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Audrey Ingram

Free 10 Week Class to Help you Launch Your Business

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The Early Risers Academy pre-accelerator program, designed to take participants from business idea to launch within 10 weeks, will kick back off in January 2020.

There are six cohorts slated for 2020, three of which are industry agnostic — any team or individual with an idea for a business can apply. Two of the cohorts will focus on entrepreneurs with ideas for tech-based businesses. The final cohort will be for students who are in between their senior year of high school and their freshman year of college.

One graduate from each cohort will win $1,000 to infuse into their business.

“2020 is the beginning of a new decade, and in this new decade, we are intentionally carving out space for minority founders and business owners to access resources that help build solid foundations and provide hands-on support in order to create successful businesses,” program manager KeAnna Daniels said. “We are committed to reaching non-tech and historically under-represented founders who haven’t always felt seen in Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The dates for each cohort are as follows:

• Jan. 14 – March 17, 2020 — general
• Feb. 5- April 8 — tech-based
• April 7 – June 9 — general
• June 3 – Aug. 5 — student
• Aug. 26 – Nov. 4 — general
• Oct. 6 – Dec. 8 — tech-based

The Early Risers Academy pre-accelerator application will be open on a rolling basis. Applicants should indicate which cohort they want when they apply. Up to six places are available in each cohort.

Cohorts will meet for 10 weeks, with in-person meetings on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings from 5:30-8:30p in the Nucelus Coworking Space in the Kuhns Building, 15 W. 4th St, Dayton. Applicants should be able to commit at least 4-6 hours per week to coursework for the duration of the academy.

“Our ideal applicants are aspiring entrepreneurs with solid ideas that they have given some real thought to and have begun to asks themselves the hard questions regarding its feasibility,” Daniels said. “We particularly want to know that they have skin in the game and are committed to making their idea work, even if they have to pivot. We are looking for aspiring founders who are looking to take action.”

Participants will spend those 10 weeks moving from idea to founding a business through coursework from the Kauffman Foundation, the country’s preeminent entrepreneurship-building organization. Aspiring founders will receive pitch coaching and hands-on mentoring, weekly discussions with successful entrepreneurs and experts, access to Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, & alumni support after graduating the academy.

Graduates who pursue business launch will also have a chance to pitch for a $1,000 grand prize at the conclusion of their cohort’s programming. Pitch events will be organized with Launch Dayton, a collaborative effort to connect entrepreneurs to peers, resources, and supporters, and to tell the stories of our region’s thriving startup community.

Apply here.

This pre-accelerator is supported by The Entrepreneurs Center & Wright State Research Institute, collaborators on the region’s Entrepreneurial Services Provider (ESP) grant which is funded by Ohio Third Frontier.

Local Women’s Businesses Partner on Dayton-Made Holiday Gift Set

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Four female founders have partnered on a 2020 Dayton-made holiday gift basket.

The Dayton Woman-Owned Business Gift Baskets include baking mixes & espresso salt from Mandy Groszko’s Ella Bella GF; coffee from Kait Brown’s Savorista; toffee from Sarah Thieben’s Sweet Nothings; and chocolate-covered coffee beans from Jen Larochelle-Starbuck’s Gourmet Berries.

Mandy had pulled together gift baskets in prior holiday seasons, but only featuring her own products, she recalled. This year, she decided to incorporate other products from local startups.

“I didn’t set out to do woman-owned businesses, but that’s who I’ve connected with at these events over the last year,” she said. “There are lots of woman-owned businesses in Dayton, & that’s awesome. We’re really excited to have something local all together and be able to share with the community.”

The baskets come in two sizes, small for $45 or large for $65.   Available for local pick-up only — order by Dec. 20 and pick up locally Dec. 16 or Dec. 23 between 2 & 7pm.

Pitch Competition For Early-Stage Hardware Startups

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The AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup is a national pitch competition with semifinal rounds held in Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Research Triangle (NC), and San Jose.

Dayton is one of eight cities within driving distance of Pittsburgh that will host an AlphaLab Gear Hardware PittStop. Six startups from the Dayton region will be selected to pitch on Jan. 16, 2020 at 5p at the Nucleus coworking space in the Kuhns Building, located at 15 W. 4th Street in downtown Dayton.

Apply now for the Jan. 16, 2020 AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup Dayton PittStop and you could earn a shot at $50,000 for your early-stage hardware startup.

The PittStop winner will receive a travel stipend and two-night hotel stay in Pittsburgh, plus a chance to compete in the semifinal competition on Feb. 27, 2020. The winner of the semifinal will win $3,000 and a shot at the $50K AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup grand prize in May.

To be eligible, a startup must have at least one physical product component. These products range from manufactured products, IoT/connected devices or health/medical devices to consumer products, consumer electronics, food, fashion, robotics, etc.

The deadline to apply for the Dayton PittStop is Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. A panel of representatives from area entrepreneurial support organizations will select the top six startups to pitch on Jan, 16.

Each startup will have 3 minutes to pitch, followed by 3 minutes of Q&A from a panel of judges which will include a rep from the Pittsburgh Hardware Cup semifinal team.

The Dayton Hardware PittStop will be held during the Jan. 16 LaunchPad, a monthly event designed to connect and support the Launch Dayton community. LaunchPad events offer a series of workshops, meetups and networking opportunities for the region’s entrepreneurially-minded individuals, whether they’re launching a tech startup, a retail storefront, a new product line, a community project or a nonprofit.

Apply at: https://gust.com/programs/alpha-labgear-hardware-cup-pittstop

Learn more about the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup here: https://alphalabgear.org/hardwarecup/

Theia is the ultimate contact case for travelers

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Are you a contact user who has been caught at work or on vacation sans your contact solution? Bernard Dalichau & Nicole Luisi created Theia for you!  Theia is an innovative contact case that will hold your contacts and your solution in a single device with a pump feature that offers 15 uses per fill up.

Bernard pitched Theia at the August 2019 edition of Early Risers.

He was traveling across Europe via train more than a decade ago when he sketched out the initial design. He was on his way to Germany, but had left his contact solution in Amsterdam. When he met Nicole years later, she connected him with the University of Dayton’s Innovation Center to work on a prototype.

The worldwide market of contact users is $1.8B, Bernard shared. The sliver of U.S. travelers who wear contacts is $130M, he added.

The current tank is patented & takes only 28 seconds to fill. It is TSA-compliant as it holds less than the 3.4-ounce federal liquid limit for flights. And the cofounders are about halfway through the process for FDA approval of the case, which is classified as a medical device.

If you wear contact lenses, live in the Greater Dayton area  and would be available on November 5th to be part of an in-person focus group for their new product sign up here.

They’re looking to launch in early 2020 via Kickstarter — sign up here for first notification.

Savorista Offers Shockingly Great Decaf Coffees

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Love coffee, but it doesn’t love you? Fear not, Savorista & its line of caffeine-conscious coffees are here!

Founder Kait Brown was working a high-stress job in Chicago when her father was diagnosed with cancer. She switched to decaf when she realized her coffee consumption was making it even harder to sleep and deal with the stress.

But she discovered that her decaf options sucked, she recalled with a laugh. So she and her husband set off around the globe to find and bring home the best decaf coffee.

Kait pitched Savorista at our August 2019 edition of Early Risers.

“Most decaf is bad because it starts with lower quality beans that are chemically decaffeinated,” she said.

Kait & Daniel visited coffee producers and decaffeination centers in South America & East Africa. They tried hundreds of cups of coffee to find better beans & processes.

Savorista currently offers four caffeine-conscious decaf coffees online. The coffee begins with high-quality beans that are naturally decaffeinated using a water process, then roasted to order in small batches. Wait plans to also offer a low-caffeine coffee later this fall.

“We’re looking to shift the way people think about low-caffeine & decaf coffees,” she said. “It’s a valuable addition to your day, especially in the afternoon or evening with a great pastry. It’s not a punishment for being caffeine-sensitive.”

In the U.S. there are 30M people who drink decaf coffee at least once a week, representing a $1B market, Kait shared. And there are another 80M who drink coffee every day, but are interested in limiting their caffeine intake, representing an addition $2.7B market, she added.

Savorista is aiming to be the household name in decaf coffee. So far, they have shipped product to 37 states and 3 countries.  Support Kait by trying a cup of Savorista coffee & telling a friend!

Local Soaper Creates Storybook Line to Support Dayton Children’s Hospital

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When a rep from Dayton Children’s Hospital approached entrepreneur Katie Hall about having a coin jar at her 2nd Street Market booth, Katie saw an opportunity to make a much larger impact.

Next month, the founder of Fox in Socks Soapery will release a new line of storybook soaps to support the institution’s work.

The soaps — locally made and sourced, true to Fox in Socks’ mission — will be packaged to look like children’s books. Katie will open up sales Nov. 2 with a faux book launch party at 2nd Street Market that will feature face painting & a scavenger hunt through the market.

Katie will also be accepting children’s book donations during the launch party — and she’ll match every book donated with a bar of storybook soap that will be delivered to a patient at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

“I knew I wouldn’t make an impact with a coin jar,” Katie said, reflecting on her foot traffic. “I said, ‘I want to make you a specific line.’”

The solopreneur made the jump from hobbyist to small business owner about five years ago. She tapped the knowledge she gained studying biotechnology to create her formulas, then she set off visiting Ohio Proud farms to locally source as many of her ingredients as possible.

“I want to build community one bar at a time,” she said. “When you buy a bar of my soap, you’re supporting up to 15 small businesses. My dream for my business is to source enough product that I can impact other small business owners to reach their dreams, too.”

Katie will donate 25 percent of the proceeds from the upcoming storybook line to Dayton Children’s Hospital.

LAUNCH PARTY:

Saturday, November 2, 2019 at 8am – 3 pm

Stop by the 2nd Street Market on Saturday, November 2nd. The party starts in the Market Pavilion with family storybook activities, face painting, an Instagram photo booth and then you’ll be on your way to hunt for sweet treats throughout the market.

Your treasure hunt will end at the shop where you will get the chance to see (and smell!) the new children’s Storybook Soap. 25% of all Storybook Soap sales will go directly to Dayton Children’s Hospital. Still want to give more to Dayton Children’s Hospital…for every children’s book that is donated during the launch party, I will donate a swag bag full of goodies to a child at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

 

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Kickstarter live for veteran startup seeking to recycle uniforms, tell stories

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Will Romes is working to help fellow veterans transition to civilian life — by helping their uniforms make that same transition.

Will’s new company, Eighth Order, will take donated uniforms from retired veterans and re-pattern them into new oxford-style cotton shirts. He’s running a Kickstarter now to get the company up & running.

An Air Force veteran, Will wasn’t ready to retire at age 38.

“In military life, there are stage gates,” he explained. “Goals are easily achievable  if you follow the path laid out.”

As he looked toward retirement, he realized he didn’t have a path laid out for his post-military career. He was pondering this new reality one Sunday as he dressed for church, and his eyes wandered to the four stacks of military uniforms that he would soon be throwing away.

It seemed like a shame, he recalled. So he looked for a way to repurpose it.

He connected with a factory in California that can make eight pattered shirts out of each military uniform, But Eighth Order isn’t only about clothes — it’s also about the stories behind those uniforms, he said.

According to the Veterans Administration, between 11 and 20 percent of U.S. veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Will is one of them.

Sharing the stories behind the uniform — what countries it has traveled to, what campaigns it has seen — can help the veteran deal with the disorder, Will said.

When veterans donate their uniforms, they’ll also return a card where they share as many or as few details from their service as they wish. This card will eventually be distributed with the shirts the uniform is used to create.

Will has 45 days to go on his $20K Kickstarter goal. He hopes to launch his Eighth Order e-commerce shop in February 2020. Share this story, & click here to support him!

Meet the entrepreneur opening a boutique workout studio downtown

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Looking for a quick, efficient group workout downtown? Lindsey Deck wants her new workout studio, Third Space Fitness,  to be just the spot.

Lindsey is building out a boutique fitness studio in the St. Clair Lofts with plans to launch classes in September. Classes offered will include barre, TRX and dance cardio. 

Attorney at Taft Law, wife and mother, Lindsey knows how important it is to take care of yourself — and how important it is for those workouts to be time-efficient & require a limited commute.

“As a mom, I take better care of my daughters if I take care of myself,” she said. “But I’ve got to get in, get out and get home.”

Lindsey has been taking group fitness classes since she was a teenager. She likes the community atmosphere & the variety of workouts that hit flexibility, cardio and strength all in one.

“I don’t want to go into the gym and have to figure it out,” she said. “I want to be told what to do, see friends, then go home.”

Lindsey first dreamed of someday owing her own studio when she was in law school in St. Paul, Minnesota. After returning to Dayton, as she started to look for the perfect studio location, she kept being drawn back downtown, where she works.

“I’ve been living in Dayton since I was 6 years old, and I’m super excited about everything going on downtown,” she said. “I feel like a proud parent, I get so excited whenever there is good news about Dayton. I am thrilled we found a spot downtown.”

Her studio offerings will complement other fitness offerings in the downtown area, such as yoga, cross fit, weight lifting, cycling and boxing, she said — & maybe someday, these studios will join forces for a membership that allows people to tap into them all, she added.

In the meantime, she blames her father for her entrepreneurial goals. A general contractor, he launched his business when Lindsey was in elementary school.

“I kept waiting for that feeling to go away, but when I finally talked to my dad, he understood it, this nagging,” she recalled. “It’s very cool to create something of your own.”

Stay tuned on Instagram thirdspacedayton for the latest as Lindsey gets her studio up & running.

Dayton woman launches social media management co

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Need a social media guru for your small business? Taylor Hudson is your woman.

Taylor launched her company, Taylored Social, on July 1. Taylored Social is a small business social media management company, offering a full suite of services including social media monitoring, posting, content creation and consulting.

“We’re empowering small businesses to grow and leverage online communities,” she said.

Taylor face is familiar to many local entrepreneurs — a Dayton native, she tapped into the local startup scene early when she took a job at Nucleus Coshare at 19.

“I love how everyone treated me as an equal, even when I was in college,” she recalled. “If you’re engaged in the startup community, you’ve experienced that sense of support — you’re empowered, even if you don’t own a company.”

Last fall, Taylor accepted a full-time position at The University of Dayton. But she quickly realized that she preferred the odd but flexible hours of the startup world to the steadier pace of a 9-5. As she started voicing these feelings to friends, they encouraged her, and purchased an online course in entrepreneurship for her.

“It was a pivotal moment, to realize they believe in me, and they’re willing to invest in me,” she said.

In July, she returned to The Entrepreneurs Center part-time and launched her social media company.

“I love social media because it’s a platform to be creative and easily connect with individuals across the world,” she said. “Relationships and interactions don’t need to be bound by geography, social media makes connecting with others remotely quite easy.”

But Taylored Social is more than just social media — it’s about being social and connecting in real life to support fellow creatives & small business owners, she said.

To demonstrate this side of her work, Taylor organized a photoshoot event that pulled in multiple collaborators including The Brightside Music & Event Venue, Fusian, Home with Ashley, Breana Soliday Co., Kandice Stidham Photography & volunteer models. The participants donated their time and supplies to connect in person, then used the resulting images to cross promote each other’s skills across social media. 

“It was magic,” she described. “Remember to stay connected and supportive online and in person.”

When she’s not running her social media management company, Taylor can be found hanging with her two best guys, fiancé Alec and dog Blue; shopping local; or organizing events to benefit local charities.

Connect with her here.

Dayton Syringe Co Named Most Promising Startup

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Mick Hopkins

Dayton startup True Concepts Medical, brainchild of Mick Hopkins, has been named 2019’s most promising startup by the Quality & Safety Education for Nurses International Forum.

Mick has invented a series of new syringe technologies capable of revolutionizing healthcare across the globe. The first of these technologies, Diversyn, has the potential to reduce false blood cultures by up to 92%. The second, S.A.F.E., can save lives during cardiac arrest by ensuring the proper saline flush automatically follows the administration of epinephrine.

He exhibited prototypes of these devices at the annual QSEN conference, held in Cleveland at the end of May. He was one of seven companies set up to demo products to the 150+ nursing leaders from across the country during a new “Evolving Ideas in Healthcare” event.

These leaders tapped Mick’s company for the award for the most promising innovation in healthcare technology for quality and safety.

“I knew that people would be interested since it was a nursing conference, and they would get it, but the overwhelming acceptance of devices was humbling,” Mick said.

Several of the hospital leaders were interested in purchasing the syringes, and the Institute is willing to help market the devices when the time comes, which will hopefully be within the next two years, he said.

There were also great questions from these future end users, including suggested applications Mick hadn’t explored, such as use in dialysis treatment, he added.

Other products demoed at the QSEN conference included analytics-driven software apps, a new chest-tube technology, & a learning platform for nurses.

Mick holds 4 U.S. patents for his syringe technologies & has multiple international patent applications pending. He’s currently raising funds to manufacture a full prototype run and clear FDA regulations. Ultimately, he hopes to license the technology to an existing medical device manufacturing company.