Are you ready to share your expertise on the Launch Dayton Startup Week stage?!
Startup Week is the Dayton region’s biggest gathering of entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Sept. 12-15, 2023, hundreds of bold makers, innovators, dreamers and doers will converge in downtown Dayton to learn, network, and engage with both peers and resource providers. The week-long schedule includes powerful talks, impactful hands-on workshops, and vibrant networking opportunities, all designed to help entrepreneurs move their businesses forward.
This year, we are excited to launch our first formal call for speakers. We want YOU to share the tangible tactics, strategies and lessons you’ve learned along your business journey. Every attendee should walk away from the conference with at least one piece of new knowledge or expertise they can immediately apply in their own business.
Startup Week is FREE to all attendees. One reason that’s possible is because of the Launch Dayton community’s “Give First” value. At Startup Week, this value is embodied when speakers volunteer their time.
We’re seeking both folks who want to present individually and folks who want to speak on panels. We recommend to prepare about 30 minutes of content & leave 15-20 minutes for Q&A.
DEADLINE EXTENDED! Apply by June 14. Selected speakers will be notified & confirmed by June 30.
Want to share your story on stage? We don’t just want to hear why you started — we want to know what tangible strategies worked for you in your journey that you can now teach others. Maybe you’ve nailed how to effectively network. Maybe you have a fool-proof marketing or sales strategy. Or maybe it’s Maybelline — Tell us! We’re looking for hands-on workshops and tutorials to help entrepreneurs implement these solutions in their businesses.
Here are some how-to topics we know our community wants to hear:
Please have a headshot and speaker bio ready to include in your speaker application. Questions about whether you should apply? Reach out to us at [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear from you!
One local founder is tapping her own childhood trauma to change her community.
Dee Thomas is founder of Anchored With Excellence, where she offers empowerment coaching, tutoring, and educational consulting services. She specializes in training people to move through their own trauma, as well as work with students and clients who face trauma.
She tapped into the Launch Dayton community by attending Startup Week, then found her way to the SBDC for business counseling, the Greater West Dayton Incubator’s Business Blitz, and Parallax’s Entrepreneur Rising Academy. We recently caught up with her to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey.
This idea came because I am a trauma survivor, NOW thriver; therefore, I created safe spaces for individuals to get support from stressful or traumatic experiences. I love to help people transform their lives into what they cannot see. I am the support system they need to get there.
As a teacher, I worked with students and families that had various traumatic circumstances and situations. It ranged from obesity to murder. Most teachers did not know how to effectively deal with students who dealt with these issues because they did not have the proper training. As an educational consultant, I provide effective professional development to equip school and childcare staff with a trauma-sensitive approach to handling traumatized students and families. As a tutor, I prevent embarrassment and help to build self-esteem and confidence in students. Confidence allows them to speak freely and truly get individualized learning and attention that is sometimes difficult to obtain in the regular classroom setting.
I also saw many girls in the school setting that lacked positive role models. I created a mentoring program for school-age girls to assist with life skills, self-esteem, self-love, leadership skills, academic coaching, career development, work skills, community service, and social skills. In March of 2022, I was awarded the Outstanding Certified Partner Award from the Mentoring Collaborative of Montgomery County.
Motivational speaking came because I love to empower others! I credit my motivational expertise to overcoming many obstacles in my life and the traumatic experiences I had to face. Speaking to others from an authentic place assures my audience that they can overcome obstacles too!
I began coaching women because I understand what it is like to go through life when you are not seen or heard. I have also worked with women who have been overlooked for promotions or better jobs because they feel stuck. In my one-on-one coaching series, I teach women how to balance their personal and professional life with clarity, alignment, and purpose. Once they master those areas, I teach them how to use their time, attention, and boundaries to stay unstuck to move to the next level. I work with women all over the world!
Yes. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur because I consistently saw a vision of myself running my own company. I started working at the age of 12 as a paper route girl. That gave me the idea of how much money I could make if I put my all into it. I was determined to be successful no matter what I set out to do.
I connected with the Launch Dayton Community by attending Startup Week. It was amazing! I will be returning this year! I learned a lot, but the most influential part was networking with other entrepreneurs. To be in the room with other visionaries was magical!
Anchored With Excellence is a Qualified Education Service Provider (QESP) with the Ohio ACE (After School Child Enrichment) program for our tutoring program. Families who qualify receive $1000 per child. We tutor reading, writing, and math for the 3rd through 12th grades. We are taking students now! Please, contact us for assistance at (937)381-9892 or to enroll, click here.
Have your own business or idea? We want to support you! Take our interactive resource-matching quiz here + sign up for a one-on-one call with an ambassador who can help you navigate the wealth of resource providers across Dayton who are here to help you grow.
Following several years of strong growth and exceptional customer retention, Marxent is expediting plans to serve independent interior designers and pros.
3D Cloud by Marxent is the company’s 3D product experience platform for furniture and home improvement retailers. Last week, leaders announced they’d raised $7.5 million in a Series D round of funding. The round was led by Tampa-based entrepreneur and board member Arnie Bellini. Additional investment came from Lee Arnold, Executive Chair of Colliers International Florida and long-time investor in the company.
The company will open the 3D Cloud platform directly to independent interior designers and pros. Innovations will include artificial intelligence-powered design automation, LiDAR room scanning integration, and self-service.
“With the Series D funding, we’ll be able to fast-track the development of our AI and design automation capabilities,” said Marxent co-founder and CEO Beck Besecker said. “Interior and outdoor design professionals are looking for modern, browser-based, and collaborative solutions and will love designing with 3D Cloud applications. Our goal is to create easy-to-use tools that cater to the needs of homeowners, store associates, and design professionals alike. AI is the key to achieving this vision.”
3D Cloud by Marxent has already reached critical mass. A number of high-profile enterprise retailers and brands using the platform to power 3D commerce experiences. The company’s platform enables furniture, kitchen, bath, and decking retailers and manufacturers to create immersive 3D product configuration, 3D room planning, and other 3D product experiences that drive conversion and capture operational cost savings.
“The company has exceptional leadership, a massive product catalog, top brands and retailers, and a compelling vision for bringing this tech to new audiences,” Bellini said. “3D Cloud by Marxent’s solutions drive both top-line growth and bottom-line savings for retailers regardless of economic conditions. I’m excited to continue to support the team and their vision.”
UBS Global Wealth Management forecasts that the AI hardware and services market will hit $90 billion by 2025. As the retail industry continues to adapt to changing consumer preferences, AI will play an increasingly important role in driving retail growth and innovation.
“AI will drastically simplify aspects of the design process for independent design pros and enterprise retailers alike,” Arnold said. “3D commerce combined with AI is clearly the next frontier in furniture and home improvement retail, and 3D Cloud by Marxent is at the forefront.”
This Series D funding round increases the company’s valuation to over $135 million.
We’re so excited to welcome Alaina Geres & Chris Lewis to the Launch Dayton fam!
Both Alaina and Chris are new faces at the Downtown Dayton Partnership, so if you’re ever looking for space downtown, there’s a good chance you’re going to work with them. Alaina is the new Director of Economic Development, and Chris is the new Economic Development Manager.
Read on to get to know them.
Launch Dayton: Introduce yourself — who are you & what’s your new role?
Alaina: My name is Alaina Geres and my new role is the Director of Economic Development at the Downtown Dayton Partnership.
Chris: My name is Chris Lewis, and I am the Economic Development Manager at the Downtown Dayton Partnership. My role is to leverage relationships between residents, businesses, and property owners to build a thriving downtown.
What drew you to this role?
Alaina: I knew I wanted to be in the Dayton area in an economic development-type of position and one luckily opened up at the Downtown Dayton Partnership.
Chris: The public service aspect of the role was a huge factor in my decision. It was important for me to do something I found rewarding, and working on behalf of the downtown community to make Dayton a more prosperous city has been exactly what I hoped for.
What are you most excited about in this work, this organization?
Alaina: I am super excited to see how the downtown develops as all of these new residential units open up and more people start moving downtown.
Chris; I am most excited about the opportunity to work alongside people who care about this city as much as I do. In my short time at the Downtown Dayton Partnership, I have already met so many incredible people. It is no wonder there is so much happening downtown.
What’s your Dayton story?
Alaina: I grew up in Richmond, Indiana, so we were always coming to the Dayton area for fun. I moved to Germantown, south of Dayton, about 4 years ago. What I love most about the community is the inclusive environment. Everyone has been super welcoming and eager to help.
Chris: I grew up in Vandalia, but I didn’t really experience Dayton until I worked as a downtown cleaning ambassador after high school. When I was there, I realized how many great amenities Dayton had to offer, and I was quickly hooked on the city. Whatever a person could be interested in, Dayton seems to have something to offer.
Where can we find you when you’re off the clock? What are your hobbies, what are you passionate about?
Alaina: I am a mom of two, so off the clock, I am usually working even harder. We love to get outdoors, camp, and explore nature.
Chris: In 2019, I was awarded former Ohio Governor James M. Cox’s historic Dayton View mansion for $1. The house, which had been vacant for nearly ten years, needed extensive repairs, and since then, I’ve spent thousands of hours renovating it. Over that time, historic preservation has become both a hobby and a passion for me.
What book, song, podcast, movie, or tv show (or some other media) are you enjoying right now & why?
Alaina: I bought Lost Dayton to learn more about the history of Dayton. I know how important the history is to the community and I love learning the stories behind all of these buildings in the downtown.
Chris: During the pandemic, I binge-watched the first two seasons of The Witcher. I am eagerly awaiting the third season, which is set to come out this summer. It has been a grueling two-year wait.
Anything we didn’t think to ask that you want to share with the community?
Chris: Yes, but it’s a fun fact about the city, not me. Downtown parking meters are FREE after 6 p.m. on weekdays and all weekend long!
Want to learn more about bringing your business downtown? Connect with Alaina at [email protected] or Chris at [email protected]
There’s nothing better than a pristine ride, asserts Jerome Scott Jr., founder of Fiduciary Details.
A financial consultant by day, Jerome’s new gig takes that same fiduciary commitment to act in the client’s best interests to another area of passion — cars. Fiduciary Details offers a la carte car detailing services.
To launch his business, Jerome tapped into Entrepreneur Rising Academy, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Parallax Advanced Research. He ultimately claimed the second place prize in his cohort’s pitch competition graduation this spring.We recently caught up with Jerome to learn more about his business and his journey.
My name is Jerome Scott Jr. I am a follower of Christ first, a financial consultant by trade, and now an entrepreneur. I own Fiduciary Details, an auto detailing company looking to offer a continuously peaceful environment through a la carte detail packages.
The biggest barrier I’ve faced is my own ignorance. You don’t know what you don’t know, which in my case was a lot. Accepting how little I knew and letting go of the information I believed to be true was a long and hard process.
My program experience was phenomenal! I would not only recommend ERA to others, but would say this class is a necessity for anyone starting a business.
If you feel the call to be an entrepreneur, you’re being called for a reason. Be persistent with the wisdom you acquire and enjoy the process as much as humanly possible.
Connect with Jerome on social media @fiduciarydetails.
Have your own business or idea? We want to support you! Take our interactive resource-matching quiz here + sign up for a one-on-one call with an ambassador who can help you navigate the wealth of resource providers across Dayton who are here to help you grow.
Serial entrepreneur Leslie Klenke was sitting at a bar with her husband a few months ago when she dreamt up her latest business endeavor.
LOCALHAUS is an artful retail concept that aims to curate multiple Dayton brands under one roof. And it’s coming to Dayton this summer.
Leslie is a graduate of the winter 2023 cohort of Entrepreneur Rising Academy, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Parallax Advanced Research. We recently caught up with her to learn more about her journey.
In classic serial entrepreneur fashion (just four short months ago), I was dreaming up new business ideas at a bar with my husband. I thought about how much fun it would be to open a brick-and-mortar, but the astronomical rent, long-term commitment, and high risk of failure immediately discouraged me from falling in love with the idea too much. Frustrated and full of FOMO, I thought about a hairdresser friend of mine who rents a salon suite, and I thought to myself—why don’t they have “salon suites” for retail businesses?! And that’s when the initial concept for LOCALHAUS was born!
Wondering if Entrepreneur Rising Academy might be a fit for you? Learn more and apply here. Curious what other resources are waiting to support you through the Launch Dayton network? Take our resource-matching quiz here for a tailored list of recommended orgs and an option to sign up for a one-on-one call with a resource provider.
Lunnie is changing the game for postpartum moms with its new leak-proof nursing bra.
Founder Sarah Kallile was inspired to start her company by her own journey as a new mother. She is one of eight entrepreneurs to share their stories, and the resources that helped them move forward, in the short documentary “Untapped: Navigating Dayton’s Best-Kept Secrets for Entrepreneurs.”
The film debuted at the 2022 Launch Dayton Startup Week conference, the region’s annual gathering of entrepreneurs and business owners looking to grow their companies and communities.
“There was so much emphasis on pregnancy and the first nine months. Then when I came home from the hospital, I was just clueless in this postpartum phase,” Sarah recalled. “And you can kind of see it across the whole spectrum of society.”
Moms have 15 prenatal appointments compared to only one 6-week checkup after giving birth.
Paid maternity leave isn’t federal policy.
And moms still find themselves dropping out of the workforce due to lack of support, Sarah continued.
“There were all these different aspects of the postpartum experience that I was really frustrated about,” she said. “I think sometimes that can be the hardest part for women, going through this and being like, nobody told me how hard it was going to be.”
At Lunnie, Sarah wants to tackle this disconnect. And she’s starting with a one-of-a-kind nursing bra.
Traditionally, moms — including Sarah — have hated the ugly, frumpy, bulky, beige nursing bras they’ve been trapped in for months, or sometimes even years, on end, she said.
“It looks like something their grandma would wear, and women don’t want to wear this anymore. It kind of just illustrates the state of innovation in the postpartum space,” Sarah said.
Enter Lunnie — the chic pink or black nursing bra with a lower neckline and a built-in, patent-pending, leak-proof layer.
In its first days, the prototype bra traveled from porch to porch around Sarah’s Oakwood neighborhood in a cute little pink bag. Moms would try it on, then pass the bra to a friend, and the feedback on the bra to Sarah.
“The cool part about being a community-led brand is that moms have been part of this conversation since day one,” she said. “Everything from crowdsourcing what my logo is going to look like, or what fabric to choose, or the fit. I haven’t created this in a silo, it’s very much a community, and I’m just I’m very grateful for that.”
“I felt so much imposter syndrome to say, hey, I’m a stay-at-home mom, I’ve never designed anything before, I don’t know anything about apparel manufacturing, but I’m going to make a leak-proof nursing bra, and I hope you all wear it,” Sarah recalled.
But when she did finally take that first step, she found a network of business resource providers eager to support her:
“It’s super challenging, I’m not gonna lie. It is really hard to build a business and your family at the same time. There’s just the reality of time constraints,” Sarah said. “I think sometimes, as women, we feel a lot of mom guilt. Just recognize that you tapping into your passions, your kids see that, and that is just as valuable as spending time with them. I feel like I’m leading the pack. All these moms are saying yeah, we want something better, and so that’s what gets me going every day. And being able to show my daughters that work ethic, and why mommy works.
You just have to take that first step.”
Watch the documentary, and tap into the resources that can help you move your business idea forward, at https://launchdayton.com/business-resources/
At Turtle Up, founder Corinne Brion is pursuing a triple bottom line: people, the planet, and profit.
The social enterprise aims to preserve Ghana’s sea turtles via eco-trips for students.
Corinne is a recent grad of Entrepreneur Rising Academy, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Parallax Advanced Research. She’s also a finalist in the 2023 Flyer Pitch Competition. We recently caught up with her to learn more about here journey.
Have fun!
Connect with Corinne online at turtleup.org or on social media @turtle_up_org
Curious if Entrepreneur Rising Academy is fit for you? Learn more here, or find other business support resources from the Launch Dayton network here by taking the interactive resource-matching quiz.
Christopher Campbell was a sheet metal worker for more than two decades before the entrepreneurial bug bit him.
When knee surgeries took him off his feet a few years, he began making men’s jewelry to keep himself busy. He and his wife are now the owners and operators of S.I.L.C., a jewelry line that offers customized jewelry to the uniquely, sophisticated male.
Christopher is a recent graduate of Entrepreneur Rising Academy, a free, 10-week, cohort-based business bootcamp powered by Parallax Advanced Research. We caught up with him to learn more about his journey.
Christopher: My name is Christopher Campbell. I’ve been in sales for the last three years with a local clothing company ,and my wife and I own and operate S.I.L.C., a jewelry line that offers customized jewelry to the uniquely, sophisticated male.
Learning the lingo and the financials.
Go for it. Listen and learn.
A startup that aims to offer low-cost, self-pay ultrasound services took first prize last week at the culminating pitch night for the Entrepreneur Rising Academy winter 2023 cohort.
Eryion Bolden is the founder of Affordable Imaging. She already has the imaging machine, and she is now looking for a location.
Currently, Dayton’s hospital systems are the only option for medical imaging services. If someone needs medical imaging not covered by insurance, the self-pay option is typically $1500-1800. Affordable Imaging will be able to provide that service for less than 10 percent of that cost.
A typical customer for elective medical imaging is pregnant moms, Eryion explained. Typically insurance only covers two ultrasounds during a pregnancy, but moms often want to see their baby more than twice.
Second place in the pitch competition went to Jerome Scott Jr., founder of Fiduciary Details, a company offering ala carte car detailing services.
Eryion took home $1,000 and Jerome took home $500. Thank you, Wright Patt Credit Union, for sponsoring the pitch prize for this winter 2023 cohort!
Participants complete Kauffman FastTrac coursework from the nationally-renowned Kauffman Foundation, receive pitch coaching and hands-on mentoring, weekly discussions with successful entrepreneurs and experts, & access to Dayton’s business resource providers.
The bootcamp helps early-stage founders and business owners build the foundational knowledge needed to launch and grow successful businesses.
31 S. Main St.
Dayton, OH 45402
[email protected]Get Directions
