Please join us to welcome Lisa Crum, one of the newest business advisors at the Miami Valley Small Business Development Center!
Born and raised in Beavercreek, Lisa just moved back to the area to be close to family. She comes home from Milwaukee, where she spent nearly 20 years running food businesses before stepping into the formal role of business advisor.
We recently caught up with Lisa to introduce her to the Launch Dayton community. Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Lisa: I grew up in Beavercreek, before I moved to Milwaukee — I was there 30 years and just moved back. While there, I opened a wholesale business that I ran for four years, then a retail business that I ran for 14 years. I sold that business to two of my employees. Between running my own businesses, I helped develop the bakery programs for local coffee chains Alterra Coffee Roasters and StoneCreek Coffee Roasters. When COVID hit, I was asked to jump in and help people access forgivable loans, etc. When I came back to Dayton, I was still advising Milwaukee business owners virtually. I reached out to Kim Woodbury to see about a position.
I love it, I love helping entrepreneurs. I’ve been in food business all my life, that’s my specialty. So SBDC is sending me a lot of food businesses. It’s great to teach them what not to do. You don’t learn until you hit those bumps. I’m excited to help keep people from making the mistakes I made. They’ll have their own, but I can help them avoid some and make sure they’re set up for success and going into role they should be. When we moved back to Dayton, I didn’t want to stop advising businesses — this is exactly what I want to be doing. I’m excited to see next generation of businesses in this area and to help the community.
When I started, the market for independent coffee shops was just taking off. I’m a baker — I was actually a pastry chef and waitress at Jay’s Seafood before I moved. When I moved to Milwaukee, I was the manager at a bread company, and I started making all of their sweet products. Customers asked why I didn’t do that on my own, so I wrote business plan and opened a wholesale operation to supply pastries to different coffee houses. I ran that company about five years and built up 36 accounts across Wisconsin. It was hard, really hard, and I was worn down by the end — it’s a 24/7 business, deliver at 3 a.m., bake all day. My business consultant told me to shut down and restructure. Three years later, the Milwaukee Public Market was opening. There was space for 22 vendors, and they reached out to me to be baker in the market. The market has grown since then, it was always busy, and I loved being there. It taught me a lot, it was really hard, but very rewarding. Two great employees bought it, and they’re doing an outstanding job keeping it going, and actually opened second location last year. They took over the business right before COVID.
I liked playing around in the kitchen. We made everything from scratch — lots of tortes and cakes. The big thing for the market was handheld items — cookies, bars, croissants and danishes from scratch. At our high point, we had 21 employees. There was an art school near the market, a lot of the employees were students there, and they’re so creative. It was fun playing around in the kitchen and teaching them.
I’m getting back to baking as a hobby. My niece is almost 7 years old, and she loves to bake — it’s fun to do with her. I also enjoy spending time with my two nephews. And I have a passion for dogs — I have two Doodles named Snicker Doodle and Minnie.
Connect with Lisa and the Miami Valley SBDC here.
Please join us to welcome Tosin Osunbunmi, one of the newest advisors at the Miami Valley Small Business Development Center!
Before stepping into her new role at SBDC, she worked in Montgomery County’s Community and Economic Development department and with the BusinessFirst! for a Greater Dayton program. Two years ago, she spearheaded the County’s CED minority-owned business outreach program in partnership with the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Partnership , to help minority-owned businesses access business resources. She will continue this work at the SBDC, as well as work to engage the region’s immigrant-owned small businesses.
We recently caught up with Tosin to introduce her to the Launch Dayton community. Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Launch Dayton: Tell us about yourself!
Tosin: I have lived and worked in various states in the U.S. where I received my high school, Bachelor of Science, law, and master’s degrees. I moved to the Dayton region from Dallas, TX about nine years ago, worked at the YWCA before I worked at Montgomery County. At the county I managed some Community Development Block Grant program projects, managed the creation of the Global Dayton Region Report, and worked with the BusinessFirst! program created to help retain businesses in the region, and help them grow and flourish.
I spearheaded the county’s minority-owned business outreach program. That program started two years ago because we heard that the COVID pandemic negatively impacted minority-owned businesses. It was also part of addressing the county commissioners’ declaration of racism as a public health crisis. We partnered with the chamber’s Minority Business Partnership to host roundtables, workshops & resource webinars for minority-owned businesses to link them to resources.
As an advisor at the SBDC, I will be providing business counseling in areas such as business planning, goal setting, financial projections, market strategy development, and employee management, to small business owners including minority-owned and immigrant-owned businesses.
What pulled you in when you saw this job?
It was the opportunity to work directly with businesses from the planning stage to launching, and expansion of their business that attracted me to this job.
What are you most looking forward to?
I am looking forward to meeting business owners and helping them find solutions to their business problems.
Who are you off the clock?
I am a wife and mom of two boys. I stay busy helping them with their schoolwork, taking them to their sports activities, instrument lessons, and various activities with their friends. I also stay busy singing, reading, cooking, baking, taking walks, going out to events, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and just relaxing.
Connect with Tosin and the Miami Valley SBDC here.
You don’t have to look a certain way, operate in a particular industry, pursue specific education, grow up in a particular household, or spend your free time nurturing any particular hobbies — entrepreneurs grow from all walks of life.
In a new video series we are excited to launch today, entrepreneurs, founders, and small business owners from across the Dayton Region share their individual stories in order to break down those pervading stereotypes about who can or can’t be an entrepreneur.
They proudly declare, “I Am an Entrepreneur” — and you can be, too.
When April Pollock and Shelly Heller sat down to have lunch together in 2015, they never dreamed the idea for sticker-style thermometer would explode into a multi-million-dollar business.
But that’s exactly what happened with their side hustle, Tempagenix, when the COVID pandemic hit in early 2020.
“We each have other businesses,” April explained. “We slowly worked it, set aside time every week to work on it together, and by 2019, we knew we had something when we launched into every Target nationwide. That was a defining moment. Then the pandemic happened, and our little side hustle exploded into a $5M company.”
It was a wakeup call for a founder who never thought she would be an entrepreneur, she said.
Tempagenix is a certified women-owned business through WBENC, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. It was largely connecting to other women founders through WBENC that gave Shelly and April confidence in their own entrepreneurial endeavors, Shelly said.
“We learned through being part of WBENC that authenticity, honesty and openness with other women-owned businesses is the key to this whole things,” she said. “It’s really about sitting next to people, and stop being afraid, because everybody is afraid, but nobody’s ever told anybody the secret that everybody else is afraid.”
Being part of WBENC and participating in their supplier diversity programs opened a lot of the doors from the company, April added.
“It really is a community for women who just help each other, and you don’t have to know everything,” she said. “To be able to share your fears, and what you feel you’re lacking, and get advice on how to acknowledge that or to rectify that is a pretty powerful thing.”
Dayton is hometown for both April and Shelly, and they hope to bring jobs to the region as they grow. They’re inspired by the region’s long history of innovation, and they hope the next generation of founders is inspired, too.
“To all you students out there who feel like you;re not the smartest kid in class, or actually not smart at all, or you’ve been told that — remember you were created by God that created us all uniquely,” Shelly said. “Be present, pay attention to what you’re good at, pay attention to what you love doing, pay attention to what you put your sights on and follow that, no matter how silly it seems to the rest of the world.”
“If you have an idea and you truly believe it’ll fit a need and you can set yourself apart from the competition, pursue it!” April said. “It doesn’t have to be a full-time commitment, you can still work another job, do what your passion is, but if you truly believe in your idea or product, there are ways.”
“I am Shelly Heller; and I am April Pollock — and we are entrepreneurs.”
We’re looking for 10 founders to pitch for cash prizes at this year’s Launch Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition!
The innovation track is geared for tech-enabled startups or companies developing intellectual property that want to scale their business broadly & sell beyond the greater Dayton region. The main street track is geared for companies that serve the local population such as restaurants, marketing firms, coffee shops, etc.
So whether you’re building software or baking cupcakes, we want to hear from you!
First place winners in each category will take home up to $5K in cash.
To qualify, your business must:
• have less than $50K in revenue or investment to date
• be connected to the Dayton region
“Winning the pitch competition during Startup Week Dayton was by far one of the most exciting milestones yet for Baba Love Organics. It was my first time to compete among other small business owners and share the Baba Love vision in front of so many guests.”
— Vaniti Byrd, Founder, Baba Love Organics, & winner of the 2019 Startup Week Early Risers Pitch Competition
“It was a good day that honestly was a springboard for us. We made some great introductions. We learned about resources available in the area, and that was amazing and took us on a new trajectory.”
— Carlos Portis, Cofounder, Soft Cards, & winner of the 2018 Startup Week Early Risers Pitch Competition
APPLY BY AUG. 31. Finalists will be notified the week of Sept. 7. The pitch will be Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 4p. Finalists will have five minutes to pitch. A diverse panel of experts will judge the competition and select the winners.
By Katie Aldridge
Cerenity Miller began exploring vegan ice creams when her children were diagnosed with food allergies.
Today, VeganMeltz is the region’s first fully plant-based ice cream parlor, located at 4636 Salem Ave in Trotwood.
We recently caught up with Cerenity to learn more about her company and her entrepreneurial journey.
Cerenity: My children were born with food allergies, so I transitioned our diets to being vegan. Whenever we would go to birthday parties, they couldn’t eat anything, so I decided to make ice cream for them. After that, it transpired into a whole business.
We could have gone to any vegan area — we didn’t have to do ice cream. I tasted a few vegan ice creams, and I wasn’t a fan of them. When I decided to make my own, I realized I could make so many different flavors. That’s when I chose to go with ice cream. There are places in Dayton that serve vegan options, but I haven’t seen a whole vegan ice cream parlor.
Yes. I knew that I wanted to do this. I wanted to be a full-time entrepreneur by the time I was 30, and I’m 29. I made it just in time!
I graduated from Wright State University with my bachelor’s degree in business marketing. That allowed me to wrap my mind around why marketing is important and who the target market is. I have friends and family members who have been entrepreneurs their entire lives. I’ve had that momentum going, so that went into knowing what I wanted to do.
Reaching my target niche market. Often, when people hear “vegan ice cream,” their first reaction is “ew!” I had to think about my experience with trying vegan ice creams to know where their minds were going. It was hard at first to know how to reach people who are lactose intolerant or have Celiac disease. Finding those people who think they can’t have ice cream and telling them they can was the hardest thing.
I get to be as creative as I want to. I can come in everyday and make a new ice cream flavor if I wanted to. I’m always interested in taking my favorite desserts and seeing how they taste as ice cream. It’s so fun to think of new flavors and ways to create those flavors. It’s also fun to pull people out of their norm.
In May of 2020, I had my first pop-up event at Wright Dunbar Day. It was in the Wright Dunbar area at Tae Winston’s event. Before that I was doing deliveries. As I grew, I was able to do pop-ups, and that was my first time immersing myself into the Dayton business community.
There are so many pop-up events in Dayton that I have attended that I can’t name them all, but those helped so much. Dayton business accelerator programs. I’ve been in the Dayton Retail Lab; I’m in another accelerator program called Aventi Enterprises out of central Ohio. I have been involved the most with those.
Visit the store! We are located at 4636 Salem Ave, Trotwood. Share my posts and stay up to date with our page. And recommend new flavors! I am always open to suggestions because my favorite flavors of ice cream aren’t everyone’s favorite flavors. We do Flavor-of-the-Week, so we can try the recommendations, and if they’re a fan favorite, we’ll put them on the permanent menu!
Connect with VeganMeltz online here.
By Katie Aldridge
Got a sweet tooth for cheesecakes? CheezCake Lab has you covered with 50+ flavors in rotation.
Founder Vivian Wong took first place last week at her Early Risers Academy cohort’s pitch competition. Early Risers Academy, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research.
“It’s a great program to go through, and it helps you understand your business more, especially if you’re just starting out,” Vivian shared of her experience. “If you’re a shy person like me, it will get you outside of that box because it teaches you to be comfortable talking about your business. It’s like breathing afterwards.”
Vivian is also one of the newest tenants at Launch Dayton partner Spark Fairborn’s commercial kitchen.
We recently caught up with Vivian to learn more about CheezCake Lab and her entrepreneurial journey.
Vivian: It started about 18 years ago. I was a die-hard cheesecake fan, and I was tired of going to the store and getting cheesecake out of the freezer section. I decided to start making my own — literally with the premade, Keebler, graham cracker crust. It grew from there.
It wavered here-and-there over the years. I remember in middle school saying I was going to own my own business. I didn’t know it was going to take this long to get here, but I got here. I think it happened when it was supposed to.
Having the time to go through the workforce and knowing how to apply myself and show up even when you don’t want to. Throughout everyone’s life, I’m sure they’ve had jobs that they don’t like, but they have to show up. In this case, I have something I love doing, but sometimes I have those days where I don’t want to get out of bed or lift a heavy bowl of batter. I have gone through life and learned how to show up.
I’ve always been a pretty shy person. I think now that I’m older, I’m pushing myself to get out of that box of being shy because you’re not going to get anywhere if you’re not putting your business out there.
Food is for a lot of people and crosses a lot of boundaries, cultural boundaries, racial boundaries. Food can bring people together and make people happy. I love seeing the look of joy on people’s faces when they taste something good; their faces relax, their shoulders relax, and they sink into the moment of “yes, this is really good.” That’s what I look for, the body language telling me it’s good.
There were so many pathways that led me to Launch Dayton! I started joining stuff on Instagram, trying to be a part of that community. I started following different pages and things would pop up. I first heard about it through someone at the Small Business Development Center, and then someone else mentioned something about it to me. Finally, I decided to try and do it even though I was super nervous!
I want people to try the products and give me honest feedback about where I can improve, and if they think it’s great – fantastic! The Launch Dayton community can support me by spreading our information by word of mouth, going online and purchasing a product, or showing up at events that I’m at. Even just supporting other small businesses that are around me in our community.
Connect with Vivian and CheezCake Lab online & follow CheezCake Lab on Instagram and Facebook.
A new boutique will open doors in downtown Dayton this summer, bringing women all the options they need to create the perfect evening look for any occasion.
Dayton native Erin Parrott is the founder of After5, a women’s clothing boutique that launched online in late 2019.
“It ended up serving me really well that we began as full e-commerce outside our of our one big, annual popup event,” Erin said, reflecting on the impact of COVID on local retail shops.
This summer, Erin will open doors to a physical store in Dayton’s Fireblocks District.
After5 caters primarily to women in their 30s and 40s, often moms, who fall in a “gray area” where fashion marketers are concerned, Erin said.
“They’re in their mid-30s, they want to be cute, and be sexy, and feel attractive, without doing the absolute most,” she said. “We try to create a seamless hopping experience. If you’re looking for casual, on the go, but cute and comfy, or it you want to jazz it up, dazzle dazzle it for date night, we have that too.”
The inspiring part of her work as a boutique owner is helping women feel comfortable and confident, so they can show up as their best selves, she said.
“When you find something that fits your body type and personality, and you know you look good, it does something to your self-esteem,” she said. “I want women to feel as good as they look, and vice versa.”
While After5’s annual popup shopping experience as a full-scale affair, complete with open buffet and bar, having a physical location will enable her to bring an element of personal shopping to her customers on a regular basis, Erin said. The back of the shop will be a fulfillment center for online orders, but the front will offer lounge-like furniture and rotating exhibits highlighting local artisans and designers. And, of course, the clothes.
“My goal is to know my customer. Whether its me or my style advisor, I want women to feel comfortable expressing what they’re insecure about so we can help customize looks, and maybe find things they wouldn’t have thought would look good,” Erin said.
After5 is Erin’s first foray into entrepreneurship. One local program that’s helping her secure her footing is Downtown Dayton Partnership’s Retail Lab.
“It’s extremely informational,” she said. “Sometimes the topics are things you think you know, sometimes it’s things you didn’t know at all, but a light bulb goes off.”
When the store opens, Erin hopes her customers will come out to say hello in real life.
“I love my customers!” she said. “I feel like they’re extended family. I’d love to start putting faces to names. I believe After5 will scale outside Ohio, but home is where the heart is, and our core location will always be in Dayton. I would love to meet those core Dayton customers, and meet new ones.”
Her advice to fellow founders? Trust the process.
“It’s not always pretty. You have to really believe in the power of yourself,” she said. “The amount After5 has grown in the last, not even three years — it blows my mind. Sometimes we know we can do something, but reality shows us something different, so we don’t pursue it. I just want people to really believe in the power of themselves and keep going. If you’re persistent and dedicated, there’s always something that comes from hard work.”
Shop After5 online here, and follow the company on social media for first notice of the downtown storefront’s official opening date!
Launch Dayton Startup Week is the Dayton, Ohio entrepreneur community’s largest event, drawing roughly 1K attendees annually to celebrate, inspire and equip the Dayton region’s startup founders & business owners. This year, we’re proud to announce Fifth Third Bank as our presenting sponsor.
This year, the conference will be fully in-person, Sept. 13-15 at the Dayton Arcade and The Hub Powered by PNC. Park at the Reibold Garage on Fifth Street, or park at meters available around the building, and enter the conference through the Arcade Rotunda entrance at 35 W. Fourth St.
“The community spoke, and we listened,” said Launch Dayton Startup Week organizer Audrey Ingram. “Come out to be inspired by the stories of your fellow founders and get your business questions answered on the spot by area resource providers. Let Startup Week be a launching point for you to build a company that will impact our community.”
The organizing team is committed to hosting a conference that is representative of the community we serve. Last year, main stage speakers were 50 percent women and 50 percent people of color. This year, we are working to meet those ratios across all conference stages.
We’re also mixing the schedule back up — rather than themed tracks by day, we hope that any business owner can find a relevant session whatever day they’re able to attend.
Sessions will cover a range of topics, such as:
Other session topics will include access to capital, hands-on marketing workshops, founder wellness strategies, the state of Black venture capital, proposal-writing for artists, an intro to the 6888 Kitchen Incubator and more.
Want to sponsor this year’s conference? Reach out to [email protected].
Can’t afford a formal sponsorship, but still want to support? This year, we’re launching two donation-based tickets, in addition to our always-free attendee ticket.
Pay It Forward: Community Supporter ticket buyers can donate any amount to be recognized as an individual community supporter. Community supporters’ names will be listed on the conference website. If tickets are purchased by Aug. 31, names will also be listed on conference signage in the Rotunda.
Pay It Forward: Business Supporter ticket buyers can donate a minimum of $100 to have their business name listed. Business supporters will also be listed on the website, and if tickets are purchased by Aug. 31, listed on conference signage in the Rotunda.
Apply to be a vendor in this year’s Startup Market! We have a dozen spots each day, and we’re looking for folks with cool products under $30.
Design this year’s Startup Week conference tee! It’s the most coveted piece of conference swag, and we’re looking to pay four local artists to create potential designs for this year. Learn more.
Pitch your business! Apply here for the annual Launch Dayton Startup Week Pitch Competition. Winners in both tech and main street categories will take home up to $5K in prize money.
Register today for the first look at the schedule when we release it in full in July.
Just in time for summer, Third Wave Water is proud to announce the release of their fourth water profile; the Cold Brew profile.
The Cold Brew profile was created to provide a Magnesium enriched, low acid water solution for cold brew coffee drinkers. The acidity of cold brewed coffee is reduced up to 3X (300%) while the Magnesium provides a smoother mouth feel and overall reduced bitterness. Repeatably brew the same great tasting cold brew with a water engineered
“The Third Wave Water Cold Brew Profile makes it easier to acquire the tasting notes commonly sought after in cold brew coffees like chocolate and molasses coupled with creamier body and reduced bitterness,” founder Charles Nick said. “Lowering the acidity also provides other additional effects most people look for in cold brew coffees.”
It is simple to create your water to brew cold brew — just add a packet of the specially blended minerals into one gallon of distilled water. Suitable empty water replacements for distilled water include reverse osmosis or deionized water.
Many coffee roasters brew medium to darker roasted coffees for cold brew and the tastes are greatly influenced by the type of water used to brew the coffee through this unique brew method, which requires 4 to 24 hours to brew. Whether brewing ready to drink cold brew coffee or small batch cold brew bottled in a café, the new Cold Brew profile was engineered to help.
Some of key benefits of the Cold Brew Profile include:
Find the Cold Brew water profile here.
Miamisburg-based Cornerstone Research Group announced Wednesday that Los Angeles-based Karman Space & Defense has acquired a proprietary portfolio of “MG Resins,” high-temperature materials used in hypersonic flight vehicles.
Through the deal, CRG will continue to conduct research, development, testing, and evaluation activities on the resins to complement Karman’s extensive production and scale-up capabilities. Mach 5 Materials, LLC, a venture recently launched by CRG’s startup studio Rushlight Ventures, will wind down.
The remainder of CRG’s work across its extensive technology portfolio will remain unchanged.
“The marriage of Karman’s broad array of space and defense products and the depth of their production capabilities is a perfect match for CRG’s expertise in developing novel, purpose-driven materials,” CRG CEO Patrick Hood said. “Not only will both companies be well-served by this new relationship, but more importantly, our customers will have access to MG Resin technology on a timeline and scale that serve our nation’s strategic interests.”
Dr. Rick Hreha, the inventor of this novel material system, will remain a key player in working with CRG and Karman to advance this platform.
“We are thrilled with the outcome of our discussions with Karman,” Rushlight Ventures President Andy Cothrel said. “The structure of this deal not only optimizes our collective ability to meet customer needs, but it also validates the commercialization approach we put in motion when we formed Rushlight Ventures.”
CRG’s company operations in Miamisburg will not see any significant changes.
“We plan to continue to pursue improving and inventing in the critical area of high-temperature materials,” CRG President Chris Hemmelgarn said. “There are no immediate changes to the scale and scope of employment or operations at CRG as a result of this deal – only a brighter future for everyone involved.”
For its part, Karman has big plans for its new resin system.
“Acquiring MG Resins from CRG aligns perfectly with Karman’s strategy of being a premiere supplier of complex systems to the aerospace and defense industries,” Karman Space & Defense CEO Tony Koblinski said. “In addition, the prospect of being able to continue to leverage CRG’s development capabilities can help us maintain our edge in being the best in the business.”
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