By Katie Aldridge
Imagine hanging out with friends and defeating virtual enemies while operating a real drone via a mobile app.
This is the experience Zeius is developing through their work to combine augmented reality into drone gaming technology.
Zeius was one of 10 companies tapped for the the second cohort of the Dayton Region’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) Defense Accelerator, powered by Launch Dayton partners Parallax Advanced Research and the Entrepreneurs’ Center. We recently caught up with company founder Max Gilson to learn more about his journey and his experience with the defense accelerator. Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Our company started when my business partner and I were in college at Wright State. We were working with drones and we both looked at each other and were like, “we could make drones a little bit better. Let’s gamify it a little bit.” We started developing after that and made the company out of it.
My cofounder and I had been working with drones for a while. We got into it from a research standpoint, so we really got down to the nitty-gritty of what makes a drone work. Right now, flying a drone around is just taking pictures. My cofounder and I are kind of fun guys, so we wanted to make drones fun rather than a gimmicky camera on wings. We wanted to make something fun and enjoyable for people.
Not really. It’s weird because it wasn’t ever something I really considered. When I was a kid, I thought big companies just existed. I got older and I realized someone sat down, created it, and put it all together. After I was learning about electrical engineering at Wright State, I thought, “if we want to create the products we want to create, then we’re going to have to start a company.” The way I think about it is that I like getting things done and doing things that I enjoy. The only way I could find to do that was starting my own company. I never thought about it as wanting to be an entrepreneur; I thought about it as doing the things I want to do.
I had parents who worked while they were raising my siblings and me. I always think back to this. A lot of the stuff I had to get done, like homework, I had to figure out myself because my parents were so busy. I found that if I spend the time sitting down to learn something, I can get it done. I have the mentality of “if you set your mind to it, you can do anything.”
I think this goes hand-in-hand with the previous question. Getting stuff done yourself is awesome, until there are too many things to get done at one time. The biggest things for me are time and having the resources to bring other people on. We’re trying to do other products, so we can hire a group of people to help us. Time is the biggest barrier though because we really want to grow this in the next five years to be a big player in drones and gaming. It’s challenging when you’re a three-man group.
Freedom is the biggest thing. Sure, I have a lot of responsibilities and I’m busy all the time, but I can work ninety-hour weeks here in my office on my business. I don’t think I would have the same passion, interest, or motivation to do that anywhere else. The freedom to make my own decisions that are very high-level and being able to act on that.
It is nice to step back and reevaluate some of the core fundamentals of running a business. Stepping away from whatever I’m working on to focus on high-level concepts has been really important.
I would love for anyone who is interested in stuff like this and who see this going somewhere to reach out. If anyone wants to connect, there may be mutual benefits there. If someone believes they could help in some way, just reach out. We love building our network and connecting.
Learn more and connect with Zeius here.
Pitches will start promptly at 8a. You’ll meet:
• David Maurer & Jonathan Hargrave, co-founders of Green Zero Energy, developing a mobile renewal energy system;
• and Jenny Beaver, founder of Coach World, an “Angie’s List” for life coaches;
• and Tonya Satchell, founder of BTNP STEM Toys, offering an educational toy subscription service.
We’ll be streaming this month’s pitches live from our new home in the The Hub Powered by PNC at the Dayton Arcade.
Early Risers is a morning pitch series that connects entrepreneurs to the things they need most, like first customers, key employees, mentors, funding, and more. Each startup gets 10 minutes to pitch, then the audience gets 5 minutes for Q&A.
In the last three years, 90% of startups have gotten their ask granted through a connection made at Early Risers. So pop online and find a place you can plug into Dayton’s startup community!
Let us know you’re coming! Register here.
Want to pitch Early Risers? Click here.
Want to sponsor Early Risers (and get two minutes in front of the audience)? Click here.
Hope to “see” you Friday!
By Katie Aldridge
Mother-daughter duo Paula Willis & Alleah Cooks partnered to bring a different, relaxing experience to the Dayton community — Now and Zen DIY Studio is a place where people can go to create terrariums, zen gardens, and fairy gardens with a variety of different vessels, plants, and embellishments.
Paula was a cohort member of the inaugural Downtown Dayton Retail Lab, a 12-week bootcamp designed to help business owners advance their first-floor concepts. The Retail Lab is powered by Launch Dayton partner Downtown Dayton Partnership.
We recently caught up with Paula to learn more about her business and her experience in the Retail Lab.
Paula: Alleah and I started making terrariums as a relaxing hobby. After a while, we decided to set up a shop in 2nd Street Market to sell them. We only sold them on Saturdays, but after a couple years, we moved into a permanent, three-day vending spot. Within our time there, we started doing workshops. They were well received, but we were renting spaces to hold them. We saw that as an opportunity for our business to grow.
I think it is a good, niche business idea for the Dayton area. There are businesses like this in larger markets across the country, but there is nothing quite like what we do here in Dayton. It’s a place where people can really let their creative energy flow. We wanted a place where people could come, relax, and laugh with their friends. We saw an opportunity to offer the community something creative and interesting.
I have been an entrepreneur most of my life. My daughter has seen me be self-employed and an entrepreneur for many other businesses. I worked as an interior decorator many years ago, and I had my own design studio. I did that for a couple years and then I transitioned from that to real estate. I was a real estate investor for about 20 years. It’s in my blood, so now it’s in my daughter’s blood, too.
One is having an appreciation for nature and art and a combination of those two. I have always enjoyed the arts, and I raised my daughter to love them as well. We brought those interests to the table. Since I have a background as an entrepreneur, I brought some of the fiscal experience and business knowledge. I know what it takes to try and build a successful business.
Dayton, especially downtown, does not make it easy for businesses to sustain themselves. Sometimes, it is just not enough customers. The different entities in Dayton do what they can to get people downtown and feel comfortable downtown, but we – collectively – do not receive a lot of traffic. It just isn’t like what you would see in another major city.
It doesn’t seem like work. Sometimes we work long and hard, but we enjoy it. We work with happy people. Our customers are happy people: they come in here to be happy and they’re happier when they leave. We work with people who want to be here and it’s relaxing. It’s fun to create with nature! It is so much fun to see how creative people can be.
It was great! We learned so much through all the different presenters they had. They were so wonderful with helping us grow as businesspeople while we were in the Lab. It was a really good opportunity for us. We were very grateful to be selected.
Drop in and say hi! Once you come in and see what we do, our business speaks for itself. The whole concept can be explained but some people don’t really get it until they come in. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised with what they’ll find.
Learn more about Now and Zen DIY Studio online and follow Now & Zen DIY Studio on Instagram.
Curious if the Retail Lab is a good fit for your business? Learn more and apply here.
Is there a technology you want to get out of the lab and into the world to make a difference?
The MedTech Launch Fund is here to help you achieve that goal.
Luis Estevez was a university researcher without any formal business background when he founded AIMM and stepped onto the path to medical device entrepreneurship. Luis has 10+ years of materials science expertise that he is funneling 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.
The MedTech Launch Fund is helping him bridge the “uncanny valley” between really promising research to a physical prototype that is ready to present to an investor, he shared.
“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.
Estevez is leveraging $75K from the fund to pay for testing. He is now working with University of Dayton Professor Kenya Crostin, an expert in viruses, bacteria and biological organisms, and has booked time in UD’s NEST Lab, enabling him to use electron microscopy to track results.
He meets with MedTech Launch Fund facilitators monthly to provide progress reports.
“It’s just a check-in, and they always give feedback and ask if there is any way they can support further,” he said. “It’s exciting, and exciting stage to be in right now, and I can’t wait to get into the lab. This is the fun part, where we start seeing results of our labor.”
Estevez encourages fellow researchers who want to get a technology out of the lab and into the world to apply for the MedTech Launch Fund.
“I was pursuing this on the side, using duct tape and bubblegum chemistry — indirect ways to measure results because I couldn’t afford the proper tools or experimental setup,” he recalled. “This fund gives just enough funding to get access to those materials, people, third-party vendors that can move things along.”
His final piece of advice for those of you who apply for the current round? Be prepared to talk about the market, not just the technology, he said.
“Have a well-laid plan to get to a prototype and be prepared to back up the marketing. Be able to talk about who will find this product interesting and be willing to purchase your product if it becomes available,” Estevez said. “You don’t need to have the tech developed, you don’t need a licensing deal, but you should flush out your customer discovery, because at the end of the day, without a path to market, it’s just a fancy widget.”
Ready to move your technology forward? Apply for the MedTech Launch Fund by June 30.
By Katie Aldridge
Green Zero Energy is developing a mobile renewable energy plant, the first step in revolutionizing how we generate power, cofounders and inventors David Maurer, Jonathan Hargrave, and Armando Sinclair say.
The team saw a fault in the access to renewable energy and found a way to make power sources available almost anywhere by utilizing semitruck trailers to move auxiliary power units. They recently completed the spring 2021 Early Risers Academy tech cohort, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partner Parallax.The founders will be pitching their company again later this month at the June 2021 Early Risers Pitch.
David: When I lived in California, Armando and I were working on the world’s largest aircraft. Not long before I left, he heard I was an entrepreneur and that I was going to open a business. He took the risk of talking to me about his invention. I asked him why he was talking to me about it, and he said, “I want to work with you on this.” I explained that we needed to look at a lot of different aspects to get it where it had a market.
Armando: The initial idea came when I was in Vegas, at the end of 2016. I have always been an environmentalist. I used to be in petrochemicals, modifying fuels to burn cleaner. When I started listening more about electric vehicles, I said to myself, “This isn’t really green.” I wanted to deliver something truly “green,” something that really walked-the-walk and talked-the-talk.
David: This is really relevant in the world we live in right now. We have a ready market because they are making laws, mandates and fines for the personal and business levels of oil and gas companies. If we jump in and say, “Hey, we’ll work with you,” we’re giving them the opportunity to help the environment in some way.
David: At the beginning, I would say no, because I have a stutter. I wasn’t able to hold a conversation at a certain point in my life. The thought of me launching a business, having to get on the phone and talk to people, that whole idea was a turn off for me.
Jonathan: Yes, but I think society forces people to choose society in place of their dreams. Some things worked for me in my corporate career; however, what makes me say yes is, I always felt like I could do more.
Armando: Yes, I did see myself as an entrepreneur. I compromise a lot of my business savvy to resolve certain problems. It is a very delicate balance for me because I have to rewire myself to focus on whatever my target is. I have faults, but some of my faults switched around are my gifts.
David: I’m a leader. I notice problems and find solutions. I’m very out of the box, so I take that and find a solution that isn’t like what everyone else is doing. I would pair that with my desire to help people.
Jonathan: I have experience in the technical side of things, but I can also deal with operations and procedures. One of the things that is really important to me is that I’m an inspiration to other people like me because you don’t see a lot of Black people in this field.
Armando: I’m an honest and open person. I have brought a lot of patience, inspiration and guidance. I have brought a lot of direction, as far as an opportunity to certain places we can go that isn’t normally available to a lot of people of color.
David: I love what I do because I’ve always wanted to have a big impact on the world. I watch what others do, and I wonder how I can learn from their experiences. I’ve wanted to help at more than just a local level. I love that I have the opportunity to give back.
Jonathan: I love that I have the chance to give my children the freedom that comes from financial security to be who they actually are. I have a couple of daughters and I hate that their ability to pursue what is in them would be predicated by finances.
They can support us by reading this and taking it a step further by understanding and embracing it. Another way they can support us is by bringing an awareness to who we are and what we are bringing to this area in respect to jobs and industries.
Learn more about Green Zero Energy here and connect with the founders later this month at the June 2021 Early Risers Pitch!
By Katie Aldridge
Nothing beats a good, homemade, sweet potato pie, asserts Charmaine Webster, founder of Tinka’s Treats, a new home bakery business that specializes specifically in that special pie.
Charmaine comes from a family of bakers and hopes to eventually bring her family’s treats to the table as well. She is also building a nonprofit to support Black women in the community. She is a recent graduate of Early Risers Academy, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research. We recently caught up with Charmaine to learn more about her business and her Academy experience.
Charmaine: I’ve been baking sweet potato pies for eight or nine years, just for family and close friends. This past holiday, I ended up baking over 100 pies in my little apartment kitchen for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought, “I’m really onto something here.” I decided to go for it, so in March, I got my home-baker’s license, and I now operate a home bakery.
I started baking these pies as a way to honor my aunt who passed away when I was 15 years old. I just wanted to honor her life and remember the good times with her. That’s what really got my started. I quit my job in October for a number of reasons, and then this came up. I think it is a beautiful way to build on my family’s legacy. I also chose this because I get to honor the legacy of working-class Black women.
Yes and no. Yes, as I always wanted to have my own nonprofit, but I never really thought of having a for-profit business. On the other hand, when I was a little girl, I used to pray to God and say, “I want to grow up and be rich, so I can help poor kids like me.” So, maybe I always did want to be an entrepreneur!
I’m a wife, and my husband has been supportive. One part is having my husband’s support to give me this space to figure entrepreneurship out. Another part is that I worked at a startup-style nonprofit for seven years, so I know how to build things from the ground up. I used to be an outreach director, so I know how to get my name out there, talk to people and get an events calendar together. I know how to meet people, talk to people and make partnerships.
I love this because it is transforming me. I love that it is touching people. I never would have thought about a pie business touching people, but it is. It matters to people that I’m baking these pies. It matters to people that they can put something nice in front of their families on the days where they all gather together. I realized that this is blessing people, and I’m being blessed by it, so I’m going to keep going with it. If this doesn’t work, I can still bake pies, I can still make people happy, I can still honor my aunt and I can still bless people.
Use the resources around you. In the Dayton area, there are many resources that you can use, such as Launch Dayton and the Early Risers Academy. Use up all the free resources to help get you started, and that will help you clarify what you actually need to pay for and figure out.
Very positive. It was educational, and I made a lot of connections and met a lot of great people. I felt that there were certain things that I understood much later after we discussed it and not as we were discussing it.
Buy a pie! I’ve reached the point where this business is beyond my kitchen. I would love some training on how to use commercial equipment. If anyone could help me learn how to ship my pies, I would greatly appreciate that. If anyone wants to donate, please do! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
Learn more about Tinka’Charmain Webster, founder, Tinka’ here, watch Charmaine’s Early Risers Academy pitch here, and learn about her nonprofit here.
A team of brothers and cousins are working to shake up local real estate and return home ownership to Dayton families through their new Buy Back Dayton fund.
We recently caught up with co-founder Joe Miles to learn more about Buy Back Dayton’s mission and how the Launch Dayton community can support.
Joe: It’s this idea of buying the block. We were inspired by Buy Back Baton Rouge — investors came together, purchased a bunch of land in the city, and allowed partners to be part of it. The majority of property in Dayton is owned by folks who live out of state. We’re trying to get property back into the hands of Daytonians who actually live here. So we’re raising a fund to use group economics to bring money from within the city together to purchase single-family homes. We’ll fix them up, rent them, and then the goal is to pair the renters with a credit specialist and mortgage broker, so they can purchase the home in a few years.
We’re all born and raised in Dayton, we see the transition Dayton is going through, how downtown Dayton is morphing into this beautiful place to be. They’re fixing the bridges, so they’re about to push that development out into the city — there’s no better time to do this than now. We want to buy as much as we can, and put ownership back in the hands of Daytonians, versus outside folks buying up properties and continuing to raise rents. Also, in Dayton, 41% of the population is Black, but 41% of the real estate is not owned by minorities. We’re trying to help shorten the wealth gap, which right now is about 228 years in the making, according to Forbes.
The fund will operate for 5 years. The minimum investment is $100. In years 1 & 2, we’ll purchase and renovate properties. In year 3, we’ll refinance, so investors can opt to cash out at that point, or they can stay in for years 3, 4 & 5 as we groom tenants to purchase the properties, then cash out when the homes are sold. Then we’ll start over and do it again.
I bring a digital marketing and insurance background, as do Cory Hastings and Mickel Miles. Our fourth partner, Marcus Williams, owns a construction company.
We accept non-accredited investors, meaning someone who makes less than $200k/year or whose net worth is less than $1M. So that really allows everybody to get a piece of the pie. Normally, people can’t participate in these systems. I’m by no means suggesting anyone use their savings for this, but skip McDonalds once in awhile, and invest. Anyone can participate, that’s the beauty of it, and I can’t wait to have a shareholders’ meeting in the Arcade, see everyone, take a drive to a couple of the homes, I’m excited for it.
We’re planning to keep the investment window open until Sept. 1, then start buying properties in September.
I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a kid. In fifth grade, I’d sneak candy in my backpack and sell it to other kids. The Starburst pack had 12 pieces in it, and I knew everyone loved the pink ones best, so I got my mom to buy me a big back of just the pink ones, and I’d count out 12 candies and sell them — I found out I could make 50% more than my competitor.
I love Dayton. Everyone always said it was boring, stores were leaving, but I love it, I love Dayton weather. My wife is from Vegas, and she always says, the thing about Dayton people is you all love your city. Dayton has a lot of abandoned homes, a lot of great homes that have gone down, but could be great again. I want Dayton to be what it once was, and I know we can’t do that with one fund, but I think this fund will help people in so many ways, not only the tenants and potential buyers, but investors being able to participate, actually see how that works. And the workers we hire to fix up the homes will be Daytonians — it will bring a lot of opportunities here.
Inspired to get involved and invest? Visit www.buybackdayton.com for full details.
By Katie Aldridge
Tonya Satchell wants to see children open their minds — so she launched an education toy store that offers a subscription rental service to parents and educators across Ohio. BTNP STEM Toys gets the newest, STEM-certified toys into children’s hands without breaking their parents’ banks.
Tonya recently won her cohort’s pitch at Early Risers Academy, a 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research.We recently caught up with Tonya to learn more about her company and how the Launch Dayton community can support.
Tonya: It started back when my family and I lived in Vegas. It started off as a travel gear company that had STEM toys attached to it. When we moved to Ohio, which isn’t big on travel, we scrapped the gear and kept the toys idea.
We had a daughter who passed away, and when she was in the hospital, I asked the doctor if she was going to live a good quality life. The doctor told me, “She’s going to live a good quality life, but she isn’t going to be a cardiologist.” As a parent, I almost jumped over the bed at him. I realized that there are people out there limiting kids. I believe there should never be a person or a company that limits a child, so how can I help?
The original name of the business was “Baby Trip ‘n Play.” When we moved, the business couldn’t move with us. I didn’t want to lose the “BTNP,” so we sat on it for months. Then it came to me, “Be True ‘n Play.” Legally, we are still Baby Trip ‘n Play, but it will eventually change to Be True ‘n Play.
I am not in the STEM field; my background is in finance and management. In finance, I’m exposed to researchers, technologists, engineers mainly, artists — everybody. Everyone is always feeding me information about what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I’m always fascinated by it.
I always had this STEM idea in the back of my head. Last year, it hit me on why I was given this idea. It is because I am unbiased; I think it is all fascinating. I feel like the people in the STEM field learned from a young age how to activate both parts of their brains, and I believe they think deeper. I have two little boys, so I always try to think, “how can I focus on my kids and make sure they know how to activate both sides of their brains?”
This where my husband comes into play. He is an entrepreneur. He is a youth personal trainer, and he would always talk to me about owning a business. I didn’t want anything to do with it, but he influenced me into becoming an entrepreneur and told me to do it.
My mom plays such a huge role in shaping who I am. She is such a strong but comforting lady. She moves on what she says and what she believes. She is so personable, and that always rubbed off on me. She taught me being true to yourself. Say what you’re going to do and mean it. Never make a promise you can’t keep. I believe in what I believe, and I know what needs to happen.
The thing I love the most is doing the activities. I have a YouTube channel, Let’s STEM Together, where I’m showing different STEM activities. The equipment for these activities, you can get on Amazon for super cheap, or you can get them at the Dollar Tree. I search for things I think I can do and that I think would be interesting. I could be here for nights diving deep into the backgrounds, histories, and concepts of the activities.
I absolutely loved it. They met us where we were at. They gave us the information we could use right now. It was overwhelming, but I might it through! When I gave my pitch, I was just glad that I did it and I gave it my all. They were cheering us on the whole time! I really appreciated that, I did.
If anyone knows of any schools, organizations, or libraries that could benefit from STEM, I can do STEM weeks or STEM days.
We – being my husband and I – have plans to get around Dayton. He is fitness and I’m STEM; we travel as a pair. Kids know fitness, so what we’re hoping for is that kids catch a glimpse of STEM.
Learn more about BTNP STEM Toys here and connect with BTNP STEM Toys on Facebook and Instagram. Want to see Tonya pitch live? Catch her at the next Early Risers pitch on Friday, June 25!
By Aliyah McLain
Blair Jackson built his first lightweight vehicle for his son, more than two decades before he would go on to launch Orison Company, a startup specializing in such lightweight vehicle production.
Blair recently completed the Early Risers Academy tech cohort, a free 10-week business-building bootcamp powered by Launch Dayton partner Parallax Advanced Research. We recently caught up with Blair to learn more about his experience and his company.
Blair: We create lightweight electric vehicles, or “high performance lawn chairs,” as I like to call them. Our company is in the stages of working to reduce productivity cost as well as troubleshoot bugs in the vehicles.
In many respects, yes. I had always had an idea of doing my own thing, but I stuck with the major company for a while after I graduated college to gain some experience and to be able to pay bills in what, at the time, was a tight economy.
While working for B.F. Goodrich, I learned things such as mechanical design, configuration management, customer problem solving, and different elements that I later was able to apply in entrepreneurship and in the Orison Company.
I think my biggest barrier has been learning how to overcome barriers.
I believe it worked out really well. The Kauffman Fast-Trac Training really deepened my understanding of finance and promoting your product, which has been very helpful for me.
We’re good at the technology part of our company, but we are now starting to wrap our focus around the marketing and social media element of the company and trying to get the hang of it. We could use support in getting in front of people and showcasing our products.
Learn more, and connect with Blair, at orisoncorporation.com.
Ten Ohio companies will spin new drone technology out of their portfolios and into the defense and commercial UAS markets through the second cohort of the Dayton Region’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) Defense Accelerator.
The program seeks to help participating startups identify uses for their drone and UAS-focused technologies; move their technology products to market; position their companies to create jobs and generate revenue and support growth of the regional economy.
The Accelerator is funded by the Department of Defense OEA and managed by Launch Dayton partners Parallax Advanced Research and The Entrepreneurs Center. The National UAS Training and Certification Center at Sinclair College is also supporting the accelerator with subject matter experts and feedback on curriculum content.
“UAS and flying cars are essential to the Ohio Advanced Air Mobility Strategy, and they are applied to a myriad of applications and other technologies that impact our lives and communities. Our Ohio Federal Research Network funds UAS research and development projects within the State of Ohio that directly contribute to the State’s economy and quality job market. We’re excited to add another program – this UAS-focused accelerator — to our portfolio that supports entrepreneurs tackling UAS industry challenges,” said Dennis Andersh, Parallax Advanced Research CEO.
“UAS is one of the foremost emerging industries in the Dayton market and an important national focus so it’s especially exciting to have this as our technology area of focus for the second cohort for the OEA Accelerator. The Entrepreneurs’ Center is proud to be a leader in training small businesses and entrepreneurs with this area of expertise for the region alongside our strategic partners whose combined efforts will have a significant impact on Dayton’s economic development,” said Lauren Tiffan, Director of Strategic Programs, Entrepreneurs’ Center
The participant cohort will gather virtually for six weeks, during which they’ll develop business models and identify customers and strategic partners who will bring in outside capital and talent to grow and scale their businesses. The program will feature hands-on workshops, guest speakers, wrap-around services and resources from partners.
“We are very excited to support the launch of this UAS Accelerator. The resources and knowledge provided to the participants, many of whom are current Sinclair students or alumni, are invaluable, and the interest in the program really highlights the excitement around the UAS industry in Ohio,” said Dr. Andrew Shepherd, executive director and chief scientist, Sinclair College National UAS Training and Certification Center
The cohort participants applied & interviewed for the accelerator program. The founders have various levels of experience in commercial industry and with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funded government R&D. They’re developing a range of both physical products and software solutions. Participating companies include:
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