Profitual’s No-Pitch Competition will award $10,000 to the startup with the strongest financial model

Last May, Addie Graves won $10,000 for her startup without going on stage, laying out her vision, or even building a deck.

Cashew Research became the winner of the Profitual competition Competition without submissionwhere startups are evaluated based on their financial performance.

The first no-submission competition, held in May 2025, attracted entries from across Canada.

“The competition stood out because it emphasized the operational discipline behind building a company, rather than just a big proposal or final vision,” Graves said.

“The focus on the real fundamentals of business really resonated with our team and where we are in our journey.”

Profitable is bringing back the No-Pitch competition, an event that flips the script on traditional startup competitions by rewarding founders for smart financial planning rather than flashy presentations. For founder and CEO Ray Fitzpatrick, it's a chance to highlight a skill that's often overlooked: knowing how your business will actually work.

“There is value in having a dynamic founding team that can tell the story of their startup's potential,” Fitzpatrick said. “There is also value in execution and careful consideration of how the business will operate and finance itself.”

“We have found that the latter is not getting the attention it deserves and we hope to change that.”

Profitual's No-Pitch competition is a pan-Canadian competition designed to reflect the realities of running a startup.

Founders provide one thing: their financial model, and Profitual, which makes financial modeling and forecasting easier for startup founders, uses its AI-powered evaluator to evaluate each competitive bid against investment-grade criteria derived from thousands of startup data points.

Each applicant receives a venture-level report on their forecast, written in simple language. Prize: $10,000 cash, no strings attached.

The first no-submission competition, held in May 2025, attracted entries from across Canada. The founders uploaded their financial models, which were analyzed against benchmarks tailored to each company's stage of development, from startups not yet turning a profit to startups approaching $5 million in annual recurring revenue.

Even those who don't win leave with a new understanding. According to Fitzpatrick, many of the submissions identified common deficiencies such as missing cost of goods sold, one-year projections or revenue growth not accompanied by adequate investments in sales and marketing.

“The goal is for founders to take into account the feedback they receive on their financial models and ensure they are consistent with the story of their pitch, as well as consider any recommendations provided,” Fitzpatrick added. “If they can do that, they will be much better prepared for the next competition or investor meeting.”

By transforming raw data into actionable feedback, Profitual aims to raise the bar for financial literacy among Canadian startups. Fitzpatrick envisions a future in which company evaluation systems are used alongside traditional pitch competitions, giving investors a clearer picture of how well a startup can actually perform.

The second No-Pitch competition starts on November 1 with the support of RBCx and Bloom Funding. Canadian startups from any sector with annual recurring revenue of less than $5 million have until November 30 to apply. The winner will be announced on December 10th.

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You can apply for the No-Pitch competition until November 30th. Apply here.

All photos courtesy of Profitual.