The National Association of REALTORS® has announced that Tether RE won the sixth annual Pitch Battle competition at the recent 2024 Innovation, Opportunity & Investment (iOi) Summit.
NAR stated that their strategic investment arm, Second Century Ventures, presented this year’s Pitch Battle in Chicago, where participating proptech startups were given the chance to demonstrate their tools and resources.
The grand prize went to Tether RE, a startup that provides a suite of tools to enhance the safety and productivity of real estate professionals. NAR stated that the platform combines advanced safety features with essential productivity tools, ensuring agents are protected from initial contact to closing while streamlining their day-to-day tasks.
“This year’s Pitch Battle showcased exceptional innovations that are setting new benchmarks in the real estate sector,” said Dan Weisman, NAR director of innovation strategy. “The ingenuity displayed by Tether RE represents the progressive strides we support at the iOi Summit and NAR’s ongoing efforts to enhance the services provided to real estate professionals and consumers alike. We congratulate Tether RE on their outstanding achievement.”
Tether RE co-founder Vanessa Martin began the winning pitch by highlighting the critical need for enhanced security measures within the real estate industry. “Last year alone, 30,000 real estate agents were victims of violent crimes,” she said.
Martin explained Tether RE’s core features, including 24-hour safety monitoring, client verification, SOS alerts, proximity safety timers, and fall and crash alerts. Additionally, the platform enhances agent productivity by integrating essential tools such as turn-by-turn navigation, automatic mileage and expense tracking, and personalized agent branding.
“We are proud of the platform we’ve created, and we know it will help agents when they need it most,” Martin said. “It’s time to focus on what matters, because the most important part of any deal is making it home safely.”
Tether RE will be awarded $15,000 and a booth at NAR NXT in Boston this November, a release noted.
In addition, NAR announced that the Pitch Battle’s Crowd Favorite, as voted on by the in-person and virtual audience, was awarded to Tuesday, a social MLS app built exclusively for agents.
Tuesday CEO Coleton Boyer illustrated how the company’s mobile-first approach has streamlined real estate market intelligence into a user-friendly social feed. “It’s the energy of your Tuesday meeting, the ease of your Instagram feed and the exact same data you get on the MLS,” Boyer said.
To see the full list of 2024 Pitch Battle finalists, visit ioisummit.realtor/pitch-battle.
