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. Dedicated workshops specific to the needs of Cohort companies are also arranged throughout the cohort year. For companies outside of Halifax, the Volta team will look to arrange support with partnering organizations in other cities across Atlantic Canada.
In addition to a $25,000 convertible note, Volta Cohort recipients receive the following for a one-year period:
- Space to work at Volta with meeting room access
- Volta programming (office hours, workshops, events, socials)
- Dedicated programming specific to the needs of Volta Cohort companies
- Board of mentors
The next Volta Cohort Pitch Event is taking place on Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30pm.
*Volta Cohort Pitch Events take place every six months in May and November.*
Investment
Volta Cohort Investment
Volta Cohort recipients receive a $25 000 convertible note where after set milestones, the Note will convert, and equity within the company will be obtained. Terms and conditions of the Note will be shared with the top 20 who are short-listed and the top 5 recipients will go through a full due-diligence process before any funds are transferred.
Follow-On Investment
Cohort companies who have been in the program for at least six months have the opportunity to receive an additional investment of $25 000, provided they meet program criteria. Up to five companies per year, that are already part of the Volta Cohort Program, will be selected for this additional investment (available to companies participating in Volta Cohort from November 2019 onward).
To be eligible for this second round of investment, companies must meet program criteria, including active participation in the Volta Cohort Program, and be achieving established milestones (note that these are minimum requirements; additional funding is not guaranteed). The follow-on investment targets high potential, high-growth companies. The final decision on awarding additional investment is at the discretion of the fundholders – Volta, Innovacorp, and BDC Capital.
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, be pre-revenue and have 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.
Be shortlisted
The top 20 companies will be selected and asked to answer questions in regards to preparation for the due diligence process. Applicants will also be given an overview of the term sheet, a copy of the due diligence checklist and provided with overall company expectations if selected as a winner.
Get selected to pitch
From the shortlist, the top companies will be selected to pitch live all in one evening for a shot at mentorship, resources and $25 000 in investment. Pitches will be 3-minutes and participants will attend a rehearsal prior to. Leading up to the pitches, participants will also attend mandatory sessions to assist with preparation.
Winners are announced
After the pitches are complete, judges will leave the room to deliberate, selecting up to five pitch participants for the Volta Cohort Program. Winners will be announced live that evening following deliberation.
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.
Current Cohort Companies
Drastic Scholastic Thermoplastic
Focus: Waste Management
Drastic Scholastic Thermoplastic (DST) is a waste management company that remanufactures plastic waste into consumer and industrial products via our semi-industrial shredder, decontamination, injection, and extrusion machines.
Food for Thought Software Solutions
Focus: Food Insecurity
Food for Thought Software Solutions helps Canadian children access nutritious food through food initiative programs while reducing the stigma around food insecurity.
Granville Biomedical
Focus: Health
Granville Biomedical (St. John’s, NL) is a women’s health tech company, specializing in the design of anatomical models to enhance health care training, advance patient education, and innovate device demonstration.
MICC Financial
Focus: Finance
MICC Financial (Charlottetown, PEI) is a collaborative platform that helps groups of people save money, access capital and build credit.
PLAEX Building Systems
Focus: Infrastructure
PLAEX Building Systems uses composite material to process a wide range of difficult to recycle thermal plastic waste. Encompassing a special mix of agricultural, marine and municipal plastic waste and dry aggregates, this is turned into a durable building system that can be used and reused in a wide range of low rise construction applications.
Pocket Finance
Focus: Finance
Pocket Finance (Halifax, NS) is a personal finance management mobile application minimizing waste, highlighting banking fine print, and improving financial literacy.
Pressto
Focus: Education
Pressto helps to develop media literacy, critical thinking & strong writing skills in young people by making journalism easy, simple and accessible for students of all ages.
Smooth Meal Prep
Focus: Health & Fitness
Smooth Meal Prep (Dartmouth, NS) delivers healthy fitness-focused meals provided by the community conveniently to your door.
Swiftsure Innovations
Focus: Health
Swiftsure Innovations Inc. (Pasadena, NL) develops products that benefit frontline workers, patients, and healthcare institutions overall.
Tribe Network
Focus: Networking & Innovation
Tribe Network is a digital platform where Black, Indigenous and People of Colour come to accelerate ideas, build communities and access opportunities.