In an era of increasing cybersecurity threats, an ethical hacker-turned-cloud security engineer is developing a new “FICO Score for cybersecurity” to help ensure your company has all the proper protections in place to protect both your own and your users’ data.
Brett Ewing is the founder of Axe.AI, a Dayton startup developing the AXE Security Score (AXESS Score), a public grade a company can use to show they are protected from cyber attacks.
“Everyone sees the problem,” Brett said. “Every day, bigger and bigger hacks with larger and larger dollar amounts are being paid out.”
The projected damage related to cyber crime is projected to hit $10.5T annually by 2025, he said, citing a study from Cybercrime Magazine. In 2021, the average cost to fix a data breach was $4.24M, according to IBM’s annual report.
And small businesses are not immune — more than half of all cyber attacks are committed against small- and medium-sized businesses, and 60% of these businesses close their doors within 6 months of the attacks.
“These are the problems we’re addressing,” Brett said.
Axe.AI’s first product will automate processes to help companies comply with the Department of Defense’s new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements.
From there, Axe.AI will build out its B2B model by pursuing insurance providers who will want, and eventually require, their customers to have high AXESS Scores, in order to reduce their own exposure, Brett explained.
The score could also eventually be a tool for a banker approving or denying loans, he continued.
“Say the owner of Joe’s Auto Lot wants a loan. He’s got 16 lots throughout three or four states. On paper, he’s got good revenue and continuous growth — he looks like an ideal investment candidate,” Brett said. “But then a company like us analyzes his security posture and discovers he’s running off 20-year-old systems that are ripe for attack — what looked like a strong investment is actually a scary investment.”
It’s only a matter of time before hackers go after those softer targets — in fact, we’re already seeing it, Brett said.
“Meat supply companies, companies that no one would think are big enough to get hit — hackers are looking for that low-hanging fruit,” he said. “They’re trickling down to small companies. We have to build companies with security in mind, to protect our customers.”
A former high-level competitive athlete, Brett is always looking for the next progression — and founder seemed the right step forward from a successful career, he said.
One of the first resources he tapped to make this move was Early Risers Academy, a free 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partners Parallax Advance Research and the Entrepreneurs’ Center. Brett joined the fall 2021 tech cohort, led by Converge Technologies CEO Eric Wagner. Eric pulled in experts from around the region, as well as leveraging Converge Ventures partners from BX3, a firm providing expertise in capital raising, law, and business advisory.
“I really was at the very, very beginning stage when I started the program,” Brett recalled.
Just 10 weeks later, Axe.AI had landed its first client and was prepping its first white paper.
“Early Risers Academy helped us accelerate very quickly,” he said. “We made a lot of good connections and potential partnerships. The program was wonderful, and I can’t wait to support it and be a noted alumni.”
Since winning his cohort’s culminating pitch competition in December, Brett’s company has been accepted into EC’s Entrepreneurial Services Provider portfolio, and has moved through the first phase to pursue a $200K Department of Energy SBIR grant.
“I just get up with fire every morning since Ax.AI started to take off,” Brett said. “We’re right at the cutting edge where AI and cloud and cybersecurity are starting to meet. It’s a very exciting time.”
Curious how you can get involved and support Brett? Reach out at [email protected].
We’re celebrating milestones big and small with our entrepreneurs and founders! Read on to see some of the moves our startups made in January + a few highlights from late 2021, in no particular order:
• Rich Taste Catering was added to the Steam Plant’s approved caterers list — Congrats Clarece & Gerald!
• Global Neighbor secured $1M+ in funding — congrats, Jon!
• Baba Love Organics secured a new production facility — congrats, Vaniti!
• Chicken Head’s announced a new restaurant location + partnership with fellow Black-owned businesses The Cookieologist, Simply Savory by Rachel and Nimbus Comic Cafe. Congrats, Chef Head & company!
• PLUS, Chicken Head’s and The Cookiologist will open a ghost kitchen in Kettering in the next couple months — congrats Chef Head and Isiah!
• Busy Bee Real Meals locked in a kitchen & storefront in Springboro — Congrats, Brandy!
• Tumble unveiled new logo — Congrats, Jeffrey & Charles!
• Tears, Tides & Transformations launched season 2 — congrats Bridget & KeAnna!
• Christina Mendez launched marketing bootcamp Campaign YOUniversity — congrats, Christina!
• TheScarvinArtist opened the year with a reception + show at Branch & Bone Artisan Ales — Congrats, Erin!
• Ceremony boxes hit their first retail shelves at Trojan Florist in Troy — congrats, Candace!
• After 5 announced a storefront coming soon to 111 3rd St., downtown Dayton — Congrats, Erin!
• Nothing Bundt Cakes opened a second location — congrats, Jeff & Renee!
• EmBARK Dayton Dog Supply opened its doors downtown — Congrats Nicole & Ben!
• The Reduce & Reuse Refillery also celebrated a grand opening this month — congrats, Megan!
• Maraluna (formerly Pachamama Market) opened doors in their new home in Oakwood — congrats, Lindsay!
• Zontaye Richardson, founder of TheZe DealZ, was the first recipient of the Greater West Dayton Incubator’s Cultural Capital microlending program — congrats, Zontaye!
• Picnk took over the food & bev operation at Five Seasons Family Sports Club (in addition to running weekly prepped meal production out of their kitchen) — congrats, Will!
• Ivy finally got to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony after COVID disrupted the usual celebrations in Washington Township — congrats, Liz, on the ceremony, and on rocking nearly two years in business, despite a global pandemic!
Something or someone we missed? Tell us! We need your help rounding up this good news so we can celebrate our entrepreneurs together. Thank you in advance!
Want to see your favorite Dayton startup snag the Soin Award for Innovation — & the associated $25K in funding — in 2022?
Encourage the founder you know to apply by 4 pm, Friday, March 4, 2022!
The Soin Award is designed to identify, honor and financially assist a Dayton region company demonstrating the community’s historical innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. The award recipient will showcase a new or pending product or service with the ability to sustain longterm growth for the company, increase local employment and help create economic prosperity in the region.
The criteria:
- An organization or company operating for the purpose of the commercial production of a product or service.
- The organization must be within the Dayton region.
- New or redesigned product or service recently launched into the marketplace or ready to be launched in 2021.
- The innovation should be unique or fill a needed void in the market or industry in which it serves.
- The organization does not have to be a member of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.
- Soin family-owned or operated companies are not eligible.
The Soin family and the Chamber have partnered to offer the annual innovation award since 2007.
Previous Soin award winners have included:
2022 Soin Award for Innovation winner could be you! –>> Apply here.
The Gem City Selfie Museum will unveil a new pop-up Black History Month exhibit today in the St.Clair Opportunity Space at the Dayton Metro Library’s downtown branch.
“Gem City Selfie Museum takes pride in being more than another social experience; we are an organization rooted in love and support,” founder Na’Asiaha Simon said in a press release. “We would love to see you among us at our exhibit reveal which will be our BIGGEST and consists of stations that empower every aspect of entrepreneurship to youth literacy, design, and so much more!”
The exhibit will be unveiled this evening, Feb. 1, at 6:30 p.m.
The reveal will include special remarks and performances from:
Additionally, the Gem City Selfie Museum team is collaborating with local artists, entrepreneurs, and businesses to host social and mental wellness programs throughout the month as part of the exhibit.
The full lineup:
RSVP for Gem City Selfie Museum Black History Month Exhibit reveal party here.
Have a medical technology you want to get out of the lab and into the world to make a difference?
The MedTech Launch Fund will help you get it done.
The fund, which supports prototype development, is designed to help researchers bridge the “uncanny valley” between really promising research to a physical prototype that is ready to be shared with investors.
Fund managers have funding for one more award, up to $60K. Apply by Feb. 18, 2022.
Luis Estevez was a university researcher without any formal business background when he founded AIMM and stepped onto the path to medical device entrepreneurship. He is funneling 10+ years of materials science expertise into his startup, which specializes in antimicrobial coatings for porous materials that activate with simple water.
He is currently developing a self-disinfecting N95 respirator mask, and the MedTech Launch Fund is supporting prototype development and testing.
“We’ve already spoken to few folks who can help with the scale up, big companies that have done this before, or that work with PPE. They’ve all said, if you get to a prototype, let us know, we’re interested. But they won’t move until you have that prototype,” Estevez said. “It’s crucial to get the technology from that promising, early stage to an actual prototype, and that’s what we’ll have when we’re done with the fund.”
Estevez was accepted into the MedTech Launch Fund in February 2021. The process was simple he said — a written application and a quick pitch.
“The pitch is what I was most worried about. You’re thrown into a room with smart people who know how to poke and prod,” he recalled. “But they saw through my green-ness, to the enthusiasm behind it, and saw what we were trying to do. I was worried about my proposal being too risky, but they knew how to de-risk it. They met me at my level.”
The selection committee asked good questions, and he was prepared to answer them — and you will be too, Estevez says.
“You know your technology, you have a plan for how it will get to market, so you’ll be ready for the conversation,” he said.
The MedTech Launch Fund is designed for someone exactly like Estevez, he reflected — beyond the ideation stage, but not fully developed.
“They’re really focused on helping you move your technology forward,” he said.
Read Luis’s full story here to learn more about what to expect.
The MedTech Launch Fund is managed by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research and funded by Ohio Third Frontier & the Economic Development Administration’s i6 program.
Apply for the FINAL ROUND of the MedTech Launch Fund by Feb. 18.
Launch Dayton partner the Entrepreneurs’ Center generated $210M in economic impact over the last two years, according to a new report released today.
The 2022 State of Startups in Ohio report is a special supplement in today’s Dayton Business Journal, Cincinnati Business Courier, Cleveland Business Journal, and Columbus Business First. This report is the result of a collaboration with the Ohio business journals and Ohio’s regional venture development organizations: The Entrepreneurs’ Center, CincyTech, JumpStart, Rev1 Ventures, and TechGrowth Ohio.
These venture development organizations have been a foundation of support and capital for tech-based companies, helping them to generate a $10B economic impact and create more than 10,500 jobs since 2016.
“Ohio startup companies are setting funding records year after year, strengthening the statewide innovative ecosystem,” states a press release. “Startups deliver a significantly larger economic impact than other companies in terms of revenues, investments, jobs, and wages paid.”
According to the report, the EC’s Entrepreneurial Services Provider (ESP) Program has generated $210M in economic impact in the Dayton region over the past two years. Last year alone, this portfolio saw a 200% increase in company sales and investments, and achieved significant milestones in their mission to power progress and prosperity, including:
As a result of the EC’s accomplishments over the years, and those of the other highlighted venture development organizations, Ohio ranked 11th among states for fast-growing companies in 2020.
Other key highlights from the report include:
Explore the full 2022 State of Startups in Ohio report here.
Eleven finalists have been named across the startup and social venture tracks of the 2022 Flyer Pitch Competition.
The Flyer Pitch Competition is an annual competition sponsored by the University of Dayton’s L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Greater West Dayton Incubator in partnership with PNC Bank and the Entrepreneurs’ Center. Now in its 15th year, Flyer Pitch awards more than $100K in cash prizes and more than $50K in in-kind prizes during the competition.
The final round of pitches will be held April 9, from 9a to 5p, in The Tank at The Arcade.
Competing for cash prizes + in-kind resources in the venture track will be:
Competing for cash prizes + in-kind resources in the social track, powered by the Greater West Dayton Incubator, will be:
By Katie Aldridge
Find yourself pulling your hair out when you try to plan an event? It’s OK, Christian Johnson says — EvenYou can plan the perfect event using her new online event-planning platform.
Christian has more than a decade of event-planning experience, both in positions with larger companies and as owner of her own event-planning business. She knows the stress of waiting for vendors to respond in a timely manner, and the frustration of not being found easily as a small business — and she believes EvenYou is the solution for it all.
“This platform is designed to benefit both event planners and small business owners,” Christian explained. “It’s easier to be found when you’re a larger business, so I wanted to create a platform that mitigated the process of not being found as a small business.”
EvenYou can be used by small business owners looking to tap new clients, professional event planners looking to widen their vendor pools, and even DIY event planners who aren’t sure how to start. While other event-planning apps focus on particular needs, like the venue, the EvenYou platform will incorporate the full spectrum of potential vendor needs from the venue to the food to the DJ.
“It is a one-stop shop with everything you need,” she said. “Only the amenities you need will populate for you on the specific days you need.”
Christian didn’t always know she wanted to be an entrepreneur — she never learned about it, or saw it around her — but once she learned what it was, she knew she had it in her.
She followed a traditional college path after high school, but once she landed her first “big-girl job,” she realized it was something she could do on her own — and she could do it better.
“Throughout my life, I found myself stepping into leadership roles when no one else would,” she recalled.
Christian served on student council in high school, and was student government president in college. Later, she realized she had gained a following that believed in her and listened to her. The realization bolstered her confidence in stepping into entrepreneurship.
Executing a well-done event is a rush, she said.
“I strive to make events as seamless as possible from start to finish, and it’s a huge reward to get to the end and hear from a client that it was the best experience they’ve ever had,” she said. “It all comes down to helping people and seeing people happy and understanding that I had a part in that.”
When Christian felt ready to launch her digital event planning platform, she turned to Early Risers Academy, a free, 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research.
When Christian walked into Early Risers Academy, she had a business idea. When she walked out, she had a company, complete with an LLC, the domain name for her future business website, a full pitch deck, and experience pitching for funding.
And, as an Early Risers Academy alum, she has access to the powerful Kauffman FastTrac curriculum for life. She encourages anyone who has an idea for a business to apply for the program.
“Early Risers Academy will make sure you are equipped,” Christian said. “They won’t send you out into the world without knowledge. They will do everything in their power to make sure you succeed.”
Help her build out EvenYou! She’s always looking for advisors with tech and web development expertise. Reach out: [email protected].
Become a beta user! She will launch in Dayton and Columbus. If you are, or if you know, a small business owner that caters to the event industry — think photographers, caterers, venues, DJs, hair stylists, nail technicians, etc. — sign up for updates on the platform at www.evenyouplanning.com.
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.
Yaytoonday founder Yetunde Rodriguez has always been inspired by patterns and fabrics — today, that love is part of her business, creating and blockprinting textiles that she turns into beautiful home decor and personal accessories.
“A lot of my design is African-themed,” she said. “Originally I’m from Nigeria in West Africa. I grew up seeing a lot of fabrics, fabric was very central to our culture.”
She also grew up surrounded by makers.
“Where I come from, people make things. If you don’t have it, you make it,” Yetunde recalled. “That’s probably a little different now with globalization, but I grew up seeing my mother, aunts, all the women in my family had some sort of enterprise.”
At the time, she didn’t realize how experiencing that way of life would eventually influence her, she said.
Yetunde’s family moved to the U.S. in the late ’80s, landing in Morgantown, West Virginia. Her father completed his Ph.D. at West Virginia University, and Yetunde began attending that same university after graduating high school ‚ but it didn’t stick.
“I was aimless, I didn’t last very long there,” she recalled. “After a year and a half, I had to take a break.”
So she decided to join the military.
“Nobody in my family had ever joined, it was foreign concept, but it fascinated me, the discipline, having a mission, all those ideals fascinated me, so I joined,” she said.
She thought she’d become an officer, so years later, she found herself back in school — but this time, the military didn’t stick.
“I got to college and was like nope, I don’t want to keep doing the military, that was fun, I’m done now,” she recalled.
Instead, her second run at college would bring her back to a first love, via a printmaking class.
“I got into this through my love of surface pattern and graphics,” she said of her company. “I studied graphic design in college, during that process, I took a printmaking class where we explored different forms of printmaking, and I really enjoyed block printing, and that spurred me on to use that as my method of producing textiles.”
Yetunde’s husband, Danny, is a fellow U.S. Navy veteran. They raised their three children in Virginia until a job opportunity brought the family to Dayton.
“Dayton, Ohio looked like a good place to raise kids,” she recalled.
She got involved int he downtown Dayton community and that led to opportunities — you may have seen some of her most recent work, gracing the side of the new Gem City Market.
“The architect, Matt Sauer, had become familiar with my work, he loved my work, so when the opportunity arose for him to design the building, he asked me would I be willing to help with the look and feel of the space, and I said, absolutely!” Yetunde recalled. “You want my little block shapes that I carved in my studio to grace the building, why not!”
Yetunde designed the diamond-shaped mural on the exterior of the building, as well as the designs on the aisle signs inside the community grocery store.
“I was very involved in the creation of the building. It was a long project, a couple years, very well worth it,” she said. “I never would have imagined the shapes I was creating, someone would want to put on a building, but that’s how it worked out, and I’m just so excited about it.”
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? Be bold.
“That’s what it takes — saying yes. Whenever I saw an opportunity, whether to talk about what I’m doing or whatever it is — I always say, put yourself out there,” she said. “If you are just quietly working away and not showing what you’re doing, nobody is going to know about you. Be bold with it, go out there and talk to people about it, let everyone know what you’re up to, the help will come.”
“My name is Yetunde Rodriguez, and I am an Entrepreneur.”
Trep House, a virtual superhub for new majority founders, is officially launching following its 1-year beta stage, founder Kémo A’akhutera announced recently via email.
“I have a thing about waiting until I have solid updates to report,” he wrote. “With that, I’m ecstatic to have some fire milestones to share!”
Click here to learn more about how you can join, or get involved with, Trep House.
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