Canada’s Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs Awarded at The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale 2024
April 30 2024 - 8:55AM
The Forum, a Canadian charity that mentors, educates and empowers
women entrepreneurs, announces the three finalists of this year’s
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale. As Canada’s leading pitch
program for women entrepreneurs, each finalist receives a $46,500
grand prize package to fast-track their business goals and growth.
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Program 2024 finalists are:
- Chloe Beaudoin & Jessica Miao,
co-founders, Apricotton, the best fitting bras for teens
worldwide
- Bronwyn Bridges, co-founder & CEO, PragmaClin, digital
technology supporting neurological disorders
- Sara Jónsdóttir, founder & CEO,
Revol Cares, intentionally designed reusable period undies for all
flows
“We applaud the recipients and all participants of this year’s
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch program,” said Kirsten Koppang Telford,
CEO, The Forum. “The program’s distinct format underscores our
mission to empower women entrepreneurs by providing them with the
financial, social, and wisdom capitals essential for growth and
success, alongside real-world pitching experience and a supportive
community.”
To celebrate this year’s finalists, The Forum hosted its annual
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale event on April 25, 2024 at the
JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. All three finalists presented their
business visions to a sold out crowd of entrepreneurs, business
leaders, investors, and The Forum community, as well as a virtual
audience worldwide. The event also featured live audience voting
which selected PragmaClin to receive an additional prize of $15,000
thanks to the generosity of Wheaton Precious Metals.
Annual Event Raises $1 Million for Women
Entrepreneurs
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale is The Forum’s largest and
most impactful fundraiser. The evening not only recognizes and
spotlights the finalists, but it’s also an opportunity to raise
critical funds to ensure women entrepreneurs across the country and
from diverse backgrounds can access The Forum’s programming. This
year, the event raised over $1,000,000 dollars CAD for the first
time in The Forum’s history.
What the finalists are saying:
“Being named a finalist in The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale
and participating in this year’s program has been transformative
for Apricotton’s business,” said Chloe Beaudoin, COO and co-founder
of Apricotton. “Having access to multiple forms of capital,
including guidance from our program mentor, Crystal Lo, Investment
Associate at InBC Investment Corp., will help us further unlock our
potential and scale our impactful teen bra business so girls feel
confident and prepared to go through puberty.”
“At PragmaClin, we’re committed to being a global leader in
supporting neurological disorders and improving quality of life
through digital technology,” said Bronwyn Bridges, CEO and
co-founder of PragmaClin. “The resources, community and support
we’ve received as a finalist in The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale
and from our program mentor, Sarah Willson, Associate at Panache
Ventures, has been pivotal in fuelling innovation and market
reach.”
“As a finalist in this year’s The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch
Finale, we’ve not only acquired capital to help accelerate our
growth, but we’ve also had the opportunity to amplify and build
momentum for the Revol Cares brand mission and vision,” said Sara
Jónsdóttir, founder and CEO of Revol Cares. “We are so grateful to
our program mentor, Nagar Rahmani, for their invaluable guidance
and encouragement, and we look forward to the opportunities that
lie ahead.”
The Forum thanks long-time supporter and Title Sponsor, Odlum
Brown Limited and long-time Pitch Capital Sponsor Wheaton Precious
Metals. The Forum also thanks Reception Sponsor Fort Capital,
Dinner Sponsor Fasken and Wine Sponsor Victoria Gold Corp. The
program is also made possible by Innovation, Science and Economic
Development Canada.
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch is a national program that addresses
the barrier of access to capital and helps self-identified women
entrepreneurs navigate and fast track their funding journey. Since
launching in 2016, The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch has received over
2,100 applications. More information about The Forum and The Odlum
Brown Forum Pitch program can be found at theforum.ca
and theforumpitch.ca
About the ForumThe Forum is a national,
registered Canadian charity whose purpose is to deliver impactful
community, education and mentorship programs that are designed to
elevate self-identifying women, trans-femme and non-binary
entrepreneurs in their unique journeys. As The Forum marks its 22nd
year, the organization continues to see a rise in the need for
programming across the country as more women turn towards building
businesses. In the last year, The Forum supported 1,700+ program
participants, across 12 provinces and territories in Canada, and
reached 56,000+ people with education, resources and inspiration
across 219 unique communities. To date, the charity has supported
over 15,000 women entrepreneurs across Canada through its programs
and events including The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch
program, The Forum Mentor Program, The Forum E-Series
program and more. Visit theforum.ca for more.
For press information or interviews contact: Monique Camenzuli,
The Edit PR: monique@theeditcanada.com / 416.809.9918
A photo accompanying this announcement is available
at:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fb725dee-657e-4ea9-98ac-a34e580351a9