Earlier this week we held our first in-person event since February 2020. To say we were excited might be the understatement of the year. On Monday, founders, investors, and partners all made their way to the Brookstreet Hotel here in Ottawa for our Pre-Selection Day Celebration. There was certainly energy in the air as the guests arrived and saw each other for the first time in over a year.. The most commonly heard phrase of the night was without a doubt:
“I’m so excited to finally be around people again!”
For many, this was their first in-person event since COVID-19 turned our world upside down. With protocols and safety measures in place, we proceeded to kick off the celebration. A special thanks to everyone who joined us and made this magical night possible, we are still buzzing from the excitement!
This celebration was the precursor to the big day that would follow: Selection Day. One at a time, with a room full of socially distanced investors, 8 founders from across Canada began to pitch for their chance to be accepted into the 8th cohort of our SaaS Accelerator.
For many of these founders, this was their first opportunity to pitch in-person since March 2020 (and for some, their first in-person pitch, ever!). They were filled with a mixture of nerves and energy as the door opened and they made their way to the front of the room.. The mood after each pitch was unanimous: pure excitement. The feeling of being in front of a live audience is just not something you cannot replicate over zoom.
You can plan every little detail of an event in hopes of getting it as close to perfect as you possibly can, but the real success of an event is all thanks to the people who attend and bring your planning to life. We can’t thank our attendees enough for making this event so special. We’re honoured to have been the first in-person event for so many after such a challenging year, and we’re looking forward to many more events to come.
Thank you from our team to yours!
For now, we have some exciting phone calls to make as we welcome the 8th cohort of our SaaS Accelerator. Stay tuned for the announcement of the cohort coming soon!
