Companies qualifying for the Fintech Draft should provide some sort of financial service, serve the industry, and/or help manage consumers’ money. 

Examples include payment companies, enterprise or B2B solutions, cryptocurrency, blockchain, lending, wealth management, trading, budgeting and banking apps and others.

How many companies will be selected for the Draft?

Up to 50 Canadian and international companies will be shortlisted and featured, with the top companies selected as Draft Finalists. 

Companies are selected on a rolling basis, so get your application in early!

Can I apply to more than one competition?

You can only apply to one of the three (3) competitions (pitch, export, or demo). 

The main difference between the competitions is the stage of your company, and what your current growth goals are. 

• Pitching Competition: for early stage fintech startups who are actively seeking funding, customers or partners to grow their business. Typically smaller companies who have recently launched or are about to launch their product. 
• Export Readiness Competition for growth stage fintech scaleups who are interested in selling products/services globally and expanding internationally. Demonstrated traction in current market and should meet general criteria for successful exporters.
• Product Demo Competition for early or growth stage fintech startups / scaleups that want to increase company profile by showcasing a product development. Format is a use case or user journey highlighting specific product features instead of a pitch.

When do I find out if I am selected as a Finalist?

All shortlisted companies will be contacted on a rolling basis, however, the Drafted Finalists will be announced in mid-March. After you apply, there is a review period during which our Scouts (investors, industry professionals and startup advisors) may reach out to you for more information and clarifying questions.

How many presenters can there be from each company?

Up to 2 team members can pitch or demo.

Each demo comes with 1 complimentary ticket to FFCON20  is included per company. Tickets for additional team members are available at special 50% discount.

What is the format of the pitch or demo?

Brief pitch or demo (strictly enforced) followed by Q&A and evaluations. 

All companies are expected to cover their own travel expenses to and from FFCON20 in Toronto. 

What is online voting and evaluations? 

Shortlisted Top Picks receive a featured profile page on the FFCON20 website, which includes a voting feature for the Scouts and the crowd to select which companies they want to see pitch or demo. Crowd votes account for a small part of the Draft Finalist selection. 

Evaluations and company analyses are conducted by Scouts (fintech professionals and investor experts), which will contribute to selecting the Draft Finalists.

What is the prep session in March for?

To ensure that every company in the Fintech Draft gets the most out of their participation FFCON20, this is a live meeting/webinar to help you understand how the Draft works, information about the competition and awards, schedules and marketing opportunities.