Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 EdTech Pitch Contest!
The first-place prize went to Jonathan Marceau, a teacher at Monfort Elementary in the Utica Community School district, who will receive $10,000 in business startup grant funding, plus branding and logo design support, and legal consultation for Spelling Safari. Spelling Safari is a spelling curriculum reinvention and software solution providing elementary students with fun and adaptive learning.
The other finalists were:
Watch the full EdTech Pitch Contest event below!
$10,000
+ Branding and logo design package + startup legal consultation
$6,000
+ Logo design package + startup legal consultation
$4,000
+ Logo design package + startup legal consultation
Do you have a business idea that will improve teaching or learning through the use of technology? Then join us next year for our 2024 EdTech Innovation Bootcamp. We’ll help you explore the idea, develop a business model, and identify your next steps for making your idea a reality!
You may or may not think of yourself as an entrepreneur. But consider this: who’s better equipped than those already within our education system to invent creative solutions to the problems they experience on a daily basis?
There is no cost to attend and Michigan Educators can earn 20 SCECH credits for completing the full Bootcamp. Space is limited. 2024 dates will be announced in early spring 2024.
The EdTech Pitch Contest & Innovation Bootcamp wouldn’t be possible without the support of our amazing partners and sponsors! This year’s contest is organized by Michigan Virtual, Spartan Innovations, Michigan Small Business Development Center, and MSU’s Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Generous sponsorship has also been provided by Michigan Creative, Foster Swift, Meemic, Consumers Energy, Michigan Education Association, CASE Credit Union, and LearningMate.
The pitch contest and Bootcamp are open to any adult (18+) resident of Michigan with clear ties to our state’s education ecosystem. These may include but are not limited to:
Teams are eligible so long as one member is a resident of Michigan with a clear tie to Michigan’s education ecosystem. No one may submit to the pitch contest as part of multiple teams, and no one may submit more than one idea.
For the pitch contest specifically, ideas and concepts pitched must be pre-startup, start-up, or early stage of development. Entities must be unformed or less than two years old. Entities must have less than $20,000 in prior outside investment.
Employees of organizing partners may submit a pitch and participate in the bootcamp but will not be eligible for prizes.
Read the full press release here.
Would you like to receive information on upcoming edtech innovation events from Michigan Virtual and our partners? Interested in connecting with others in Michigan’s edtech innovation community? We’ve got you covered. Fill out the form below and we’ll keep you apprised of the latest and greatest!
