The inaugural event for  Get in the Ring Ottawa took place at Collab Space, Nepean on April 10th. After 3 energizing bouts between 6 amazing finalists, Shannon Ferguson of FanSaves took home the grand championship for their mobile app that gives sports fans discounts and deals from their favourite teams while helping sports teams increase their sponsorship sales.

“Get in the Ring Ottawa was a great experience and had such a unique format compared to the usual pitch competitions we take part in. We can’t wait to represent Canada in Berlin and go head-to-head against some amazing startups from around the world” – Shannon Ferguson, FanSaves

The Get in the Ring Foundation is an organization that gives startups a fun and global podium to make valuable connections to start, grow and scale up their business. The Foundation is active in 100+ countries and works together with leaders of entrepreneurship ecosystems around the world. Get in the Ring is known for its innovative format where startups literally face off in a boxing ring. A battle between 2 startups consists of 5 30-second rounds about the team, financials, achievements, and business model.   

“It’s time to shine a global spotlight on the amazing entrepreneurs here in Canada. Get In The Ring is the opportunity to be part of a global network of entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and leaders.” -Rebecca Palmer, EntreLaunch Inc.

The battle was tough with 6 amazing entrepreneurs stepping into the ring. Of the six finalists, five were women.

The 6 finalists:

Bout 1 – Jessica Keats of Trusted Wizard vs. John From of Digital Escrow Services

Bout 2 – Shannon Ferguson of FanSaves vs. Catherine Chan from FitIn

Bout 3 – Christa Lentz of Riverwood Acoustics vs. Jenn Hayward of GopherIt Deliveries

More information about each of the finalists can be found on the www.gitr.co/Ottawa website.

The road to the final

Shannon Ferguson of FanSaves is now headed to the Global Get In The Ring event in Berlin, Germany on June 17-19 where she will be one of the 150 most promising startups form all over the world. In addition, over 350 entrepreneurship ecosystem players (corporates, investors, government officials, startup support organisations) will be present with a focus on dealmaking, networking and building valuable relationships.

• To feel the vibe you can see previous Global Meetups in Cascais or Singapore.
• Website: https://getinthering.co/globalmeetup2019/

“I’ve supported entrepreneurship on an international, national, and local basis, so when a global movement such as Get In The Ring comes to my home town of Ottawa, I am super excited to be involved personally. It’s a privilege to help get local startups get exposure on the global scene. Get In The Ring is a great example of startup empowerment, and their amazing videos, branding, and imagery are a powerful and inspiring fit for the Events.com suite of event management tools, so much so that I think I tried to register 10 times to the big event.” -Stephen Partridge, Events.com

Partners

Get in the Ring Ottawa has partnered with a wide range of amazing sponsors and co-organizers to put Ottawa on the global entrepreneurial stage. It is a coming together of the community without silos. Our team, partners and sponsors consist of people involved with various parts of the local ecosystem including Startup Ottawa, L-Spark, H.U.B. Inc., eSAX, Collab Space, Invest Ottawa, The Ottawa Network, Algonquin College, The Rideau Community HUB and more. Our food partners included an array of local food and beverage providers including Whitewater Brewing Co., Si Senor, North House Foods and Bambou Restaurant. Event photography and videography by Bytown Video Productions, Eva Wong Photography and Storyline Productions.

Prizes were donated by many of our sponsors include RelateSales and Acumentum Consulting  in the form of mentorship and training.

Our amazing sponsors include: CollabSpace, The Eagle Institute, Sandler Training, NewFound Recruiting, Welch LLP, Whitewater Brewing Co., Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group, THINK Virtual CFO and many more. For a full list of sponsors, please refer to the website at www.gitr.co/ottawa.

“What I appreciate about Get In The Ring is that it provides a pathway for Founders & their startups to be Born Global”  -Jason Daley, AXIA Strategists

History in Canada

In 2014, Canada received its first taste of Get In The Ring through regional finals organized by Futurpreneur (formerly CYBF). The regional champion went on to battle in the North American finals before going on to the Global event in 2016 in Medellin, Colombia. After winning a place in the Regional North American Final in Mexico in 2015, Ottawa-based startup HYRE (Eropa Stein) represented Canada at the Global Get In The Ring event in Medellin, Colombia, March 2016.

Get In The Ring Ottawa is thankful to our many partners, sponsors, collaborators, volunteers and team for putting together this inaugural event. The next Get In The Ring Ottawa will take place at the end of January 2020. An extra special thanks to Collab Space for being our first sponsor and partner and for providing an amazing event space (inside a co-working hub) for this event.

For the latest updates and more information go to www.gitr.co/ottawa.

Photo credits to Eva Wong Photography