By Meghann Naveau
Entrepreneur Ja’Cole Tabor has long believed sunglasses are one of the best accessories, and she turned a lifelong passion for beautiful eyewear into her business, D.Foreman Frames, in 2018. Ja’Cole was the second place winner at the spring 2022 Retail Lab Pitch Competition, and she’s looking forward to bringing new options for eyewear to customers in Dayton and beyond.
Ja’Cole: I got started in business because I wanted to pay tribute to my grandmother. She was a phenomenal woman, and as I thought about what to call this business I felt so passionate about, it seemed really fitting to honor her through the name.
Sunglasses and eyewear have always mattered to me. I started wearing glasses in second grade, and they were a way I could express myself and be creative. Even after I had corrective eye surgery, sunglasses still provided that creative outlet for me.
I discovered the Retail Lab program through a friend and former coworker; she’s been a champion of my business and really helpful with sending me information she thinks might be useful for me.
Honestly, the Retail Lab program was even better than I hoped. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but all of the instructors shared such good information, and even if I was familiar with a topic, there was still a lot I could learn about what resources were available and different things I could try to grow and evolve my business. I’m glad I did it!
I was pretty nervous before the pitch competition; I didn’t want to overthink it, but I also wanted to do my best. A friend told me shortly before the pitch to go in and be myself. After all, I am my business in many ways. I went in as my authentic self — and it paid off!
I used my earnings from the competition to invest in additional banners and marketing materials for my popup shops, and I worked with another local business to produce the items. It feels good to be able to support other entrepreneurs and local founders!
My business offers glasses for literally everyone. We carry glasses that are designed to be unisex, as well as some that are more traditionally for men and for women and even kids. I always encourage people to try on a few pairs so we can find what really works well and fits the look they want.
If you see me out in the community, please say hi! One of my favorite things about being a business owner has been connecting with other entrepreneurs and community members. I’ve had so many people champion me and my business, and I really love the collaborative spirit here in Dayton.
Check out Ja’Coles’ latest offerings at her website: https://www.dffbyjrenaye.com/
Seraphina Safety Apparel founder Kelly Franko is on a mission to level the playing field for women working in hot industries.
The company’s line of undergarments is flame-resistant, and they’re some of the first specifically designed to fit women’s bodies, Kelly explains.
In September, Kelly won the innovation track of the Launch Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition. She also took Seraphina’s products to their first tradeshow.
“When it comes to undergarments, heat can be as dangerous as fire,” Kelly explained.
As lighter weight, breathable fabrics are used in flame-resistant apparel to alleviate issues like heat stroke, more heat passes through a uniform. This heat can actually melt undergarments — often made of materials that contain plastic fibers — into the skin, causing severe burns, she said.
And even though more than 1.2 million women work in industries that require flame-resistant clothing — think electrical, petrochemical, utilities, steel mills, foundries, mining, fire service ballistics, the military — there has been a lack of flame-resistant undergarments designed for women — until now.
“Pants, shirts and coveralls for women are available, but even those — women call it pink-and-shrink,” Kelly said. “They’re based off men’s clothing, just shrank and redyed. Men are straight for the most part, so there’s no accommodation for curves or capacity anywhere in the clothing. They’re not truly manufacturing things to fit women, they’re just tagging it as such.”
Kelly is already working with an intern from Kent State’s School of Fashion Design to move from the base layer into outerwear for women, too.
“A lot of people say, someone is already doing that, but that doesn’t mean they’re doing it right.” Kelly said. “Besides, have you ever seen how many dresses are in a store? Women need to have choices, and what’s out there isn’t solving the need, so I’m going to try.”
Kelly’s journey to launch Seraphina began when her personal and professional lives collided.
On the clock, Kelly started her career in healthcare. She was eventually tasked with opening a post-mastectomy boutique, where she learned just how many women are not served by the standard bra range found in a department store. So she opened a boutique to serve them.
Off the clock, Kelly’s husband and oldest son are avid drag racers. Kelly fit a sport bra for hot rod racer Ashley Sanford, leading to a meeting at the Performance Racing Industry trade show where Kelly was asked if she could make flame-resistant bras.
When Kelly paused, it was her husband who answered for her — yes, he said, yes, she can.
“I was still processing the fact that nothing existed for women,” Kelly recalled. “I had no idea women didn’t have options to be protected in motorsports or industry.”
She began researching fabrics following that conversation in late 2018.
“I knew what it needed to look like, how it should go together, but I needed to know about fabrics and components,” she said. “The truly hardest part has been the manufacturing piece. Manufacturers are used to sewing rectangles and squares, but our active fit bra, which has a utility patent pending, has multiple pieces to provide support, fit and capacity in the bra. So if you lay it out flat, the pieces don’t line up. You have to manipulate it, and it’s hard to get manufacturers to look at that.”
Seraphina is currently working with manufacturers in Utah, Ohio and Michigan to produce its seven-product line.
This coming year, Cintas will feature Seraphina’s line in its uniform catalogue. Kelly is looking for help to break in with additional distributors.
“Access to the marketplace is what I need right now. It’s 1.2M people, not 200, and women deserve equal protection,” she said. “Wearing clothing that is too big, that doesn’t fit you, isn’t equal. It’s unfair to recruit women into these careers, but then not provide adequate safety apparel.”
Seraphina will use the Startup Week Pitch Competition winnings to pay for third-party testing and industry-recognized safety certifications for its products, Kelly said.
“I don’t think I could smile big enough when I was announced as the winner,” she said. “In racing, my husband and son get big checks when they win races. This time, I was grinning because I got my own big check.”
Connect to help Kelly — visit seraphinasafety.com to learn more and shop, and follow @seraphinasafety on your social media platforms.
We tell budding entrepreneurs to build their business with an exit plan in mind, but most new business owners don’t know what that looks like.
Ella Bella Gluten-Free founder Mandy Groszko wasn’t sure herself — until she decided to sell her business after 11 years. Effective spring 2022, Ella Bella became a product line of Rosebud’s Real Food and its founder, Amber Stephenson.
Covid took a toll on food businesses everywhere, Mandy recalled. It was becoming harder to find time with her kids as they got older. And she landed a dream job doing digital asset management for the Ohio State University.
It was time for a change.
“I didn’t always know what my exit plan looked like, but I always knew in the back of my mind that there was a way out, that you don’t have to continue forever and ever,” she said. “I realized that it had been a good year and a half since I’d enjoyed Ella Bella, since I’d looked forward to going to the kitchen. I knew I couldn’t take it where I wanted to. I could have just closed, but there was a good customer base for the product, and I didn’t want to take that away from those customers.”
So she pinged a few folks, including fellow founder and then-customer Amber.
“We had very similar business philosophies about our products, why we offer gluten-free, why we use clean ingredients,” Mandy recalled. “The cosmos aligned, and she said yes.”
Where Mandy launched Ella Bella to support her daughter, Amber similarly launched Rosebud after she learned how food was affecting her anxiety and depression. She began with a few seasoning mixes and butter. Her product line grew as a direct response to customer requests for new seasoning blends, she recalled.
Amber began carrying Mandy’s products in her vendor space in 2nd Street Market. Amber’s gluten-free daughter, Megan, said the Ella Bella mixes were the best gluten-free product she’d tried.
“When Mandy reached out, I was honored, I knew she had a great business,” Amber said. “I feel like a big kid now — this is my first time purchasing another product line.”
Amber plans to keep the Ella Bella name and brand. She’s testing new packaging, but the products won’t change, she said.
Amber is also looking at a larger processing facility for Rosebud, in part as a result of the Ella Bella acquisition.
“Most food entrepreneurs don’t last past five years,” Amber said. “Mandy made it past that, and built a wonderful brand and product.”
Get your Ella Bella fix at the Rosebud’s Real Food stand at Second Street Market, at Rosebud’s Piqua location at 122. W. High St., and online at www.rosebudsrealfood.com.
By Meghann Naveau
When Tae Winston was working in a boutique and hosting events back in 2015, she fell in love with seeing other people win and other businesses thrive. Since then, she’s opened three businesses – soon to be four! – all built on the idea that we’re better together.
As Tae prepares to open her new District Market mid-November, we caught up with her to hear about the details and her passion for helping others.
Tae Winston: One of the reasons I started The Entrepreneurs Marketplace was to provide a place for small businesses to get their name out there and be in front of people. I saw businesses trying to do something new and different, but they struggled. I love the idea that we can all do better if we’re working together, and the idea for the Marketplace – and then The Entrepreneurs Shoppe and then the Entrepreneurs Connection – evolved from there.
Definitely! My spaces have been really successful because they provide space for the person who has the motivation and will do the hard work and really wants to win.
My friend Anthony Thomas started with his Taco Street Co. food truck, then moved into West Social Tap and Table across the street. Now he’s getting ready to open Lux Barber Lounge, which will be the only barbershop in the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood. He’s killing it!
AlwaysLove Custom Creations is another. Founder Laeina Musa sells her custom t-shirts and other items in The Entrepreneur Shoppe, and she’s often selling out!
And, Chef Phil Morgan recently announced he’s opening a restaurant in Wright-Dunbar. He’s been serving at The Entrepreneur Shoppe, too.
Honestly, part of me being successful means that business owners are outgrowing our space and that they’re ready to move into their own spaces. That’s powerful!
That’s my stomping grounds! I grew up there and wanted to be there when I started getting into business and collaborating with other founders.
My fourth business, District Market, opens up mid-November. When West Social came in, I closed The Entrepreneurs Marketplace. But, I’ve seen there’s still a need to help those really small food businesses get started, and I’m excited to bring this kind of offering back downtown.
We’ll have six vendors to start, including: Your Vegan Chef, Sisters Catering, Thai’s Kitchen, What the Slush, Z’s Lemonade and The Cheesecakery. There’s something for everyone and every taste bud!
District Market is located at 200 Wayne Avenue and will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 7 p.m.
Having lots of options for the community in one place is good for all of us. It gives people a space and platform to thrive. The community can come out and support it, and we’re all lifting each other up!
When we spoke with Tae, she was on-site at Anthony’s new Lux Barber Lounge. He shared what it’s like to work with Tae and what it means to him to be an entrepreneur.
Anthony Thomas: Tae really gave me a location. Before her, food trucks in west Dayton were pretty unheard of, but she created an avenue for food trucks to be able to park and get attention, and that was really a no brainer for me and Taco Street. She helped us get our name out there, and she’s continued to be a great support for me as I’m starting Lux Barber Lounge.
Anthony: Our soft opening is Friday, October 28, and we’re Dayton’s first luxury barber shop. The guys get left out a lot! Usually a barber shop doesn’t really have a good vibe, and there’s not a space that makes you really want to come in and relax. Here, people will be able to come in for a facial, beard trim, shampoo, cut and more.
My mindset in business has always been that how you do anything is how you do everything. Tae and I have that in common; we both operate that if you’re slacking in one part of life, it’ll show in another area of your life. That passion and dedication has been a common thread for us.
Lux Barber Lounge is located at 1115 West Third Street and open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For Lesley Jones, a piece of jewelry’s value comes from the stories it carries.
Her company, Traveling Pendants, offers jewelry that carry stories of strength, courage and hope that are accessible via a unique hand-stamped number present on each piece.
Last month, Lesley won the Launch Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition main street venture track — and its $3,000 in prize monies — just in time for her company’s relaunch.
“I think connection is the key to everything,” she said. “Being human is hard. When you share you story and connect in that way, we see so much of each other in ourselves. That’s why I make these pendants — they’re a vehicle for connection, and a reminder that you’re never alone.”
The dream to create Traveling Pendants began decades ago, when her aunt was diagnosed with stage three cancer, Lesley shared.
At the time, her aunt was in her 30s, and had two little boys. She traveled to the Cleveland Clinic for treatments. One day, a woman sharing the elevator with her handed her a pendant that read “strength for the journey.” She explained that it had been worn by many women before her, and asked Lesley’s aunt to pass it on when the time was right.
Her aunt wore the pendant every day for five years, until she gave it to Lesley’s mom when she received her own cancer diagnosis.
“It was so powerful, the idea that this pendent could carry these stories,” Lesley recalled. “I thought, what if there was a way to track the pendent, to go read the stories of all the women who’d worn it?”
Flash forward to 2017, Lesley’s husband was stationed in England, and she found herself without a work visa. She took the opportunity, and learned how to make her Traveling Pendants. She spun up a Shopify page and started spreading the word to test her proof of concept.
“Over the years, I sold several hundred of these pendants, but I didn’t have the time to devote,” she said. “It was a hobby, but it was making a real impact on people. People all over the world were buying them.”
Eventually, it got to be too much, Lesley confessed. She found herself trying not to sell her pendants, because she wanted to spend weekends with her family rather than in the basement making jewelry.
A year ago, Lesley was about to shut her business down, when she began receiving messages from customers out of the blue sharing how special the pendants were to them. She followed up with prayer, and in December, she quit her job instead so that she could work full-time on scaling up her business.
Today, Lesley sources her pendants from a Cincinnati company and then hand stamps them with their number.
Her new website isn’t a Frankenstein-ed Shopify page, but a fully-functional digital home with built-in capabilities for customers to shop and to submit, read and track stories associated with their pendants. Each new pendant also ships with a QR code in the box.
She’s ready to roll into this year’s holiday shopping season, with extra marketing dollars at her back, thanks to her Startup Week pitch win.
“To have those extra funds has been a game changer,” she said. “I can enter the market with more gusto with extra resources for marketing, a launch party, paid advertising. The timing was perfect for me.”
Though her dad and brother are both Dayton business owners, Lesley never imagine the life of an entrepreneur for herself, she said.
“I’m much happier behind the scenes,” she said. “To do that pitch, I’m sure I drove my husband crazy, I was so nervous, over-practicing.”
But in the end, she knew she’d regret it if she didn’t give it a real go.
“If you feel like you’re being pulled to do something, and you’re able to work it out, do it,” Lesley said. “Had I shut this down, I would have regretted it. Or when I saw someone else making it big in five years, I would have known I was doing it first.”
And tap into local resources, she added.
“The entrepreneur community here in Dayton is pretty amazing,” she said. “We’re so lucky to live in city that really wraps arms around entrepreneurs in so many ways.”
Want you own pendant? Snag one at www.travelingpendants.com. You can also pick one up locally at Indie West in Oakwood. Lesley hopes to add more retailers to that list, possibly after the holidays. Stay tuned for the latest from her @travelingpendants on Facebook and Instagram.
Seven founders graduated from the summer 2022 Early Risers Academy cohort, with Keenan Woods + Remarkable Ice taking home the win from the culminating pitch competition on Sept. 28.
Keenan fell in love with the summer treat — a twist of both creamy ice cream and refreshing shave ice — nearly a decade ago. But it wasn’t until this summer that he decided to quit his day job and make a go of entrepreneurship.
His wife, Roe Wallace, was one of the first Early Risers Academy graduates, and raved about the program. So when he sought out resources to help him with his own endeavor, he too found himself in Early Risers Academy, a free, 10-week, business-building bootcamp managed by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research.
“It was a great opportunity a lot of people should take advantage of,” he said of the program. “What I really liked was the communication, the supportive environment, and the ability to apply the coursework to different industries. The one-day commitment is feasible for most people. There is a lot of love and compassion, and the feeling of camaraderie is definitely prominent.”
Early Risers Academy 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 entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The bootcamp is designed to take aspiring entrepreneurs from idea to business launch. These workshops can also be valuable for founders early in their small business journey, or who jumped right into their business without formally developing the plans behind it and are now discovering they need some of that paperwork in place to grow.
Curious if Early Risers Academy is fit your you? Learn more & apply for a 2023 cohort!
By Meghann Naveau
Caseworker turned entrepreneur Zontaye Richardson is the founder of TheZe DealZ, a thrift store and gathering place in Dayton. In the five years of owning her business, Zontaye has navigated through the pandemic and a shift to online shopping by building strong connections with her shoppers and guests.
Zontaye is one of the first recipients of Cultural Capital, a micro-lending program offered by the Greater Dayton West Incubator in partnership with Citywide Development and Flyer Consulting. Below, she shares how community connections have been — and continue to be — a contributor to her success.
“Several years ago, I got really convicted that we’re each able to make change happen where we are; we don’t have to wait for someone else.
I didn’t see any quality thrift stores in my community, and I believed there could be a space where people could not only buy beautiful clothing, but also get to know one another and build relationships. It wasn’t just about the store; the store was the avenue to the bigger picture of gathering people and making things happen. TheZe Dealz was born!
Since those early days in 2017, I’ve connected with so many people. Shoppers have become friends (and even vacation buddies!), and it’s been really amazing to also connect with other people and organizations making change happen in Dayton.
One of those groups is the School of Business at the University of Dayton. A student group did some consulting with me, making helpful suggestions about different outreach efforts I could try or different ways to make my existing efforts more efficient. They had great ideas, but it was hard for me to implement a lot of the suggestions on top of all the work I was already doing.
I also got connected with the Greater West Dayton Incubator, and as my network from UD and GWDI grew, I discovered the Cultural Capital program. I applied and was able to secure funding to pay for a TheZe Dealz staff person to implement some of the suggestions the student consultants had made.
It’s been so helpful to have the extra support to bring some of those ideas to life, and the connections we’ve been able make as a result of the additional support for me continue to help our business grow and thrive.
Yes, we sell clothes. But we also create meaningful connections by remembering people’s names, their stories, and details of their life that matter most. Clothing is making compassionate connections possible in Dayton.”
Guided by the University of Dayton’s Marianist values and community needs, the GWDI’s Cultural Capital micro-lending fund is committed to mitigating historical power imbalances. Through Flyer Consulting, a student-run organization, the micro-lending program provides capital development, loan application assistance, and support services through Flyer Consulting’s organizational verticals for development and business consulting.
This is implemented through a holistic set of criteria, processes, and products that emphasize impact contributions on under-resourced entrepreneurs, innovators, and creatives. In the spirit of the Catholic Social Teaching, the program utilizes additional services and considerations for low-income residents, main street and lifestyle businesses, and social ventures that advance the common good by operating in geographical disinvested areas in Greater West Dayton.
By Katie Aldridge
Chefs, bakers, food entrepreneurs, close your eyes and imagine your dream kitchen. Imagine vast counter space, brand new equipment and a wide variety of storage options. Are you ready for it?
At Launch Dayton Startup Week, the founders of the 6888 Kitchen shared all you need to know to tap into this new resource when it opens next year.
A food business incubator, 6888 Kitchen will provide training, business support services, and commercial kitchen space for under-resourced entrepreneurs developing food business. Local businesswomen Dabriah Rice, Jamaica White and Charlynda Scales are the kitchen manager, program manager, executive director, respectfully.
Open 24/7, Kitchen 6888 will feature an array of kitchen spaces, each designed to meet a specific production need. The 10K-square-foot space will include a training and community-use kitchen; bakery kitchen; vegetable processing area; co-packaging services for consumer products; dry, cold and frozen storag; prep tables; three large cooking pods; and retail space.
To be a member of this state-of-the-art kitchen, food entrepreneurs must be graduates of Sharpen the Axe, a business training program tailored for food-based entrepreneurs. Cohorts will complete written and digital coursework on topics from running a business to selling their product, to managing finances. The goal is for business owners to get leave the kitchen and move into their own food trucks, brick + mortar locations, or the get their products on major retail store shelves or televised shopping programs.
The application for the program is $50, to prove commitment. To sign up, you should meet the following criteria:
The first cohort is underway, and the next will launch in the near future. Founders may also apply for Sharpen the Ax even if they don’t want to be a member of the shared kitchen.
Learn more at ohtaste.org/6888kitchen or email [email protected] or [email protected].
This monthly LaunchPad event series brings you opportunities to expand your networks and grow your business.
Mix & mingle with fellow movers, shakers, entrepreneurs, business owners, creatives, founders, freelancers, engineers, researchers. Build networks in & out of your industry. Learn what and connect with who you need to launch your: startup, business, product, idea, collaborative, nonprofit.
Cowork for free all day at The Hub. Around 4p, enjoy light eats from Salt Block.
This month’s workshop lineup:
3:30-4:30 P.M. Dayton Metro Library Card Is A Business Essential
Koorndyk Room
Today’s public library has so much more to offer than most people realize. Join DML’s Economic Opportunity team as they share the Library’s physical, digital and human assets that will make your life as an entrepreneur so much easier!
3:30-5:30 P.M. Get to Know Rebuilding Together Dayton
The Square
Rebuilding Together Dayton (RTD) helps seniors age in place in safe and healthy housing, completing necessary repairs with both volunteer and contracted labor. The guidelines for repairs follow the 8 Principles of the National Center for Healthy Housing: keeping homes dry, clean, pest-free, safe, contaminant-free, ventilated, maintained, and thermally controlled. RTD provides these services at no cost to low-income elderly homeowners in Montgomery County (80% or less of the area median income).
4-6 P.M. Office Hours with Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Partnership
Brick House
Chat one-on-one with a resource provider from the Minority Business Partnership. Sign-ups are first come, first served for 15-minute slots.
5:30-6:30 P.M. Get Your Holiday Marketing in Order
Lewis Room
For many businesses, the holiday season is the busiest time of year. Don’t be the person who gets to November and has no idea what they are doing. Get an early start on your holiday marketing so you aren’t scrambling on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday. Join LeKeisha Grant as she gives tips and tricks to make your business stand out this holiday season. It’s never too early to get started!
Ten startup founders pitched for $10K+ in cash & prizes at this year’s Launch Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition.
Taking first place in the innovation category was Kelly Franko, founder of Seraphina Safety Apparel, designing and manufacturing flame-resistant underclothing to protect women in the industrial workplace through use of technical fabrics with performance features that increase comfort, fit, and productivity. Kelly took home $5,000 in cash + $5000 in services to grow her business.
Runner-up in the innovation category was Brett Ewing, founder of AXE.AI, developing a Cybersecurity Credit Score to help insurers and investors quantify cyber risk using a data driven security platform that analyzes every pillar of a companies security posture. Brett took home $2,500 in services to grow his business.
First place in the main street category went to Lesley Jones, founder of Traveling Pendants, creating inspirational jewelry designed to carry strength: wear for strength, pass it on to someone in need, then track it as it travels using the unique pendant number. Lesley took home $3,000 in cash to infuse into her business.
This year’s pitch competition was sponsored by Entrepreneurs’ Center and Converge Technologies.
Also pitching at the 2022 Startup Week Pitch Competition were:
Congratulations to all the pitching founders!
Stay tuned to our newsletter to get to know them better.
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