about the next Cohort.
Winners are announced
As you can imagine, there’s a lot of excitement as audience members await the cheque presentation! Judges return to announce up to five select participants, who will receive mentorship, resources and $25,000 in investment.
Timeline for the next Cohort intake:
- Applications open: Fall 2020
- Applications close: TBD
Company review + selection process: October 2020 - Successful applicants contacted: Late October 2020
- Volta Cohort Pitch Event: November 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.
Paul Doerwald
Founder / Clockk
When I started Volta Academy, Clockk was just a promising idea. By the end, thanks especially to in-class discussions with the facilitators and other attendees, I had the necessary tools and knowledge to make a winning pitch at the first ever Volta Cohort competition.
Cohort Companies
Arolytics
Focus: Environment
Arolytics is developing web applications to help production and manufacturing industries cost-effectively manage and mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and air toxics.
Atomo
Focus: Software
Atomo is a simple Customer Research platform for B2B SaaS.
BlackWatch Tech
Focus: Ocean
BlackWatch.Tech produces innovative safety equipment and is currently developing a few products, including a man-overboard device for fishermen.
Bloxo
Focus: Booking platform for sports
Bloxo Inc. is a mobile and web-based platform that simplifies the process of organizing and participating in sports, by connecting organizers, players and facilities.
Bursity.ca
Focus: Funding platform for students
Bursity.ca is developing a web platform that helps post-secondary students pay their tuition by finding and applying for financial awards in a few easy steps. Their platform uses one universal form to connect students to more than two-million funding opportunities.
Electric Owl
Focus: Software
Electric Owl develops smart technology that combines plant science with computer science to help people grow food. An AI powered garden planning and coaching App on the front end, and a data aggregating, machine learning engine on the back end – It’s like having a personal gardener in your back pocket.
Gibli Tech
Focus: Aerodynamics
Gibli Tech is developing a revolutionary sensor that provides cyclists and triathletes with real-time aerodynamic feedback while training or racing to optimize their riding position and see upwards of 20 per cent efficiency gains.
Habit Forming Technologies
Focus: Health
Habit Forming Technologies is creating a growth management system using persuasive technology, sentiment analysis + human interaction, to provide individualized solutions that melds physical + mental health.
KorrAI
Focus: Artificial Intelligence
KorrAI Technology Inc. is a technology company that enables mining companies to make smarter exploration and extraction decisions using AI.
Kute Lab
Focus: Beauty
Kute Lab is creating a two sided platform; one side offers a mobile application to users that simplifies cosmetic ingredients, and on the other side, it provides market assessment to beauty manufactures.
ReelData
Focus: Ocean
ReelData offers remote monitoring technology for the aquaculture industry, allowing fish farms to know the biomass, appetite and welfare of finned fish in real time, without manual intervention.
RIDDL
Focus: Financial tool
RIDDL RIDDL provides proprietary data to impact investors to guide better investment decisions.
SmartMed
Focus: Medtech
SmartMed has created SmartShift, a tool that helps auto-schedule 800 shift positions in one minute, saving time and money.
Sparrow Acoustics
Focus: Medtech
Sparrow Acoustics is making it possible for health care professionals to triage a cardiac patient in less than 10 minutes using only their software and an electronic stethoscope. The company combines a decade of auscultation research, with novel computer visualization, proprietary acoustic algorithms, and artificial intelligence.
VMOpro Inc.
Focus: Health
VMOpro Inc. is a remote physiotherapy solution that enables patients to self-manage their injuries and conditions at home. The platform combines smart PhysioBalls that communicate with a mobile app and is monitored by physiotherapists through a clinical dashboard.
Apply for Volta Cohort
Thank you for your interest. Applications for the fall 2019 Volta Cohort are now open. Please complete the form below or click here to submit your Volta Cohort application. If you have any questions, reach out to cohort@voltaeffect.com.
Note: You must fill out and submit your application before leaving the page – you cannot save and continue at a later time. If you would like to see a complete list of the application’s questions prior to submitting, please click here.