Boast reveals the winners of its pitch competition for Canada’s most innovative startup

On the top of most founders’ Christmas lists is for their company to flourish. Today, Boast’s pitch competition has helped the holiday season come early for two Vancouver companies.

Launched in 2012, Boast focuses on helping businesses – especially startups – in North America claim their R&D tax credits. With its annual Boast pitch competition, the organization searches for Canada’s most innovative startups, and provides prizes to support them with non-dilutive capital (read: a big cheque, and a whole lot of vital in-kind services for growing companies.)

This year’s competition invited businesses in all industries to pitch live for a chance to win over $250,000 worth of prizes and exposure to top-tier investors and media. The contest eligibility was broad: entrants had to be working on an innovative tech-based product, have not received more than $3 million in equity funding, have a team of at least four members plus a working MVP or early traction, and be a legally registered entity in Canada.

The top five startups pitched live on November 23, and the winners were announced today.

Boast’s top three companies

Third place went to Vancouver company Brood Care. The organization offers in-person birth and postpartum doula services as well as online courses, and aims to provide care, knowledge, and community for all kinds of families.

Scarborough’s STAN came in second. STAN is a tool that helps property managers communicate with their residents using artificial intelligence.

The top prize was scooped by another Vancouver company, Verdi. The company has designed a platform that brings plant-level healthcare and automation to the harshest farm environments. The win is yet another accolade for the company and its 25-year-old CEO, Arthur Chen. Already, he and his co-founders have raised CAD $1.3 million in pre-seed funding, have saved farmers millions of litres of water this year, and are eyeing to conserve billions in the future.

• Go deeper: Arthur Chen is climate-proofing agriculture

The full prize packages are detailed below.

Third place: Brood Care

$5,000 cash prize from Boast AI

$20,000 value of in-kind Boast Claim SR&ED services

$65,000 value of in-kind services and tier-one customer support from Zendesk

$2,500 value of in-kind services from Switchboard PR

$1,000 value of in-kind services from VanHack

Second place: STAN

$10,000 cash prize from Boast AI

$20,000 value of in-kind Boast Claim SR&ED services

$65,000 value of in-kind services and tier-one customer support from Zendesk

$5,000 value of in-kind services from Switchboard PR

$2,500 value of in-kind services from VanHack

First place: Verdi

$25,000 cash prize from Boast AI

$20,000 value of in-kind Boast Claim SR&ED services

$65,000 value of in-kind services and tier-one customer support from Zendesk

$7,500 value of in-kind services from Switchboard PR

$5,000 value of in-kind services from VanHack