TRAVERSE CITY — TCNewTech’s October event includes a lineup with a little bit of everything, from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to space.
The organisation’s Pitch Night is on 4 October. The in-person event at the City Opera House begins with networking at 17.30 followed by five presentations from technology entrepreneurs at 18.00
The event will also be live streamed on TCNewTech’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages as well as the YouTube channel.
The in-person and virtual audience will vote on the winning pitch after the contest, and the winner will receive a $500 cash prize, delivered in October by Hagerty.
Those planning to attend the free event on October 4 are encouraged to RSVP at
Each speaker will have five minutes to present their new business or technology to the live and virtual audience. After a five minute question and answer session, the audience will vote for the winner on the TCNewTech app.
Scheduled speakers include:
- Thomas Coke for Varsity Gems. Based in Grand Rapids, Varsity Gems is a college sports digital trading card platform that helps “student-athletes at all levels take advantage of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) under NCAA regulations,” according to Instagram.
- Rodney Tesarz for Presidentforaday.us. Currently a website, Tesaz said the main goal of Presidentforaday.us “is to educate people in the finer details of our government and equip them with the tools to become active and empowered participants in the great American experiment,” according to a release from TCNewTech.
- Dan Schutter with Space Interactions, Inc. Saginaw-based Space Interactions is “building a safe and secure platform to improve Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Traffic Management (STM) and orbital debris tracking,” according to its website. The platform is also “designed to increase the trust, security, privacy and traceability of data transmitted over the network.”
- Cindy Bauer for Coordinista. Based in Kalamazoo, Coordinista is “a field care optimization company that provides the tools and services needed to deliver transitional and chronic care management services during the last mile of care to the home,” according to LinkedIn. The aim is to give nurses better contact with patients being discharged from hospital.
- Seth Beaudry for NFT Era. NFT Era is “tool-based with web3tech integration” and donates some of its revenue to “benefit a non-profit organization, providing customized wheelchairs to people living in underdeveloped countries,” according to a release from TCNewTech.
Also scheduled at TCNewTech is a presentation from Jay Meldrum on the importance of ethics in business and startups. Meldrum is the director of Michigan Technological University’s Keweenaw Research Center and the official point of contact and liaison for Tech in the Grand Traverse area.
For more information about the October 4th event or to apply for a future TCNewTech, visit or email [email protected].
