If you have an innovative concept or business in the healthcare space, the Power Play Pitch Competition is your gateway to recognition and support.
We are looking for energetic, innovative and passionate healthcare innovators who can address an unmet need in the healthcare industry, through preventative healthcare solutions, treatment and management of disabling injuries and illnesses, restorative assistive devices to help restore function, diagnostic tools, digital health, and others.
We welcome innovators involved in all stages of product and technology development, from concepts and prototypes to finished products and services and start-up companies, and who need capital to help bring their innovations to the next stage.
All finalists receive a dedicated space in ICAIR’s Innovative Startup Exhibitor Zone, and additional exhibitor space in this area will be distributed to applicants of the Innovative Startup contest on a first-come, first-serve basis.
With $50,000 available in total prizes, the stakes are higher than ever. Don't miss your chance to build the future of healthcare!
Categories and Eligibility
The two categories of entries are:
- The Innovative Concept - This award is open to all new, exciting, creative and innovative early stage change-making ideas that have the potential to make a transformative impact on all levels of the healthcare system. This is the only award for which innovators do not need to be in business; they just need to prove that they have a viable idea that's going to make an impact.
- The Innovative Start-up - This award is open to all start-up companies who ever have a proven concept with a novel service offering or technology or product for sale or license, or a new product or service currently under development. The technology can be drawn from any field in the healthcare industry as long as the company is actively aiming to solve a gap in the healthcare market.
For example, we will accept the following stages of start-ups:
- Prototype Blueprint Developed - No current users
- Prototype Developed - No current users
- Prototype Developed - Pilot users
- Product Developed - Current users
Eligibility:
-
Companies must:
-
not have had greater than $1 million in cumulative revenue from sales of products or services, and
-
not have raised greater than $10 million dollars in funding from all sources. This does not refer to government research and development grants.
- Companies may only enter one product or service in the Power Play Pitch Competition
- Companies may only enter the Innovative Startup Category if they are an incorporated company.
- Previous winners (1st, 2nd or 3rd) in either category are not eligible to participate.
Information about 2025 Power Play Judges coming soon!
2024 Power Play Judges:
Andrew Fraser
Licensing & Commercialization Professional, University Health Network
Bio
Andrew is a highly accomplished leader in the fields of business development and operations, with a proven track record in the investment industry and higher education sector. He is deeply passionate about cultivating and growing high-value, mutually beneficial partnerships, enabling the development and commercialization of disruptive products and services, and fostering the development of talent.
Andrew worked 8 years at life science venture capital funds in Europe and across Canada, partnering with entrepreneurs to help them to develop and commercialize innovative medical technologies and drug products. Also, Andrew has worked for over 12 years as a leader in college and university research commercialization to grow partnerships, projects, and funding.
Andrew Loh
Science and Technology Lawyer
Bio
For over 20 years, Loh has advised pharmaceutical, biologics, medical device, natural health product, cosmetic and other life sciences companies, as well as teaching hospitals, research institutions, and research networks, on a broad range of matters including collaborations, licensing, manufacture, clinical trials, marketing, importation, warehousing, distribution, sale, acquisitions and related intellectual property and regulatory matters. Prior to the practice of law, Loh worked in software development and microbiology.
Bruce Simpson
Investigator, Creative Destruction Lab
Bio
Simpson is a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey, where he worked for more than 33 years in New York, Paris, and-since 2000-in Toronto. He is now a Senior Advisor to McKinsey. He led the Canadian practice, then convened the firm's global Operations Practice, delivering client impact across all sectors in service operations, procurement, supply chain, new product development, manufacturing, and capital productivity.
Bruce then led McKinsey's Tech/Innovation incubator - a VC approach that funded, and incubated startups inside McKinsey, leveraging the firm's access to leading companies and go-to-market channels, to help them rapidly scale up at clients.
He is now a general partner in a VC fund he is raising called Age Tech Capital focused on investing in Series A tech to enable healthier, wealthier and more fulfilling aging, a major societal challenge given explosive growth in numbers of our underserved aging demographic.
Donna Shukaris
Senior Commercialization Manager, Innovations and Partnerships Office, University of Toronto
Bio
Shukaris has been responsible for institutional company startups and licensing technologies in the fields of machine learning, digital processing, data and computational mining, cryptology, e-learning, diagnostics, medical treatment, e-health, and rehabilitation.
She possesses extensive and diverse experience in all areas of innovation, intellectual property protection, product development, government and private funding, licensing, and structuring new ventures. She continues to work with leading edge inventors preparing the right business opportunities, path to commercialization, and partnerships.
Dr. J Paul Santerre
Professor, University of Toronto
Bio
Professor Santerre has published >220 peer reviewed publications and is a listed inventor on >70 patents in the area of medical polymers. He is co-founder and current director of the Health Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto (a student focused entrepreneur training co-curricular program that has trained > 750 client health science companies which have generated > $500M Cdn).
He is also the current chair of the Health Entrepreneuship Pillar for the African Higher Education Health Collaborative supported by the Mastercard Foundation. He is a co-founder of Interface Biologics, along with having spun-out five other start-up companies from his lab, and has won multiple national awards for his achievements in enabling entrepreneurship, included Canada's Governor General award for Innovation, and the Professional Engineers of Ontario
He has received multiple awards for his community activity including the 2016 Community award from the Canadian Biomaterials, the 2018 President's Impact Award from the University of Toronto.
Varun Chandak
Founder and President, Access to Success
Bio
Varun Chandak is the Founder and President of Access to Success, a Toronto-based not-for-profit whose mission is to Enable Everyone. Driven by his own lived experiences with disabilities and hopes of better assistive tech, he established ATS Labs, Canada's leading accelerator for accessibility startups. Startups that Varun has supported have gone on to benefit well over 640,000 people with disabilities. A sought-after speaker on accessibility innovation and inclusive design, Varun has been recognized as a Top 50 Changemaker in Canada and received the inaugural Tom Wilson Leadership in Disability Award.
Past Winners:
Power Play Pitch Competition Winners
Innovative Start-up Competition:
2024
- First Place: AiimSense CEO and co-founder Atefeh Zarabadi
- Second Place: Dynamic Memory Solutions Inc. Chief Science and Product Officer Bryan Hong
- Third Place: Cove Neurosciences Inc. CEO Nardin and Co-founder Nardin Samuel
2023
- First Place: Lianna Genovesei
- Second Place: Mark Cicero
- Third Place: Shlesha Van & Dan Grigorayeb
Innovative Concept Competition:
2024
- First Place: AiimSense CEO and co-founder Atefeh Zarabadi
- Second Place: TRUSTE Inc. CEO Shaghayegh Chavoshian
- Third Place: PostureCoach Chief Technology Officer Davood Dadkhah
2023
- First Place: Camila Benmessaoud
- Second Place: Marc Shenouda
- Third Place: Philiz Goh
Application Information and Selection Criteria
To participate in the Power Play Pitch Competition, applicants are required to submit an online application consisting of a 2 to 3 page business plan and a link to a compelling 1 minute video pitch.
The business plan should provide a comprehensive overview of the innovative concept or startup, demonstrating substantial and sustainable growth potential. It should cover the following key aspects:
-
Business Overview – products/service offered (e.g. What is the unmet need? Why will people buy your product or service? What is the key benefit – the unique selling point? If the business is in the form of a company or partnership, how long has the entity been in operation and what has been accomplished to date?)
-
Target market (e.g. who is your target customer, and what is the size of this customer base in Canada and elsewhere? What are the competing products/services and advantages? )
-
Marketing Strategy (e.g. describe actual and/or contemplated marketing strategy and efforts)
-
Management team (e.g. identify the key members of the team and their relevant experience/training and any additional positions, expertise, experience and training required)
-
Funding required (How much money do you need to take the product/service to the next stage? What are your sales and expense expectations? If you win a prize in this competition, how will the funds be used?)
Your video submission should:
- Provide a compelling pitch outlining your concept or business.
- Clearly convey the essence of your innovation.
- Address key elements from your written business plan.
Evaluation Criteria:
A committee of experts including scientists, clinicians, entrepreneurs, community members and subject matter experts will screen applications to ensure they meet all entry requirements and review each application to decide which products and services are the most innovative.
The Judges will focus on five critical elements:
- Team’s background and expertise: What experience does the team have and how will they help the business succeed? Does your team have a complementary skill set that enables you to tackle the different aspects of your innovation?
- Idea/Solution: Does the concept or startup offer an original, innovative approach to addressing the chosen problem?
- Development and business plan: Does the team provide a feasible business and implementation plan? Does the solution have a good product/market fit? How sustainable is your business model?
- Market opportunity: Does the concept or startup address a clear need, problem, or opportunity? Market traction with regard to sales, users, marketing exposure, etc.
- Competitive advantages: What gives you an edge over its competitors and helps you attract more customers and grow your market share?
Please note that by submitting your business plan and video submission to the Power Play Pitch Competition, you acknowledge that you have provided us with the necessary rights to evaluate your business product, solution, concept and strategy in connection with your participation in the KITE Power Play event.
Register and Apply
As part of the submission process, all applicants must register for the International Conference on Aging, Innovation & Rehabilitation (ICAIR). This crucial step ensures the completeness of your submission. Follow the instructions below to complete your ICAIR registration:
-
Visit the registration link:
Register
-
Once you have registered, a link will be emailed to you to access the application.
Finalists Selection
On March 31st, 2025, successful applicants will be notified by email that they have been selected as KITE Power Play finalists, and will have the exclusive opportunity to showcase their talent and ingenuity, with a live pitch at the ICAIR conference.
All finalists receive a dedicated space in ICAIR’s Innovative Startup Exhibitor Zone. Additional exhibitor space in this area will be distributed to applicants of the Innovative Startup contest on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Finalists will not be compensated for any travel, accommodation, or other expenses incurred to participate in the event.
Power Play Pitch Competition
The pitch competition will take place during ICAIR on the following date and venue:
Date: May 1st & 2nd, 2025
Venue: The Carlu, 444 Yonge St. Toronto, ON M5B 2H4, Canada
ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY – Photographs and videos will be taken of attendees at the KITE Power Play competition event for publication on websites, newsletters, brochures, social media platforms and other media of UHN, KITE, and Toronto Rehab Institute. As a condition of participating as finalists in the KITE Power Play competition event, all finalists (and their representatives), by their attendance at the event, will be deemed to have given their consent to have photographs and videos taken of them at the event and for publication on the specified websites, newsletters, brochures, social media platforms, and other media.
FINALISTS – Finalists are expected to attend the live-pitch competition. If a finalist is not able to attend for whatever reason, the pitch competition will proceed with the remaining finalists. Each attending finalist will give a presentation to a judging panel of industry experts and investors, followed by a short Q&A session. Finalists may use one PowerPoint slide at the live-pitch competition if they submit them to Sophia Li at Yue.Li@uhn.ca.
The Innovative Concept – Finalists will each be granted 3 minutes to pitch, followed by 2 minutes of Q&A with a panel of judges who have investment experience in the finalist’s space.
The Innovative Startup – Finalists will each be granted 8 minutes to pitch, followed by 2 minutes of Q&A with a panel of judges who have investment experience in the finalist’s space.
JUDGING – A finalist's pitch will be judged on the following criteria:
- Team's background and expertise
- Idea/Solution
- Development and business plan
- Market opportunity
- Competitive advantages
At the end of all of the finalists' pitches, the judges will determine the winners in each of the two categories.
For questions relating to the usage of PowerPoint or videos to help describe the product, technology or service for the live-pitch competition, please contact Sophia Li at Yue.Li@uhn.ca.
