Here is an update from our community partner 20 Fathoms…

“…our inaugural HealthSpark Accelerator wrapped up with our Demo Day last month, but we’ve got news of a brand-new tech event — Northern Michigan Startup Week — kicking off in May 2022.  Our Beer30 networking events have been flourishing, and the Women in Tech meetup is increasing in attendance each month. Feel free to join us and meet more of the startup/tech community!

Other news of interest in this newsletter:

HealthSpark Accelerator graduates first cohort of digital and telehealth startups

The HealthSpark Accelerator, a program of 20Fathoms, recently graduated the 10 companies in the first cohort.  On June 30, they presented their final pitches to a panel of VIP judges and successfully completed the intensive, 12-week program. During the accelerator, these founders networked with industry and investment experts, raised funds, expanded their businesses, made friends, won pitch competitions, and applied their learnings to help scale their businesses.

Meet the Mentor: Dave Summers

Dave is a 20Fathoms mentor, in addition to serving as Vice Chairman of SCORE Traverse City and a Director with Northern Michigan Angels. Over the span of his career, he has worked with over 100 companies in chairman, director, investor, senior leadership, and mentor positions. Recently, we asked him to share some insights from his deep expertise advising companies.

Why coworking and entrepreneurship spaces are crucial to digital economic development

The Center on Rural Innovation recently identified three pieces of necessary infrastructure that rural communities need for digital economy ecosystems: Broadband, coworking and entrepreneurship spaces, and local leadership capacity. They’ve also highlighted how their communities model them, and offer best practices for how other rural communities can enhance their own infrastructure.
Related: 20Fathoms, a nonprofit organization, is now accepting donations via our website. We rely on the support of our community to help us provide educational programming, office space, resources, and community that fuels growth in Northern Michigan.

New Members

We are pleased to welcome (and welcome back) a plethora of new members to our space!

  • Alaura Anderson, Owner/President of Arrowhead Bookkeeping
  • Nick Beadleston, Founding Partner at Good Impacts
  • Marisa Behnke, Customer Experience Strategist at Signet Jewelers
  • Spencer Couturier, Radiologist at Grand Traverse Radiology
  • Joel Evenhouse, Client Success Manager RIA at Betterment
  • Nathaniel Harris
  • Pamela Harris-Kenwabikise, Owner/Operator of Chippewa Creations
  • Jacob Miller, Director of Foundational Informatics, IBM Watson Health
  • Nicole Raphael, Ojimaakwe of Financial Literacy Services by Indigi Qkwe
  • Elaine Tait, Principal and Futurist at Great Lakes GrowthWorks
  • Marion Wabanimkee-Minzey, CEO of MPC Backwoods

Join Our Community

Our members are tech entrepreneurs who include startup leaders, small business owners, chief technology officers, developers, and designers. At 20Fathoms they’ve each found a home and an environment that promotes productivity, creative problem solving, and new connections. Learn more about our workspace.

Northern Michigan Startup Week

Save the Date!: May 9-15, 2022
Join us for Northern Michigan Startup Week, hosted by 20Fathoms in collaboration with Northern Michigan Angels and Newton’s Road. There are three tracks available: High School Invention Competition, College Startup Competition, and the TechStars Startup Weekend.

Beer30

Thursday, Jul. 29 and Aug. 12, 3:30 – 5:30 pm
20Fathoms
Join us for a relaxed evening of beers (provided by The Workshop Brewing Company), conversation, and gorgeous views of West Bay. This is a great way to reconnect with 20Fathoms or check out our new space! Please RSVP.

Women in Tech

Thursday, Aug. 19, 6 – 8 pm
The Filling Station
Women in Tech is a northern Michigan social group for anyone who identifies as a woman and is working in/interested in the tech industry or tech-related roles. They promote building local connections, professional growth, and supporting women entering and advancing in the industry. Questions? Drop us a line at womenintech@workwithloop.com.
In this role of Vice President — IT and Software Engineering (with a 20Fathoms member company), you will leverage your background and expertise in software development, financial services, cloud architectures, and agile methodologies to internally drive the planning and delivery of a custom FinTech platform. Please send resumes and leads to careers@20fathoms.org.
20Fathoms member business Allovance is a software start-up focused on strategic prioritization, strategic alignment, and decision-making. They are seeking a Full Stack React Developer (Contract).
The position of Senior Software Developer is an exciting opportunity to join the growing tech team at Starboard Solutions, a 20Fathoms member business. This is a remote position, although candidates must live in Michigan, Colorado, or Montana.
As a member of the Portland Team, the Associate will be responsible for building, maintaining, and improving advanced financial models. This position requires a high level of understanding of the energy industry and project financing. Please send resumes or leads to careers@20fathoms.org.
20Fathoms seeks to hire an Associate, Strategy & Innovation. As a member of the Innovation Team, this associate will help lead efforts to develop unique energy solutions for data centers utilizing both on- and off-site energy assets. Please send resumes or leads to careers@20fathoms.org.

Job Board for Local and Remote Tech Professionals

Looking for your next opportunity in tech? Check out our Tech Job Board, curated weekly for remote job opportunities for developer, design, and marketing tech professionals.

Local Innovator: Cherry Capital Foods and Tamarack Holdings

Traverse City-based Cherry Capital Foods and their family of companies under the Tamarack Holdings umbrella are local food industry leaders. They, along with partners throughout the state, are working on a grant-funded project to analyze and develop solutions to food waste. They intend to use technology to align supply chain management with consumption.”

Learn More at 20Fathoms.org