Ohio’s COVID-19 disaster application submitted to SBA

On Tuesday afternoon, Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted sent a letter and application to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to qualify the State of Ohio for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. This federal program will enable small businesses and non-profits throughout the state impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 to apply for low-interest loans up to $2 million in assistance that can provide vital economic support to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

“We understand the steps being taken to keep all Ohioans safe will have a significant impact on businesses across the state, which is why we are leaving no stone unturned to identify every possible way we can support them during this time,” DeWine said. “Ohioans are resilient. We will get us through this.”

The Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used by Ohio small business owners and non-profits to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.

Once the state is qualified for the program, Ohio Development Services Agency (Development) will work with the SBA to notify entities that the they can now apply for loans. To keep payments affordable, these loans are long-term, with up to a maximum of 30 years for repayment. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.

“We know Ohio businesses are struggling and we are going to do everything we can to help them,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husted. “We have taken quick steps to ensure the health and safety of Ohioans, and we are going to give that same attention to ensuring our businesses are successful and jobs remain available. I encourage the SBA to quickly approve our application.”

Development coordinated with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and reached out to local businesses for information to compile the application.

“In the last three days, more than 1,500 businesses have shared their stories with us about the challenges they are facing, which informed our application for these disaster loans,” said Lydia Mihalik, Director of Development. “The need is urgent, and we are moving quickly to support Ohio’s small businesses and non-profits.”

As efforts to combat the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus continue, Governor DeWine and his administration will continue to identify ways to support the state’s small businesses and non-profits. Any of these entities impacted by the ongoing health crisis are encouraged to contact Development at [email protected] for assistance.

Additional information about the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available here.

As our community collectively works to halt the spread of COVID-19, we will run our upcoming Early Risers Academy pre-accelerator programs virtually.

If you can’t spend time working in your business, we want to help you work on your business.

Our 10-week Early Risers Academy program is completely free. The program is designed to take aspiring entrepreneurs from idea to launch, or to help newer small business owners plan & train to successfully scale. Entrepreneurs of all genders, colors & creeds are welcome.

The next general cohort will launch April 7 and run through June 9, and a tech cohort will launch April 8 & run through June 10. If there is enough interest, we will launch additional cohorts in April to meet the need.

Participants will spend those 10 weeks moving from idea to founding a business through coursework from the Kauffman Foundation, the country’s preeminent entrepreneurship-building organization. Aspiring founders will receive pitch coaching and hands-on mentoring, weekly discussions with successful entrepreneurs and experts, access to Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, & alumni support after graduating the academy.

The tech cohort will be run by reps from Converge Technologies, an engineering and business advisory firm that helps companies with development and commercialization of novel technologies. This focused cohort will offer additional experts on topics such as prototype development and how to design to appeal to end users and for large-scale manufacturing.

Applicants should be able to commit at least 4-6 hours per week to coursework for the duration of the academy.

Each program will conclude with a pitch event in which one graduate from each cohort will win $1,000 to infuse into their business. Pitch events will be organized with Launch Dayton, a collaborative effort to connect entrepreneurs to peers, resources, and supporters, and to tell the stories of our region’s thriving startup community.

“We are intentionally carving out space for minority founders and business owners to access resources that help build solid foundations and provide hands-on support in order to create successful businesses,” program manager KeAnna Daniels said. “We are committed to reaching non-tech and historically under-represented founders who haven’t always felt seen in Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

This pre-accelerator is supported by The Entrepreneurs Center & Wright State Research Institute, collaborators on the region’s Entrepreneurial Services Provider (ESP) grant which is funded by Ohio Third Frontier.

Are you a local business owner affected by COVID-19? Complete this Disaster Loan Declaration form and email it to [email protected].

The U.S. Small Business Administration officials are working directly with governors across the country to facilitate a disaster declaration from the SBA to make small businesses and nonprofits eligible for Economic Injury Disaster loans of up to $2M to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.

Ohio has 950,000 small businesses eligible for assistance. There is not a limit on the number of loans available in a given area.

SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.

“Small businesses are vital economic engines in every community and state, and they have helped make our economy the strongest in the world,” SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza said in a press release. “SBA officers will work directly with state governors to provide targeted, low-interest disaster recovery loans to small businesses that have been severely impacted by the situation. The SBA will continue to provide every small business with the most effective and customer-focused response possible during these times of uncertainty.”

As the community collectively adapts to halt the spread of COVID-19, we are working to consolidate resources available to assist our entrepreneurs & business owners. We will work to continually update this list:

• Verizon & LISC are providing grants of up to $10,000 to businesses facing immediate financial pressure because of Covid-19, especially entrepreneurs of color, women-owned businesses and other enterprises in historically underserved communities. Apply now for round 2.

• Anonymous Was a Woman is giving $250,000 in unrestricted relief grants to woman-identifying artists over the age of 40.

• The League of Professional Theatre Women has created an emergency loan fund to help people in their particularly hard-hit community.

• Kiva has increased its lending amount to $15k and expanded its eligibility requirements. More info here.

• Need a temporary gig? Amazon is hiring 100K warehouse workers & delivery drivers.

• Toast Now is offering 90 days free for food&bev entrepreneurs to set up digital channels, like online ordering, a mobile ordering app, contact-less delivery, and e-gift cards.

• Picnk is organizing a meal drive of 1,700+ meals to people in Dayton over the next few weeks thanks to some of their partners putting up the funding.

• The Foodbank has a drivethru from 1-3 PM at 56 Armor Place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

• United Way has a COVID-19 Economic Relief Fund to help with bills, rent & food. Call 1-866-211-9966; plug in your zipcode when prompted & you’ll receive a list of local agencies providing assistance.

As the community collectively adapts to halt the spread of COVID-19, here are some ways you can still support local businesses & startups:

• buy gift certificates from your fav local businesses — they’ll get the income now, you can go out & enjoy when it’s safer. One local bar encouraging just this action is Tender Mercy, which opened its highly-anticipated doors last week;

Teresa was Director of Operations, then Vice President of FUSIAN for 4+ years before launching Culture Refined, her consulting co for small to mid-size businesses. She is available to provide direct consultations to anyone who may need operations, HR or general business admin support as our community collectively adapts to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Rent: reach out to landlord/property management to make them aware of impact and learn what foreseeable options are available and what communication should look like;

Utilities: call and give utility providers a heads up of the mandate in Ohio (they know but start the conversation), learn any suggestions facing complete closure or cease of services;

Credit Cards/Loans: call and give credit card providers, lenders, etc. the heads up of the mandate in Ohio and explore options for deferment, forgiveness;

Insurance: call and see what “business interruption” coverage you may have, what you need to track, what you need to prepare for;

Ohio Liquor Assistance (return un-opened, un-used, high percentage alcohol): https://www.ohlq.com/

• “mutual” unemployment coverage — how does that affect unemployment tax?

• the possibility of emergency quarantine — how will that affect delivery/pick-up services?

• lean into online point of sales, transactions, maximize use of third-party services, call and negotiate fees;

• consider scaling down to a core menu to control cost of goods and purchasing (keep in mind what is available and not available, be in daily conversation with suppliers);

• consider creating “bundles” or packages to drive an increase in the average check
require minimums for purchases;

• keep a symptoms log; headaches, body aches, muscle soreness, track it all with those who are still working;

• obviously prohibit anyone with symptoms from working (track those with symptoms even outside of the work environment);

• stick to the practices we know best and amplify: hand-washing and sanitation practices
check in on active and inactive employees often via phone and text “wellness checks”;

• sanitize and disinfect environment, utensils, work surfaces, etc. every 1 hour;

Dayton startup Smart Slumber, winners of the January AlphaLab Gear Hardware Pittstop in Dayton, traveled to Pittsburgh last week to compete at the regional level.

Though they won’t be moving on to the international competition, the experience was invaluable, student cofounder Duke Tobin said.

Duke and cofounder Connor DuShane pitched the startup’s smart sleep system, which includes a pillow that will automatically adjust position and temperatures to support good sleep for the user. The product is currently in a protoype phase.

About 200 people attended the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup’s sixth annual competition in Pittsburgh, including several sleep researchers and product design firms who were interested in their work, Duke said.

The University of Dayton pair also connected with peers from the University of Pittsburgh who were fellow student entrepreneurs.

“We were in an earlier stage than many other participants, so it was great to hear how others were able to progress and overcome challenges,” Duke said. “I 100 percent would do it again.”

Taking first place in the Pittsburgh leg of the international hardware startup competition was Trek Gum, a Pittsburgh startup that makes biodegradable chewing gum that kills bacteria and removes plaque on teeth. Founder & CEO Emily Siegel, a University of Pittsburgh Honors College research fellow, won $3,000 and a chance to compete for $50,000 in the international Hardware Cup finals in Pittsburgh in May.

In an alternate 1989, two mechanics show up for work at the doomsday bunker where they take care of 1100 people who were rich enough to be cryogenically frozen when the Cold War turned hot. But on this day, the mechanics discover that someone is awake.

Cold Storage is the brainchild of sibling pair Savannah & Harrison Webb. Savannah is freelance audio editor turned founder of podcast production co Corvus Audio. Her younger brother, Harrison, is a recent Ohio University grad & screenwriter with a handful of short films under his belt.

The idea for the podcast was born over margs to celebrate Harrison’s 21st birthday; he tossed out ideas for his next screenplay, and one plot line stuck with Savannah, so when Harrison moved back to Dayton after graduation, she pitched the idea to produce it as an audio drama.

“We’ve never collaborated on this scale,” Savannah said. “It’s cool to have this opportunity at the beginning of our careers to do this project together and build our portfolios.”

Cold Storage’s first season will have 12 episodes, and feature a slew of local talent. The nine cast members are all from southwest Ohio, the podcast’s music is composed by Dayton musician ISICLE, and the cover art was created by Dayton artists Tyler Mackey. The genre is part sci-fi mystery/suspense & part workplace humor.

The pair seeks to raise $12K to fund production of the first 6 episodes, with stretch goals up to $20K for all 12 episodes, plus two bonus mini-episodes. The campaign will launch Wednesday, March 11 and run for about a month.

Kickstarter tiers range from $5 for a thank you message to early access, to $2000+ to be a series sponsor. Between are levels that get you your own ARK 5 Resident Hibernation kit (everything you need to know before you’re cryogenically frozen, $30), Cold Storage T-shirts ($45), and tickets to the Oct. 21st Cold Storage live premier & q&a with cast and crew at The Neon ($60).

The duo aims to record the podcast in late April/early May and release it in October.

Savannah has been editing audio for about two years. Currently, the bulk of her work is with business and organizations offering interview-style content. She hopes producing Cold Storage will open some new doors.

“This is closer to what I want to be doing,” she said. “It’s awesome to get to do something creative & fun. I hope it will lead to more projects like this in the future.”

Her collaborators come from the network she has developed within the Launch Dayton community.

“They’re people I kept seeing at events,” she said. “I was impressed with their work, so I hired them.”

For Harrison, the bulk of his work exists on paper — he’s excited for this project to be out there, for others to listen to and engage with.

Black or Latinx startup founder building a fast-growing company at the forefront of innovation and technology?

Apply for the first Launch With GS Black & Latinx Entrepreneur Cohort, backed by Goldman Sachs.

This customized, 8-week experience provides an opportunity to access the best of Goldman Sachs – from industry experts to influential networks – while building relationships with investors.

Eligibility requirements:

– Black or Latinx Founder, CEO or President of all genders

– Company based in the US

– 2020 projected annual revenue run rate of at least $1 million

– High growth, tech or tech-enabled across fintech, enterprise software, consumer and healthcare

– Proven market opportunity and path to product-market fit

– A commitment to attend two in-person events at our headquarters in New York: Cohort Kickoff on Wednesday, June 3 and Entrepreneur Summit and Investor Showcase the week of July 27

Learn & connect

— Financial and Industry Expertise through customized 1-on-1 and sector-specific workshops with specialists across investment banking, research and investing teams.

— Engage with the Launch With GS Advisory Council of leading investors, entrepreneurs and executives, in addition to Goldman Sachs’ network of Fortune 500 companies and investors.

— Meet with industry-leading startup experts for customized advice on topics ranging from legal considerations to cap table structure to marketing and branding

— Build relationships with Goldman Sachs investors for investment consideration and participate in a live Investor Showcase with an invite-only investor audience

— Explore opportunities to integrate your company’s product or service into relevant Goldman Sachs businesses

—Participate in a primarily virtual 8-week program, designed to accelerate growth while allowing you to maintain focus on what you do best as a founder – building your business

APPLY HERE by Friday, April 17. The cohort will be announced Friday, May 8.

A local thrift boutique owner is fundraising & recruiting hair stylists and makeup artists to support a women’s fashion show at Dayton Correctional Institute.

Zontaye Richardson, founder of TheZe Dealz — A Thrifty Boutique, was recruited for the project by one of her regular customers. She said yes immediately, then met with 25 potential participants over the weekend.

“It will be a celebration of women, ” Zontaye said. “Regardless of their past mistakes, they are still amazing. It’s important to pamper them for a day, even though they’re incarcerated.”

DCI workers will also participate in the fashion show, which won’t distinguish between inmate and employee, she added.

Zontaye will pick clothing pieces for the participants based on their preferences. She is recruiting hair stylists and makeup artists who would also like to be part of the show, which will be Wednesday, March 25th at 5pm. Styling will begin at 10am. If you’re interested, contact Zontaye through her TheZe DealZ Facebook page.

Donate here to support the small business owners giving their time and resources for the event.

UPDATE: Ohio small businesses & nonprofits are eligible for up to $2M in low-interest loans. Download step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Register here for informational webinars on how to apply.

UPDATE: Ohio small businesses & nonprofits are eligible for up to $2M in low-interest loans. Download step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Register here for informational webinars on how to apply.

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