Launch Dayton Startup Week Celebrates 10 Years
August 13, 2025
Dayton’s free conference for entrepreneurs returns Sept. 9–10 with fresh ideas, bold connections, and a decade of momentum.
DAYTON, OH, August 13, 2025 – Launch Dayton Startup Week Presented by Fifth Third Bank returns to The Hub Sept. 9–10 for its biggest year yet—a 10-year homecoming for the region’s builders, dreamers, and doers.
What began as a grassroots meet-up of Dayton’s innovators has grown into a cornerstone of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over the past decade, Startup Week has brought together thousands of entrepreneurs, launched countless ideas, and helped strengthen the Dayton economy. Each year, hundreds of founders—from tech innovators to small business owners—gather downtown to share ideas, find support, and build something that lasts.
This year’s theme, Made to Make It, celebrates that spirit. Whether you’re here to create, grow, lead, or take the leap, this is your place to connect, learn, and be inspired. You’re made to create. Made to grow. Made to lead. Made to build something that lasts.
Attendees can expect two full days of powerful programming, featuring 30+ speakers and sessions on marketing, funding, leadership, innovation, and business fundamentals.
Speakers include:
- Brent Johnson & Josh Stucky, Square One Salons
- Te’Jal Cartwright, Lore Storytelling
- Jelani Johnson, Minority Business Assistance Center
- Keith Klein, City of Dayton
- Tushar Kulkarni, Big Kitty Labs
- Nate Sowder, Fifth Third Bank
- And many more!
Fifth Third Bank returns as title sponsor, alongside host sponsor Entrepreneurs’ Center and platinum sponsor Winsupply.
“Launch Dayton Startup Week has become a cornerstone of how we support entrepreneurs in this region,” said Scott Koorndyk, President of Entrepreneurs’ Center. “It’s not just an event—it’s a launchpad, a rallying cry, and a reminder that when founders come together, anything is possible.”
This year’s Startup Week Pitch Competition will be hosted at Yellow Cab Tavern, open to both tech and Main Street businesses. Applications are open now through August 24.
Click here to apply for tech and here for Main Street.
Free to attend and built for all stages, Launch Dayton Startup Week offers more than just content. It’s a place to find your people, sharpen your vision, and be reminded why you started. However you arrive, whatever you’re building—you were made to make it.
Join us Sept. 9–10 and help shape the next decade of Dayton’s entrepreneurial story. Register now and build your custom agenda at launchdayton.com/startupweek.
