Pitch Night scheduled for Sept. 14

Mark Urban, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Sep. 12—TRAVERSE CITY — Four solid presenters, an introduction and an informational tip.

Sounds like it was worth the wait.

TCNewTech's Pitch Night presentation this month is scheduled for Sept. 14 at the City Opera House. The event is a week later in the month than normal.

"We were a little concerned that Sept. 7 — the first Tuesday of the month — was surrounded by so much chaos: The start of school, the day after summer vacation has ended," TCNewTech Executive Director Jennifer Szunko said. "The first day after Labor Day always feels like the start of a new year to me. We wanted some extra time to put our energy into the September event."

Besides the normal Pitch Night presentations, the Sept. 14 event will feature an introduction of new 20Fathoms Executive Director Eric Roberts. Aurora Consulting, LLC President and former TCNewTech board member Ashley Sloat also will give a presentation.

The Sept. 14 event begins with networking and a cash bar at 5:30 p.m.

Pitches start at 6 p.m., with each having five minutes to make a presentation for their business and technology idea, followed by a five-minute question-and-answer session. Audience voting for the winner is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The winning presentation earns the $500 prize, sponsored by RJG, Inc.

After the winner is announced, there is another opportunity for networking for the audience and the presenters at the City Opera House. Another optional interaction session will be held at The Workshop Brewing Company starting at 7:30 p.m.

The September Pitch Night is the third live presentation this year. Pitch Night is livestreamed on TCNewTech's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

"Hopefully it will be well attended," Szunko said. "We're really hoping to keep to in-person events as long as we can do so and keep everyone healthy."

Scheduled Pitch Night presentations include:

* Debra Lanning of LaLa Insights. Based in Traverse City and one of the original members and volunteers from TCNewTech in 2015, Lala Insights "is a directory of Michigan businesses related to weddings and tourism," according to its website.

* Barb Termaat of Newton's Road. The "independent nonprofit organization dedicated to STEM-related learning for all youth in the five-county region" of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties.

* Damien Allen of Freedom Elevated Defense Solutions. The Grand Rapids-based company is "a virtual range simulation used to educate new and experienced firearm owners on safety, proper mechanics and building a strong and safe foundation without the use of live ammunition," according to a release from TCNewTech.

* Michael Bisson of All Lacrosse Sticks. The Traverse City-based company offers a fetching line of products for dogs, according to a release from TCNewTech.

People can apply for the future Pitch Nights at https://tcnewtech.org/pitch/ or by emailing Szunko at executivedirector@tcnewtech.org.