What do rhythmic gymnastics, musical education, enjoyable workouts, and accessible mixology have in common?
Last night, women founders in each of these niche industries pitched and won at the fifth annual ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator Pitch Competition.
The 2024 ELLEvate Pitch Competition showcased ten women entrepreneurs competing for over $20,000 in prizes. Organized by YES Employment + Entrepreneurship, the ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator program is a rigorous initiative. It equips a select group of women with the necessary tools and experience to scale their businesses. After three months of intensive preparation, the program culminated in last night’s highly anticipated event. Jhanelle Bedasse’s outstanding business case and pitch secured the top award of the evening. She earned $10,000 for her B2B mixology services and product brand, Maison Cocktail.
Additionally, last night’s judges — Anne-Marie Henson (BDO), Frédérique Fourny-Jennings (Don’t Nod Montreal), Lisa Barbusci (Fisika), and Verena Lommatzsch (SAP) — had the challenging task of selecting the winners from ten dynamic business pitches.
The winners of the 2024 ELLEvate Women Entrepreneurs Pre-Accelerator Demo Day are:
- $10,000 prize: Jheanelle Bedasse, Maison Cocktail Inc.
- $7,500 prize: Maori Murciano, Gemmez Academy of Excellence
- $2,500 prize: Jordanne Erichsen, Express Voice Studio
- $1,000 cohort prize: Bangs Carey-Campbell, Studio Bangs
Because of the devastating impact of the pandemic on the restaurant industry, Jheanelle Bedasse, winner of last night’s top prize, became passionate about building resilience for food and beverage businesses. Her focus is on turnkey solutions, tailored support, and sustainable, custom products. She emphasized, “Restaurant owners are in the business to nurture people. It’s about really building that community and making sure that they have a support system. That’s where we come in.” When it came to seeking out the support of YES Employment + Entrepreneurship, she added, “Just as we aim to be the support hub for restaurants and bars, YES is the support hub for entrepreneurs.”
Furthermore, this year’s cohort marked the fifth for YES, a charitable non-profit organization that provides free and low-cost resources, tools and strategies to improve employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Quebecers. The Pre-Accelerator program offers participants the tailored business coaching, education, resources, network and hands-on experience. This prepares them to enter the accelerator system in Quebec with their best foot forward. This initiative is part of the broader support and services offered under the ELLEvate banner.
Importantly, the ELLEvate program aims to increase the participation of women in Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Currently, women represent only 18% of business owners. Funded by the Government of Canada, in partnership with York University, the program has supported more than a thousand women in starting and growing their businesses in Quebec.
For more information about the ELLEvate program, please click here.