The Arena is a high-stakes, high-energy pitch showdown. Sixty-four of Canada’s most promising student entrepreneurs compete live, under pressure, for the title of the nation’s top innovator and a $10,000 first prize.
Modelled after the NCAA March Madness championship, The Arena unfolds in a bracket-style competition from March 3 to April 2.
Each matchup is a standalone battle—fast, focused, and decisive. Pitches are delivered live. Judges deliberate in real time. Winners advance. All matches are streamed online, drawing audiences from across the country.
Throughout the month, competitors receive coaching and mentorship, sharpening their ideas and their ability to perform when it matters most.
Welcome to The Arena, a nationally acclaimed pitch competition! This isn’t just any competition—it’s a high-energy, adrenaline-pumping showdown where 64 student entrepreneurs across Canada go head-to-head to showcase their brilliance for the title of the nation’s top innovator. This year, 64 students from 37 post-secondaries have been selected to battle it out for glory, with each round bringing them one step closer to victory with a grand prize of $10,000!
These 64 contenders will compete in a dynamic head-to–head pitch competition modelled after the NCAA March Madness. Students will showcase their innovative ideas to panels of expert judges over six rounds starting with round one on March 3 and concluding on April 1.
Click on the competitors below to find competition time and link to matches.
Sponsored Partner
Founder & CEO, Metronomics
Shannon Byrne Susko is a renowned entrepreneur, CEO+Leadership Team coach and business strategist who has mastered the art of scaling companies with a repeatable system that drives precision, speed and predictable outcomes. With a track record of founding, leading, and successfully exiting two high-growth companies in less than six years, Shannon understands the challenges of growing a business firsthand.
Chief Marketing and Corporate Strategy Officer, BDC
Diane Lafontaine is Chief Marketing and Corporate Strategy Officer at BDC. In this role, she leads BDC’s corporate strategy, public affairs, government relations and enterprise‑wide planning and prioritization to strengthen the Bank’s role within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She is deeply motivated by the tangible impact BDC has on entrepreneurs and by advancing the Bank’s mission to help Canadian businesses grow and succeed.
Director of Marketing & Agency Services, Irving Oil
Janice is the Director of Marketing & Agency Services at Irving Oil and has more than 25 years of marketing and communication experience. Since joining Irving Oil she has worked on many key marketing programs to drive sales for the business, including the recent launch of Irving Oil’s enhanced proprietary loyalty program, Hometown Rewards. In addition to leading the development of programs and promotions, her team is responsible for bringing the Irving Oil brand to life with Atlantic Canada’s largest in-house agency that includes designers, photo and video production, media placement specialist and event planners. When not at work, Janice can be found travelling for vacation or swim competitions with her husband and twin daughters
Chef & Social Impact Entrepreneur, UPWARD KITCHENS
Mark Brand is a chef, social impact entrepreneur and relentless optimist working at the collision of food, community and impact. As the founder of UPWARD KITCHENS in Vancouver and Halifax, his teams serve over 6,500 scratch-made meals every single day—and have delivered more than 6.5 million meals to those who need them most. His work proves that dignity, opportunity and true collaboration, changes lives.
With a dozen brick-and-mortar businesses, a multinational charity and global partnerships under his belt, Brand builds models that center food security, poverty reduction and cross-sector collaboration. From the Downtown Eastside to the halls of Stanford —where he’s a fellow and served as professor of innovation and design thinking—he teaches that lasting change starts with listening and scales with love.
Mark’s work spans the world: from serving as Executive Chef for the American Refugee Committee, to collaborating on Pope Francis’s Climate Challenge, to being named Entrepreneur in Residence for the City of Sydney Australia.
He’s been awarded Canada’s Golden Jubilee Medal and King Charles III’s Coronation Medal for his service to country and community—but he’d tell you the real awards are in every meal served and every life impacted.
He’s also the host of “BETTER with Mark Brand,” Canada’s only iHeart Original podcast, distributed across Rogers and Bell Media, where he amplifies stories of transformation and tools for action—not just talk.
At the heart of everything is his belief in radical collaboration: that there’s no “us and them”—only us
Founder, LUX Beauty
Jennifer Grimm is the founder and creative force behind LUX Beauty, an award-winning independent retail boutique and dot com in Edmonton known for its exceptional in-store experience and curated selection of coveted beauty brands.
Over 25 years, she has built LUX into a destination for thoughtful retail and meaningful customer connection. She is the recipient of the Retail Council of Canada’s 2024 Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year and a past Canadian Gift Association Retailer of the Year.
Co-Founder & CSO MicroHabitat, Urban Agriculture
Orlane Panet is a leader in the urban agriculture sector, best known for founding the world’s largest network of urban farms at MicroHabitat. Her pioneering efforts in sustainable development and community empowerment have garnered her numerous accolades, including the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2019, the Prix de la Relève d’Affaires JCCQ X National Bank in 2017, and recognition as one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in 2024. Orlane’s work is instrumental in advancing Sustainable Development Goals, transforming underutilized urban spaces into productive hubs that improve air quality, promote biodiversity, and bolster local economies.
Orlane is a sought-after speaker and panelist, having been invited to share her expertise at high-profile events such as the AIA of California, BOMA International 2024, an event with the government of Quebec, and the Appraisal Institute in New York City. Her presentations cover a wide range of critical topics, including urban farming in commercial real estate, the alignment of urban farming with green building certifications, building resilience, and the impact of urban farming on biodiversity, heat island effect, and flood mitigation. She also speaks on private-public partnerships and the integration of wellness and sustainability in commercial real estate.
President and Vice-Chancellor, Saint Mary’s University
Dr. Michael Khan brings a distinguished record of academic leadership and research excellence to his role as President and Vice-Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Khan holds a PhD in Human Kinetics from the University of British Columbia, an MA in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario, and a BSc in Geophysics from McGill University.
His research explores the cognitive processes underlying movement control, with a focus on the visual control of manual movements. He has published extensively on topics such as skill acquisition, selective attention, dual-task interference and rapid decision making.
Prior to joining Saint Mary’s, Dr. Khan served as Provost and Vice-President Academic at Trent University, where he led academic planning and development. He was previously Dean of Human Kinetics at the University of Windsor and Head of the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences at Bangor University in Wales, UK.
Dr. Khan is recognized for his collaborative leadership style and commitment to student success, research, and community engagement. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, he consistently champions strategic growth while enhancing research productivity, forging industry and public sector partnerships, and expanding academic programming. Dr. Khan is a strong advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion, reflecting his belief in investing in and empowering people.
A former intercollegiate squash champion, international athlete, and coach with over 25 years of experience, Dr. Khan also has a strong interest in talent identification and expertise development. His diverse background and global perspective position him to lead Saint Mary’s into its next chapter of academic and community excellence.
Shannon Byrne Susko is a renowned entrepreneur, CEO+Leadership Team coach, and business strategist who has mastered the art of scaling companies with a repeatable system that drives precision, speed and predictable outcomes. With a track record of founding, leading, and successfully exiting two high-growth companies in less than six years, Shannon understands the challenges of growing a business firsthand
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Shannon Byrne Susko BComm’89 BSc’92
bio here
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Shannon Byrne Susko BComm’89 BSc’92
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Mark Brand is a chef, social impact entrepreneur, and relentless optimist working at the collision of food, community, and impact. As the founder of UPWARD KITCHENS in Vancouver and Halifax, his teams serve over 6,500 scratch-made meals every single day—and have delivered more than 6.5 million meals to those who need them most. His work proves that dignity, opportunity, and true collaboration, changes lives.
With a dozen brick-and-mortar businesses, a multinational charity, and global partnerships under his belt, Brand builds models that center food security, poverty reduction, and cross-sector collaboration. From the Downtown Eastside to the halls of Stanford —where he’s a fellow and served as professor of innovation and design thinking—he teaches that lasting change starts with listening, and scales with love.
Mark’s work spans the world: from serving as Executive Chef for the American Refugee Committee, to collaborating on Pope Francis’s Climate Challenge, to being named Entrepreneur in Residence for the City of Sydney Australia.
He’s been awarded Canada’s Golden Jubilee Medal and King Charles III’s Coronation Medal for his service to country and community—but he’d tell you the real awards are in every meal served and every life impacted.
He’s also the host of “BETTER with Mark Brand,” Canada’s only iHeart Original podcast, distributed across Rogers and Bell Media, where he amplifies stories of transformation and tools for action—not just talk.
At the heart of everything is his belief in radical collaboration: that there’s no “us and them”—only us.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Matches will be streamed live on our Facebook page , LinkedIn page and YouTube channel
Be sure to rally your friends, family and fans to cheer you on for every pitch.
After being selected, students will be provided with the date and time of pitch, a pre-existing pitch rubric, and list of questions that will be randomly posed at presentation time. Development sessions will be provided for participants to prepare them for their month-long battle to victory.
The prize money will be invested towards the best student entrepreneur’s idea or business with total cash prizes of $17,000 provided by Metronomics.
Round One
March 3-12
Round Two
March 16-19
Round Three
March 23-24
Quarter Finals
March 27
Semi Finals
March 31
Finals
April 2
Round One: Beginning March 3 students will compete in 15 minute time slots. They will have one minute each to pitch their problem and solution
Round Two: Beginning March 16 students will compete in 15 minute time slots. They will have two minutes each to pitch their problem and solution, market and competition.
Round Three: Beginning March 23 students will compete in 15 minute time slots. They will have two minutes each to pitch their problem and solution, market, competition,BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and core values.
Quarter Finals: Beginning March 27 students will compete in 15 minute time slots. They will have two minutes and thirty seconds each to pitch their problem and solution, market, competition,BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), core values and validation.
Semi Finals: On March 31 four students will compete in 30 minute time slots. They will have three minutes each to pitch their problem and solution, market, competition,BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), core values, validation, the team and how the $10,000 prize money will be used.
Finals: On April 2 two students will compete for the grand prize of $10,000 and title of champion. They will have four minutes each to pitch their problem and solution, market, competition, BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), core values, validation, the team, how the $10,000 prize money will be used and anything additional they think they judges should know to make their decision.
Metronomics is a proven system that will save you time and money to get the business and life you want. Metronomics works with CEOs and their leadership teams to help them grow confidently and predictably. Learn More.
Congratulations to The Arena 2025 Champion and winner of $10,000, Manak Bajaj from McMaster University.
His product called Wonder Guard – an AI-powered Catheter Bag Module capable of detecting and predicting Urinary Tract Infections (UTI’s). This allows immediate diagnostic feedback to users and health information systems for AI-driven clinical decisions.
We are so excited to see how Wonder Guard grows over the next year!
