Where innovation takes center stage
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, LiONS LAIR is an annual leading pitch competition presented by Innovation Factory. By bringing together the entrepreneurship and innovation community, LiONS LAIR rallies all the forces together to showcase the best in local talent in Brant, Halton, Hamilton and Norfolk.
Alongside Innovation Factory, the innovation and entrepreneurship community is represented by business support providers, leading industry and professional firms, government, and academic institutions. These organizations lend their support to entrepreneurs, fostering local talent and providing the type of resources and mentorship it takes to help a company grow to its potential.
This year, LiONS LAIR pitch competition will accept 10 finalists to receive training and coaching, all in preparation to pitch and compete for big prizes!
LiONS LAIR schedule
Application and finalist selection
To have the opportunity to pitch in the LiONS LAIR Competition Gala, finalists must first successfully complete Innovation Factory’s Founders Fast Track program, and be selected as one of the top 10 companies culminating from the Investor Demo Day.
Finalists are chosen based on their company’s pitch, product, its commercial viability and the ability of entrepreneurs to execute. Applications are scored by expert judges.
Pitch and media training
It takes a community to build a business, and the iF community is here to lend its support. LiONS LAIR finalists go through a series of workshops and receive training intended to strengthen their skills in pitching and developing responses on the go.
Mentorship meetings with expert mentors
The finalists take on a series of interviews with our expert mentors designed to test their business-growth strategies. Innovation Factory’s expert advisors provide coaching and mentorship to the finalists to fine-tune their pitches and prepare them for the big stage, contributing their time to help coach and evaluate the finalists.
The big night!
After a summer of training, the cohort of ten finalists are ready to compete. The finalists will deliver their pitch and field questions from our LiON Judges. The LiONS help determine the winners, lending their time and decades of investment experience to judge the companies’ pitches.
The winners of LiONS LAIR will be awarded big prizes, thanks to the generous support of the LiONS LAIR sponsors. These prizes will help elevate their companies to the next level, create jobs, increase revenues and attract investment.
Many of our past finalists are continuing to grow their businesses post-LiONS LAIR and are making an impact on the region’s economy. Innovation Factory is proud to see our LiONS LAIR alumni grow their teams, build new partnerships, raise follow-on investment, continue in the pitch circuit, and lend their support to new start-ups in the entrepreneur community.
If you have any questions regarding LiONS LAIR, please email [email protected]
2020: The time we went virtual
When the world shifted online, LiONS LAIR shifted with it. Drawing inspiration from March Madness, our first-ever virtual competition was held across four days as finalists competed for the final prize. With live audience voting bringing the energy of our in-person events to screens everywhere, we discovered that innovation doesn’t pause—it adapts.
March Madness - LiONS LAIR 2020
2021: Pitch Madness returns, virtually!
Building on the success of our March Madness-inspired format, Pitch Madness 2021 doubled down on tournament-style competition. Start-ups battled through elimination rounds in our virtual arena, creating excitement that had audiences captivated and investors taking notes. The result? Pure competitive energy that proved virtual could be just as intense.