10 startups to watch in 2019
January 2, 2019
Dayton’s startup ecosystem continues to grow, and we’re excited to see what’s in store for these companies in the new year!
With intense interest from military officials in Battle Sight’s reusable infrared crayon, founder Nick Ripplinger drove to New York last fall to bring home the workings of a closed candle factory. He’s retrofitting the equipment to ramp up production of the crayons to begin filling significant anticipated spring orders.
Founder Patty Vanderburgh pitched her new, patented athletic outerwear pants at our September edition of Early Risers. Less than three months later, nearly 75 percent of the pants produced in her first run had already sold.
Adyptation, which builds software to read sensor data to help patients manage chronic pain, is the first Dayton company to land a spot in the prestigious OCEAN Accelerator program in neighboring Cincinnati. Ryan Jankord and his cofounder will be part of the program’s fifth cohort, which kicks off this month. They’ll end the program with a guaranteed $50K investment.
Founder Will Foster and head chef Ben Kalis pitched their prepped-meal company at our August Early Risers. Shortly after, they landed an investor, allowing Ben to quit his day job and focus on Picnk full-time. They ended 2018 with record sales, a large new account, and a lead on a larger kitchen.
Mick Hopkins, a trauma nurse with 20+ years of experience, already has dozens of U.S. patents for three different syringes designed to reduce false positive in drawing blood cultures, ease the delivery of powder vaccines, and speed delivery of vital cardiac medicines. He’s pursuing international patents, which will enable him to license and sell the tech across the world.
Founder Arielle Jordan is working to roll out an updated user interface for her social media network in the next few weeks. Curafied enables users to save and store links across the web, and gives content providers the chance to create exclusive content for their followers.
SpinTech makes smart tools to create aerospace parts. It is wrapping up a huge funding round. Stay tuned!
This “sauce for every meal” — a secret recipe passed to veteran founder Charlynda Scales by her veteran grandfather Charlie “Mutt” Ferrell Jr. — will hit shelves in an estimated 60 Kroger stores across Dayton and Cincinnati this spring, as well as shelves across Dayton’s Dorothy Lane Markets just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.
Tangram Flex develops software to provide cyber resilience to systems used in aircraft, missiles, and many other U.S. defense systems. Last month, the Galois, Inc. spinoff announced a $4.5 million investment from Hale Capital Partners.
Former Kroger executives David Curtain and Frans Falize are taking their grocery expertise and launching Food Forest, a mobile app designed to provide affordable access to healthy food to the 24 million people in the U.S. who live in food deserts. They’re looking to pilot the app in a Cincinnati neighborhood this spring.
