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Apex Business Plan Competition 2022

Experience the Apex hybrid competition

The 2022 Apex Hybrid Business Plan Competition will take place January 20- 21, 2022 and challenge participants to be innovative and creative as they develop, direct, organize and present a business plan or new venture to a panel of judges & mentors.

After a successful virtual format this year, we are committed to bring back in-person participation in the 2022 Apex Hybrid format, a blended online & in-person experience that will be inclusive, engaging, and safe for everyone to compete and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

What’s New?

2 Tracks: Business Plan & New Venture
Format: Online & In-person
Participation
- The Business Plan track is reserved for students registered in a post-secondary education institution.
- The New Venture track is open to students and non-students. See pre-requisites.
Duration: 2-day event.
Travel: Teams can take part from Canada or International locations online or in-person.
Pre-requisites
- Business Plan track: Undergraduate or Graduate student enrolled in a post-secondary institution
- New Venture track: Open to students and non-students running an early stage venture.
- Teams from either track must have access to a laptop with webcam, internet connectivity, browser support for Microsoft Teams.
Industry Exposure: Webinars, Guest Speaker Sessions, Networking & Ice-breaker Activities.

Competition Guide

Student Business Plan Track

New Venture Track

The Hybrid Apex Expansion

Feedback from judges & participants has led us to highlight the new ventures competing within the existing business plan track, creating a level playing field for seasoned & budding entrepreneurs & opening the competition to non-students.

Business Plan Track

Traditional business plan track for graduate & undergraduate students. This track is reserved for students enrolled in post-secondary institutions. Judges, entrepreneurs, and business leaders mentor students making their first step as entrepreneurs.

Actively enrolled students
Teams can take part from outside Canada too
Undergraduate student stream
Graduate student stream
4 member teams

Competition rounds: Presentation round & Elevator pitch round
Submissions: Executive summary, & 25-page business plan (must submit to complete enrolment).

Student Business Plan Track

New Venture Track

Early-stage, massively scalable ventures looking to accelerate their growth to the next stage. Open to recent alumni, non-students, and students running early-stage ventures. Judges play the role of investors.

Open to students and non-students running early-stage ventures
Teams can take part from outside Canada too
How do we define an early-stage venture?
- Annual revenue up to $1 million,
- Age of 5-years or less, and
- 25 employees max.
4 member teams

Competition rounds: Presentation round & Elevator pitch round
Submissions: 12-slide investor deck + financial projections (must submit to complete enrolment)

New Venture Track

Teams from the Business Plan and New Venture tracks will compete together in the elevator pitch rounds.

The Hybrid Experience

The two-day 2022 Apex Hybrid Competition’s online and in-person elements provide flexibility for participants to take part from anywhere. During the competition, students and entrepreneurs build life-long connections and put their entrepreneurial ideas to the test with a panel of experts.

The hybrid experience extends beyond the competitive events, where students and entrepreneurs will be engaged in webinars with the business community, ice-breaker social activities, and networking opportunities with sponsors.

This competition brings together entrepreneurial-minded students to celebrate talent, encourage entrepreneurship as a viable option for the future, prepare for the challenges of a volatile global marketplace and — most importantly — have fun.

Online Elements

Pre-Competition Mentorship & Coaching
Elevator Pitch Workshop

Hybrid Elements

Practice Rounds (reserved for the Business Plan track)
Eliminations
Elevator Pitch Round
Final Rounds
Panel Sessions
Gala Awards Dinner

Cash prizes for students and new entrepreneurs

We are to proud to offer nearly $30,000 in cash prizes for the winning business plans and early stage ventures. Judges play the role of mentors and investors as they select the most plausible and promising business plan and ventures in each track and award cash prizes to each successful team.

Our judges have a rich and diverse backgrounds and bring valuable advice to all the participants through the competition rounds, networking, and panels. The competition challenges participants to be innovative and creative.

Important links for competitors

Competition Guide

Register for the Student Business Plan Track

Register for the New Venture Track

Thank you to our Apex 2022 Sponsors and Partners.

Apex Sponsors

Receive promotional opportunities and benefits with event sponsorship.

Highlights of the 2021 virtual Apex

The 2021 Apex Hybrid Business Plan Competition took place from January 25 to 29, 2021 and challenged participants to be innovative and creative as they develop, direct, organize and present their business plan to a panel of judges. Check out the highlights of this international and transformative event.

The 2021 Apex Business Plan Competition took place virtually to accomodate teams from around the world during the pandemic. The 5-day virtual event saw 163 participants in 70 teams, representing 45 worldclass universities, across 15 countries and 9 provinces across Canada pitch to 37 judges from diverse industries across Atlantic Canada.