Five Startups to Compete for $20,000 at UToledo's Tech419 Pitch Night

Five startups will compete for more than $20,000 in cash and prizes on Thursday, Oct. 29, at the University of Toledo's annual Tech419 Pitch Competition, the region's self-described premier innovation and entrepreneurship showcase.

The free, public event begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex on Main Campus. Finalists will pitch to a five-judge panel.

Tech419 gathers entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, researchers, and community members each fall. Organizers position the night as both a contest and a regional meet-up for Northwest Ohio's startup scene.

This year's five ventures span healthcare, manufacturing, facility operations, and space research. Three of the five carry direct connections to UToledo, organizers said, putting the host university at the center of the cohort.

The pool combines funding and prizes. Organizers did not disclose a per-winner breakdown.

Why does the incubator run the show?

Pamela Moore directs incubation and business operations at the UToledo Business Incubator, the event's host. She framed the competition in plain, relational terms.

"Tech419 gives founders an opportunity to put their ideas in front of the people who can help move them forward," Moore said. "Whether that leads to a new customer relationship or an investor conversation, those connections can play an important role in a company's growth. We're proud to create a platform that helps innovators gain momentum while showcasing the strength of entrepreneurship in Northwest Ohio."

The pitch night gives the incubator a public stage to recruit both founders and community supporters, a recruitment function that operates alongside, not beneath, the prize money on offer.

Who is on the judging panel?

The five-member panel mixes venture, embedded software, technology transfer, and small business expertise.

• Abel Castillo, venture program manager at JumpStart Inc.
• Mikayla Coen, senior specialist embedded software engineer at L3Harris
• Anthony Gillespie, director of strategic and technology-based partnerships and technology transfer at Parallax Advanced Research
• Katherine Pollard, associate director of licensing for medical devices at the University of Michigan
• Joseph Scott, statewide manager of the Ohio APEX Accelerator in the Office of Small Business and Global Trade at the Ohio Department of Development.

The composition brings together private capital (JumpStart), a major research university outside Ohio (Michigan), and a state small-business office (Ohio Department of Development). The mix gives founders exposure to multiple pathways after the pitch night ends.

What does every competitor receive?

Every finalist, not just the prize winners, gets invited into UToledo's Business Incubator program. The program supplies personalized mentorship, affordable office and lab space, and access to follow-on funding.

That structure turns the pitch night into a recruiting funnel for the incubator itself. Founders who lose the judges' vote can still walk away with lab benches, advisors, and a UToledo address. The invitation covers any finalist who takes the stage regardless of how the judges score the pitch, so the recruiting net extends well beyond the actual prize winners.

How do you attend?

Seating is limited. Registration runs through the Tech419 Competition website. Parking is free on Main Campus.

The event's name, Tech419, refers to the 419 area code long associated with Northwest Ohio. The competition enters its latest edition as universities and economic developers across Northwest Ohio keep pushing to convert academic research into commercial companies, the same outcome the incubator is structured to support.

For a startup pitching on Oct. 29, the immediate prize is the $20,000 purse. The longer prize is admission to an incubator that, in Moore's telling, treats founder relationships as a company's first growth engine.