Have you envisioned a way to help combat the climate crisis? Have a beef with the state of industrial agriculture? Maybe you’ve dreamed up an innovative technique to enhance a trade or brainstormed a new IT or media technology? If you’ve spent time on any of these topics, it’s time to take your idea and Pitch It!

Applications are now open for Pitch It!, FastStart’s second annual entrepreneurship competition, which offers aspiring student entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet like-minded peers, get help bringing their ideas to market and win $500.

Students enrolled at Durham College (DC), Fleming College, Trent University and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology are eligible to compete by submitting applications under one of four categories:

• Agriculture and food
• Information technology and media
• The environment
• The trades

Applications must be submitted by noon on Thursday, September 22. A judging panel comprising top-notch industry leaders will review all submissions and create shortlists of three to five entrants per category who will then battle it out in a Dragon’s Den-style pitch competition on Wednesday, October 5 for a chance to win one of four $500 prizes.

Pitch It! is presented by FastStart, an entrepreneurial training partnership designed to increase the entrepreneurship skills and awareness of college and university students, as well as help them to develop solid business plans and take their products to market. FastStart enables students to apply entrepreneurial thinking to their future careers, whether in startups, established businesses, social innovation or public service.

For more information about Pitch It! or to download a submission form, visit faststartfs.ca/pitchit2016.