Apr 8, 20217 min read

Canada's Newest Virtual Business Conference for Busy Mom Entrepreneurs

Updated: Apr 20, 2021

Total Mom Inc. is investing in moms and creating equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, April 8, 2021 – The Second annual Canada’s Total Mom Pitch by Total Mom Inc. is hosting a virtual business conference & pitch competition for busy mom entrepreneurs. The event happening on April 19-21, 2021, is part of the national initiative to support small business owners access marketing and business resources, and is presented by The Scotiabank Women Initiative™ and powered by Visa Canada.

The virtual event will offer attendees pre-recorded sessions and affordable access to valuable resources and networking opportunities including workshops, panels and business development support with some of North America’s top successful women business leaders.

The event was established primarily to support women who want to transform their knowledge into income and welcomes women interested in starting or growing their online business. Networking is offered with the Total Mom community through the small business vendor market offering attendees live chat and direct access to online shopping with local businesses. Tickets are available via Eventbrite for as low as $24.95 CAD.

Canada’s Total Mom Pitch is helping to break down barriers that women face when launching and growing a business – a crucial factor in helping the Canadian economy recover. By making business support accessible to women, Canada has the potential to see economic growth of $150 billion, even up to $420 billion if the gender gap was fixed completely (McKinsey & Company). The annual initiative kicks off every fall with a call for small business applications and runs year-long; supporting mom entrepreneurs with resources and

mentorship. Moms can join the #totalmombusiness community to get year-round support and reach their goals faster.

“Our goal is to empower working moms to take them from overwhelmed to supported. Women are underfunded, underpaid and when it comes to being a mom on top of that, the barriers are compounded,” says Anna Sinclair, CEO & Founder of Total Mom Inc. “The Total Mom Pitch program provides moms the opportunity to make powerful connections through mentorship, skill-building and expert advice while learning how to access Canadian funding and connect with women-led organizations.”

Following the review process by a diverse set of judges and board of advisors in 2020, this year’s Top 5 Pitch will feature Stephanie Florio, Swob Inc , Jenelle Peterson, Wildlife Adventures Ltd, Julia Slanina, Treehouse Medical, Janna Hattingh, Booby Food, and Stefanie Loukes, Rabbittown Beverage. The program garnered national media exposure and investment opportunities such as Dragon’s Den and offered introductions, business development programs, a three-month accelerator, digital marketing, funding, and legal to help them prepare for the finale and a membership with The Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s Executive Network.

“I am delighted to have this opportunity to congratulate Canada’s hard-working mom entrepreneurs. Now more than ever, your ingenuity, innovation, and resilience are essential as Canada begins building an inclusive and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis,” says The Honourable Mary Ng, P.C., M.P. “I want to thank the hard work that Anna Sinclair and the Total Mom Show are doing to empower moms and provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.”

The daytime conference, taking place from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. ET, focuses on learning digital marketing and business growth. It offers ticket-holders direct access to the Total Mom community including keynote speakers like Jam Gamble , CEO of Slay The Mic, Pauleanna Reid , Senior Contributor of Forbes, Quigley Goode, content creator, visual storyteller and educator, Performance Coach Hina Khan, Ashley Lemieux, author, entrepreneur, and social media influencer, Kelsey Rose, Founder of Kelsey Rose Fitness and Niki Papaioannou, President of Niki Inc. A group of successful women-led business leaders and experts – including Gillian Riley, President & CEO of Tangerine Bank and executive sponsor of The Scotiabank Women Initiative, Stacey Madge, President & Country Manager at Visa Canada, Zabrina Hossain, Product Lead at Shopify, Jennifer Cooke , Export Development Canada, and Anna Sinclair, Founder and CEO of Total Mom Inc. – will be available to all attendees for business-related advice.

Panels:

BRINGING A PRODUCT TO MARKET | A Realistic View of What It Really Takes

Jennifer Stephen - Repack Canada, President
Darlene Penner - President, Dancy Metal Products ltd
Cynthia Mason - Markably, Founder & CEO
Julia Bao - BAO Laboratory, Founder

BUILDING YOUR TEAM | People Strategy

Laura Tolhoek - Essential HR, CEO & HR Consultant
Kayla Isabelle - StartUP Canada, CEO
Cassandra Rose - Uprose HR, Forbes Human Resources Council
Jackie Serviss - Business & People Strategy Consultant

●

ACCESSING FUNDING | How to access funding for your Canadian business

Jill Earthy - Women's Enterprise Center, CEO
Melanie Rupp - Women's Enterprise Center, Director of Loans and Advisory Services
Trieste Reading - Front Funder, Front Funder, Manager, Campaign Strategy
Cindy Guyon – RV Capital INC., President
Allison Byers – Scroobious, Founder and CEO

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION | The role it plays in entrepreneurship

Dr. Wendy Cukier - Academic Director, Diversity Institute; Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub; Future Skills Centre
Leslie Forde - Founder Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs, LLC
Jenny Jay- Founder & CEO of The Double Jay Collective
Michelle Kwok - Co-Founder & CEO of Flik

Workshops:

Morning Workout session | a variety of wellness-inspired activities, low Impact Full Body Workout with Kelsey Rose
Expert Masterclass | Achieving Growth through Telling your Brand Story with Susan Charles - Google, Brand Strategy Lead
Expert Masterclass | How to measure success and grow your business profitably with digital marketing with Jyll Saskin Gales - Heirlume
Legal Workshop | The Girlfriend's Guide to the Legal Side of Running Your Business - Andrea Henry - Henry Business Law, CEO
Mental Health Workshop | Amanda Evans, Mind, Body, Soul Miracles, Coach/Healer/Speaker

The evening event begins at 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. ET and will include the top five finalists who will pitch their business for their chance to win the Grand Prize of $10,000 in non-repayable cash for their business and $20,000 in essential business services. Additionally, attendees will have the ability to access door prizes, exciting giveaways and a chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to North Carolina to bring fun to the typical business conference experience. More than just watching a Pitch competition, attendees can get recognized and network with funders, investors and leaders in business.

Ticket Pricing:

*All ticket prices include the Total Mom Business Resource Bundle which includes information on funding resources and Government grants and access to the Small Business Vendor Market. Apply for your opportunity to participate as a small business vendor.

$24.97 Total Mom Pitch Finale (evening only)

Access to virtual ‘door’ prizes & giveaways

$49.97 Full Access (daytime + evening)

Exclusive Workshops, panels, speakers

$99.97 Full Access + VIP Box (daytime + evening)

UPS VIP Box ($150+ value)
Keynote Speakers: Quigley, Ashley LeMieux, Hina Khan, and Jam Gamble
Access to live business pitch competition
How yo access Canadian funding for small businesses’ panel
Sweat with Kelsey Rose & Hina Khan Expert Masterclass
Entered to win The Ultimate VIP mom boss package worth $1,000
The first 100 VIP ticket holders will receive a BONUS + Productivity Planner

For more information about Canada’s Total Mom Pitch Finale visit:

https://www.thetotalmomshow.ca/

Interview opportunities with Total Mom Pitch, Scotiabank Women’s Initiative, Visa Canada and select speakers and mentors available upon request.

Media Contact: Karly Melo | Reach Global Marketing | karly@reachglobal.ca ###

About Total Mom Inc.

Total Mom Inc. is a social enterprise, community organization & Media company taking moms from overwhelmed to supported both personally and professionally through programs, products and services. Total Mom provides a global hub for women to access mentorship, access resources, high-quality content, courses, and how-tos by leading experts. It provides a safe space that highlights diverse women from all cultures and backgrounds and allows women to be elevated by empowerment, business tools and making meaningful connections. The Total Mom Show is Canada’s first and largest holistic festival for moms that focuses not on kids and babies, but on the overall well-being of moms and parents. The festival is expanding into major cities across Canada and hosts interactive digital and in-person micro events. The Total Mom Network brings together resources that empower women and provides global access to education and inspiration to meet the needs of moms and small businesses. For more information, visit www.thetotalmomshow.ca and @thetotalmomshow

About The Scotiabank Women Initiative

The Scotiabank Women Initiative is a comprehensive program to help advance women-owned and women-led businesses across Canada through three key pillars: Access to Capital, Mentorship and Education. Since launching in December 2018, The Scotiabank Women Initiative has achieved several notable milestones. In September 2019, the Bank committed to deploy three billion dollars in capital to women-led businesses in its first three years. The program has engaged more than 1,500 women through our Boot Camps and group mentorship sessions across Canada. We formed The Scotiabank Women Initiative Advisory Board of Scotiabank executives, who provide expertise to help women grow their businesses through facilitated small group mentorship sessions and we developed an online Knowledge Centre for self-directed learning. For more information on The Scotiabank Women Initiative™, visit scotiabankwomeninitiative.com .

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals,

businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. Our relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,

visit visa.ca, usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog.html and @VisaCA .