Frequently Asked Questions

University of Calgary students who have taken ENTI 317 or ENTI 201 in either Spring 2023, Fall 2023 or Winter 2024 are eligible to enter the competition.

In addition to personal information about your team (names, email etc), you will need to submit a pitch video no longer than 5 minutes and provide a written answer to some key questions.  

Pitch Video Content 

Your video pitch from your class is sufficient for qualified entry, however, you can edit and enhance your video up until your deadline (Fall or Winter). Video pitches can be up to 5 minutes long; anything longer will be ineligible.   

The pitch should include:

• Opportunity: What problem are you solving?  
• Solution: How will you solve this problem? What is your value proposition?  
• Market: Who are your customers, particularly your early adopters? How do you know?   
• Revenue model: What kind of business model will you use to make money?  
• Validation: How thoroughly do primary and secondary research support all aspects of your idea, particularly the problem, solution, customers, competitive advantage, and your business model?  

Answer Questions 

You will need to answer a small number of questions in written form. Examples are:  

• How does your team background contribute to your competitive advantage?  
• What are the most important resources, including people, you think your team needs to get to the next stage with your venture? Please be as specific as possible.  

Your answers to these questions will be considered by judges as they evaluate teams, so please carefully consider your answers. 

No, you do not need to change your video if some of your teammates, who are in the video, opt out. However, if you would like to update your video, feel free. Know that having former teammates in your video will not impact judges’ decisions.

There is no entry fee.

The RBC Fast Pitch finals take place over one day on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The semi-finals will take place from 9:00 to 11:30 am with 24 teams competing. The top six teams will compete in the afternoon.

There are two steps to the process. The top 24 teams will be notified on April 19th. They will prepare a 1-minute pitch. On April 25th all of the teams will present their 1-minute pitch and have a Q & A session with a set of judges. Then the top six teams will be chosen to compete in the afternoon in front of a new set of judges and a live audience! This will take place from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Judges from Team Hunter will evaluate entries and choose ten teams to qualify for the RBC Fast Pitch competition. If you would like to learn more about Team Hunter, click here. 

The RBC Fast Pitch Competition will have 6 esteemed judges from the Calgary innovation ecosystem and from the sponsoring companies.

• Information presented in the pitch video
• Resources required 
• Assessing their answers to questions – as much about the team as it is about the idea

The semi-final teams will be announced on April 19, 2024. The final teams will be announced at lunch time on the day of the competition: April 25, 2024.

Once your team is in the finals, you will need to prepare for the Q & A session with judges that will determine the winners of the RBC Fast Pitch. You will be expected to prepare a 1-minute presentation summarizing your idea for the public.

Students will receive cash to be split evenly across the team and in-kind prizes that can be used for taking the venture forward: click here for the list

Students will also receive the opportunity to participate in Upgrader, a series of workshops that allow student-teams to co-create with professionals from the Calgary innovation ecosystem.

Why shouldn’t you apply? There are a lot of opportunities that become available to you:

• Great opportunity to develop skills that will be essential for any future career 
• Networking with sponsors and other community members 
• Potential fame and fortune!