Calgary’s Syzl and its founder Azrah Manji-Savin were declared the winners of the 2023 edition of PITCH in front of a full Centre Stage crowd today.
PITCH is Collision’s startup competition that brings together the world’s leading early-stage startups to battle it out onstage.
Manji-Savin was one of three entrepreneurs selected to pitch this afternoon to a VC panel that included Wesley Chan of FPV Ventures, Mary D’Onofrio of Bessemer, and John Ruffolo of Maverix.
Azrah attended last year’s Collision in the very early days of the business, before it had a minimum viable product. It was here that Azrah met a developer who would go on to become a key member of the Syzl team.
“I’m living my dream job,” beamed Azrah, whose own personal history – together with her love for food – brought her into the hospitality industry.
“I am a second-generation immigrant. My parents came to this country. My co-founder’s parents are immigrants too. And the easiest and quickest way for immigrant communities to make money is to sell food. The problem is that they’re stuck because they cannot scale, and because they’re all working from home. We were so passionate about finding something to support these communities so that they’re able to scale and grow, because this is the economy’s backbone – especially for women and people of colour.”
Syzl is a fast-growing platform revolutionizing the food industry by connecting food makers with under-utilized commercial kitchen spaces.
Syzl’s mission is to empower culinary entrepreneurs with accessible, cost-effective kitchen solutions, fostering innovation and growth in the food gig economy.
Although Syzl is based in Toronto – one of the food capitals of the world – Azrah is based in Calgary and proudly represents Western Canada. The company currently caters to more than 1,000 users, and has 70 kitchens in the platform, allowing users to find suitable kitchens that suit their preferences and needs.
Syzl was part of the ALPHA stream, a home for startups that are in the pre-investment stage or have under $1 million in funding.
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