Vetr Health takes top award at the September 10 TCNewTech Pitch Competition

Traverse City-based Wave Lumina awarded second place and Audience Choice Award 

20Fathoms is pleased to announce the winners of the September 10 TCNewTech pitch competition. Vetr Health won the First Place Award, receiving an award of $5000. 

The Vetr Health pitch was presented by Rachel Berkal. Vetr Health is a tech-enabled, membership-based, in-home veterinary care service for pets. Their annual memberships focus on wellness and preventative care, including vaccines, testing, telehealth, prescriptions, and digital records.  

Vetr Health Chief Operating Officer Rachel Berkal (right) presented the winning pitch. Penny (wearing a chic bandana) cheered from the audience.

The $2000 Second Place Award went to Wave Lumina, an early-stage Traverse City based environmental contaminant testing device company. For environmental consulting firms and remediation companies who need rapid, cost-effective PFAS contamination testing, their Contamination Field Screening Device (CFSD) is a portable testing device that provides onsite analytical results in minutes. The pitch for Wave Lumina was presented by Vernon Lalone. Wave Lumina also won the Audience Choice award. 

“Community support is the secret sauce that makes Traverse City the best place to start a business,” said Eric Roberts, Executive Director of 20Fathoms. Roberts, who retires from 20Fathoms this week, also expressed his gratitude for the Traverse City community in remarks during the event. 

The Berry Bot Soap Maker and RV City Hosts also pitched. The Berry Bot Soap Maker is the first smart automated system to make natural cold process soaps faster, safer, and more efficiently. RV City Hosts is an innovative online platform transforming how self-contained RV owners find bookable overnight parking in urban and suburban areas. 

Madison Meter of TiltThink Improv moderated the event. Pitch presentations were judged by a panel of local startup experts including Jeff Hamilton, Chair of SCORE Traverse City, Alex Prasad, CEO at V1Sports and Attorney at AEGIS Law, Liz Verschure, Board Chair at Northern Michigan Angels, and Drea Weiner, Network Coordinator at Center on Rural Innovation. 

Awards and event support were made possible through the generosity of community partners including 4Front Credit Union, Axios HR, Thompson Retractor, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.   

The next TCNewTech competition will exclusively feature female founders and will take place on November 19. Applications are currently open to pitch (20Fathoms.org/TCNewTech).