La Fondation du Startup de Montréal

One of the most popular and quirky creations coming from our festival is the elevator pitch competition run in actual elevators.

Every July, we organize Startupfest, an event on the business of startups held in the historic Old Port of Montreal. The Startup Festival is the largest event for startups in Canada and has grown over 20% each year since its inception in 2011. Taking a cue from the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival that coincides with their event, we’ve become known for being unconventional and celebrating entrepreneurship in a fun and festive atmosphere. One of the most popular and quirky creations coming from their festival is the elevator pitch competition run in actual elevators. Looking to connect with other startup communities they decided to export this event to other burgeoning startup communities around the world. They started on their world tour in January, running an elevator pitch competition in the CN Tower in Toronto and were met there with outstanding success. They brought together the top accelerators, startups and investors in Canada and grabbed the attention of all the major newspapers, TV networks and blogs. They knew then that their idea had legs to travel the world!