UPstart Venture Challenge
The Finals – April 2, 2026
UPstart Venture Challenge is a $100K global pitch competition presented by the Smith Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Social Impact (CEISI), Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, in partnership with Desjardins, a leading supporter of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Designed to accelerate venture success, UPstart provides entrepreneurs with a stage to present their bold, creative businesses to a panel of experienced investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders.
Finalists will have four minutes to make their case, pitching live in the virtual arena for $100,000 in non-dilutive funding and the chance to gain invaluable feedback, exposure, and connections within the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
With Desjardins as a key partner, UPstart reflects a shared commitment to backing ambitious founders, strengthening entrepreneurial communities, and turning high-potential ventures into real-world impact that creates economic prosperity.
The UPstart arena is where people get tested and where ventures take off.
Critical Dates
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| March 21 | UPstart applications close @ 5pm (ET) |
| March 21 – 29 | Selection Committee review period |
| March 30 | The eight finalists will be informed |
| April 2 | Virtual UPstart Venture Challenge |
How to compete
The competition is open to Queen’s faculty/staff, alumni, or a full/part-time student enrolled in an academic program at Queen’s University. Your business should be beyond the MVP and entering the start-up stage and has gained market traction (customers/revenue).
Guidelines & Eligibility
We want to ensure this opportunity is the right fit for you and your venture. Before applying, please take a few moments to carefully review the Guidelines and Eligibility for the full submission criteria.
These requirements help us focus our support on founders and ventures that align with the stage and goals of this pitch competition.
By applying for UPstart, you confirm that:
- You have reviewed the criteria in full.
- Your venture meets the required stage and eligibility requirements.
- The information you submit is accurate and complete.
If you are not quite there yet, that’s okay — we encourage you to continue building with CEISI’s support and apply in a future round when the timing is right.
Guidelines and CriteriaHow to Apply
Below you will find the materials required to complete your application. Please review everything carefully before submitting to ensure your application is complete and represents your venture clearly. Complete submissions help us evaluate your opportunity fairly and efficiently. By submitting, you confirm that all materials provided are accurate and complete.
We look forward to learning more about what you’re building.
Application FormUPstart ’26 Schedule (all times ET)
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 pm | Welcome and Introductions |
| 5:20 pm | Top Eight Finals Pitch Competition |
| 7 pm | Judges Deliberations |
| 7 pm | Guest Speaker or Fireside Chat |
| 7:40 pm | Winner(s) Announced |
| 7:50 pm | Event Wrap-up |
| 8 pm | UPstart ’26 ends |
Watch the action live!
Register to join us online for an evening of exciting pitches as the top eight teams battle it out in the ‘virtual arena’. There is no cost to attend.
- Thursday, April 2, 2026
- 5-8 pm (ET)
Register to Watch
Event Moderator
Elspeth Murray
Associate Professor, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Social Impact
and CIBC Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship
Elspeth Murray is an associate professor at Smith School of Business with expertise in strategy, the management of change and entrepreneurship. She is the co-author of the bestselling book Fast Forward: Organizational Change in 100 Days, with Peter Richardson. She advises a number of tech companies and is working on a number of digital transformation projects focused on creating an analytics culture. Prior to joining Smith, she worked for several firms including IBM and Canadian Tire.
Judges
Judges will be announced soon.
Bob Peel, MBA'99
President and Founder, Happy Boss
Bob is a serial entrepreneur and business coach. He started his first business at 18, merged with his father and his partner in 1987 at Brafasco, which he helped grow to 25 locations, 180 employees, and $40 million in sales. Since 2005, bob has coached over 225 small businesses as the Happy Boss of HappyBoss.com, and has made several Angel Investments, including Chickpea Pasta, and OrderEase and is serving as President of the Meaford Chamber of Commerce. Bob is the husband of Janis, father to Jeff (Jennifer) Stef and Mike, and doting Grandad to Eva and Reid.
Andy Segovia, MBA’21
Founding Partner, Landa Club
Andres was born in Croatia, though raised in Mexico City for most of his life. He holds two majors, one in Finance and one in Economics from the University of Texas in San Antonio. He also holds a dual MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School of Business and Queens University’s JR School of Business. Andres has worked in the Venture Capital industry in five continents for major capital funds such as Lightrock Capital out of Liechtenstein and local funds in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Also working for startups in Africa and Latin America, he has raised over $100 million dollars in equity and debt and worked in investor relations as well as roles as COO, CFO and CEO. He has worked in industries such as aerospace and defense, real estate, hotels and tourism, restaurants and bars, F&B, banking, amongst others. He also has extensive knowledge in the Private Equity and Investment Banking industries conducting multiple M&A and LBO transactions through cross-border transactions in Latin America exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars.
Marissa McNeelands, MMAI’23
Founder & CEO of Toast
Marissa McNeelands is the Founder & CEO of Toast, a company that uses AI to help advocate for greater gender diversity in tech. After spending almost, a decade in the tech industry as a Data & AI Product Leader, Marissa found herself more often than not being the only woman in the room. Struggling to hire women into roles on her teams, and gain buy-in from the men around her to focus on gender equity, Marissa founded Toast to empower women in tech to get what they want, while giving hiring leaders a tangible way to increase gender diversity in their talent pool. Marissa has a Master’s of Management in Artificial Intelligence from Queen’s University and was recently featured as a 2023 Champion of Change by Glory Media. Toast was recently featured in Forbes Magazine and won the Women in IT DEI Initiative of the Year.
Chris Sinkinson, MBA’11 and David Sinkinson, MBA’13
Entrepreneurs & Podcast hosts of Startup Different
Brothers Chris Sinkinson, MBA’11, Artsci’02, and David Sinkinson, MBA’13, Artsci’11, are proven SaaS entrepreneurs. Their bootstrapped startup, AppArmor, helped keep people safer with innovative mobile apps and emergency notification solutions for individuals across the globe. In February of 2022, their company was acquired by US competitor Rave Mobile Safety for tens of millions of dollars. Later in 2022, Rave and AppArmor were acquired for over $550 Million by Motorola Solutions.
Now Dave and Chris have launched Startup Different - a podcast to help show you that there’s another, better way to build your business. Startup Different debunks startup myths, tackles some of the toughest challenges and gives you the tools to build your business. These down-to-earth founders prove making a successful startup has little to do with unicorns or ten-baggers and instead focuses on a proven, different method for startup success.