The Entrepreneurs Center & University of Dayton create The Arcade Innovation Hub

The Arcade Innovation Hub LLC, a dynamic joint venture of the University of Dayton and The Entrepreneurs Center, has committed to a 10-year lease as anchor tenant for the downtown Arcade, bringing hundreds of UD faculty, staff and students, comprehensive entrepreneurial support services and thousands of square feet of working space for local startups to the massive redevelopment project.

“We are proud to partner with The Entrepreneurs Center to deepen our commitment to the Dayton community as an anchor tenant of this historic and important downtown space,” UD President Eric F. Spina said. “Our innovation hub will fuel economic growth and spark creativity by enabling students, faculty and staff from across campus, including engineers, artists and business majors, to work alongside local entrepreneurs.”

Small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurial thinkers from all corners of the region will be able to take advantage of working space in the 95,000-square-foot innovation hub through co-share membership, giving them access to anything from open desks to private offices along with meeting rooms, conference areas, high-speed internet and other amenities.

“We are thrilled to formalize our longstanding partnership with UD. Together, we share the vision of reinvigorating this historic space to offer one of the most unique entrepreneurial environments in the country,” TEC President Scott Koorndyk said. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen incredible synergies between Dayton-region startups and UD students, faculty and staff from across almost every discipline. The innovation hub builds on that foundation, and will give students unparalleled opportunities for real-world, hands-on experience. It will also give our local companies access to the energy and insight of these talented Flyers.”

Spina said that while the investment will help the urban core, the driving force for the University is to create a space for cutting-edge academic programs that will foster the creative mindset and entrepreneurial skills today’s students want and employers seek.

“As a Marianist university, we believe in community and we know this project will make the Dayton community stronger and enhance the quality and impact of UD’s educational offerings,” Spina added. “The Arcade Innovation Hub gives us the opportunity to be an essential part of the city and for the city to be part of us.”

Hundreds of students from UD’s entrepreneurship, engineering, applied creativity, and art and design programs will engage in the space. UD will locate its L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in the hub, along with studios for painting, printmaking, photo and graphic design; a makerspace area; gallery space; a new venture from Flyer Enterprises, the fourth-largest student-run business in the country; and the University’s GEMnasium, where faculty, students and community members can work across disciplines to address important challenges in the community, such as the opioid crisis and food insecurity.

TEC will use the hub as its central location, and from there will provide comprehensive business and commercialization support services to entrepreneurs, startups and early stage companies from across the region. In addition to support for technology companies, TEC will locate its Small Business Development Center in the hub, providing access to support for entrepreneurs of all types. Additionally, as part of the community benefit plan, UD and TEC will host programming in the community, including the University’s Flyer Pitch competition, one of the largest business plan competitions at the collegiate level; Dayton Arcade Entrepreneur Academy; summer internships; and opportunities to participate in other competitions and TEC and UD entrepreneurship programs.

“The energy generated by the Arcade Innovation Hub will be a game changer for downtown and the regional economy, creating new jobs and businesses,” Bill Struever, principal, managing partner and CEO of Cross Street Partners said. “We are particularly excited by TEC and UD’s deep commitment to make the Hub a focal point for maximizing education, workforce and entrepreneurship opportunities for the broader Dayton community. This embrace of Dayton’s diverse array of neighborhoods resurrects the Arcade’s important historic role in the life of the city.”

Through the partnership, UD and TEC plan to invest more than $10 million over 10 years to cover rents, operating expenses, upfront costs for furnishing and equipping the space, and other equity support for the project at closing. The partnership expects income from sub-tenants and hub members to offset some of its investment.

“If not for this long-term investment, the Arcade project would not have happened; we greatly appreciate their support and partnership,” Shelley Dickstein, Dayton City Manager said. “We are excited to see both the University of Dayton and The Entrepreneurs Center deepen their commitment to our community through this agreement. As anchor tenants, both will enable the Arcade to be reimagined as a hub of innovation for entrepreneurs, higher education, and arts and cultural organizations, which will catalyze economic activity in Dayton for years to come.”

Bruce Katz, a leading international expert and advisor on urban policy and redevelopment, has high praise for the project as well.

“The historic Arcade project in Dayton, Ohio, may be the most transformative project in the United States today,” Katz said. “The Arcade has the potential to spur a dramatic revitalization of the core of the city through its distinctive combination of strategic location, shared investment, historic legacy, civic pride and innovative concept.”

“It’s exciting because currently only 2% of minority founders are VC-backed and not many grow and succeed past the startup phase,” NBBD founder and CEO Nate Dillard said. “The Techstars Affiliate program gives us an opportunity to change the narrative.”

NBBD is a business development platform that seeks to “improve the economic and social status of the black community” by empowering black businesses, according to its mission statement. The organization offers services ranging from business plan assistance to web development to black founders and business owners.

NBBD’s end-to-end business solutions and ecosystem will allow us to invest in, empower, and grow minority-owned tech startups that are reinventing industries and catalyzing change,” Nate said.

Techstars is a global tech accelerator that helps entrepreneurs succeed and grow their businesses. As an official affiliate, NBBD will connect its network of clients to Techstars’ business growth resources, including access to other entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners.

Techstars is consistently globally ranked as a top three accelerator based on successful exits. Participating companies receive $4 million in funding on average. In total, Techstars has raised more than $6 billion for its companies.

NBBD has to refer at least one company per quarter, but there is no limit on the number of companies the organization can put forward. So far, NBBD has referred $Guap Coin, a black woman-owned cryptocurrency and blockchain designed to incentivize the black community to invest in itself; Always Obelisk Network, a communications company providing secure Wi-Fi to underserved areas; and ZiM, an augmented reality-powered social media app for art.

“My experience working with Nate and Techstars was incredible,” Always Obelisk Network co-founder Ryan Morgan said. “Throughout the process, I learned more about scale and the value of my product while also understanding how I could put a team together to create a successful company.”

Late last year, NBBD acquired BLVCK, an app that pulls together top news from 13 prominent media outlets that serve the black community. Dillard plans to redevelop the app to be the business, political & philanthropic news hub for the black community.

Dayton startup Third Wave Water launched a new product last week — a new inline water system created for specialty coffee cafes.

The water system is named ‘Tethys,’ a Greek Titaness for freshwater. It was on display to the attendees of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Expo in Boston on Friday. Only 100 of these inline water systems will be pre-sold at the SCA Expo for the entire year of 2019.

“Café owners have a long list of items to decrypt in order to provide the best experience possible for their customers: equipment, coffee beans, water quality and more. Helping them worry less by providing the best easy-to-use water solution is our job,” cofounder Charles Nick said.

The patent-pending Tethys inline water system uses new technology never seen in the café water industry: LED UV treatment and a powder dosing system together with a complete plug-and-play water system.

“Having owned a coffee roaster and a café for ten years, I could never find a water system that provided the level of quality I sought after,” cofounder Taylor Minor added. “This is the water system that I always dreamed of.”

The debut is the next step for Third Wave Water, which gained national attention in 2017 when the founders pitched the mineral products on the television show Shark Tank.

“Shark Tank introduced our mineral products to a mainstream audience, but providing the perfect water solution for cafés was always on the product road map when we launched in 2016,” Charles said.

Eight small businesses pitched new tech to the U.S. Air Force Friday afternoon at the T3 Transition Accelerator Demo Day, held at the Steam Plant.

The T3 Transition Accelerator is a new 10-week program dreamt up in collaboration between The Entrepreneurs Center, Wright Brothers Institute, Air Force Research Lab and the regional Small Business Innovation Research office with the goal of rapidly transitioning new tech to the commercialization phase.

Lauren Tiffan, who formerly ran programs with OCEAN, the unique Cincinnati accelerator that focuses on the intersection of faith and entrepreneurship, designed & implemented the T3 Transition Accelerator. She uses the Fitbit as an example of what the T3 Accelerator can accomplish. The sensor tech originally designed for the Department of Defense was expensive and not as advanced — by taking it to the public, the inventors were able to refine the product by listening to the marketplace. Now the company can sell to civilians and the military at a lower cost, thanks to economies of scale.

For this first T3 Accelerator, the Air Force selected ideas around human-machine teaming tech in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and recognizance. Companies winning a phase 1 SIBR — which usually spend six to nine months working on the project, then six to nine months waiting for a response as to whether they’ll be awarded a phase 2 grant — instead spent 10 weeks working through the accelerator, and will wait only 30 days to hear if they’ll receive a phase 2 grant.

• Alex Sands & Plasticity — Plasticity uses state of the art natural language software, which leverages machine learning over keywords, to filter publicly available information to help intelligence officers rapidly identify threats.

• Chad Weiss & Aptima, Inc. — Aptima’s MOTOR can use the weights of strokes on a keyboard to measure workload and identify fatigue, enabling leaders to assign work effectively so overworked analysts don’t make mistakes.

• Brian Cooney & 361 Interactive — 361 Interactive uses cognitive science and applies automation in high stakes and time sensitive environments to reduce redundant intelligence analysis, shortening the timeline from data to decision to save $11M the Air Force spends to re-do work.

• Scott Grigsby & SoarTech — SoarTech’s reSOARce helps leaders make quick, informed tasking decisions by using advanced AI to track progress toward mission goals.

• Chris Winner & S.A.Wyze — S.A.Wyze’s biosignature platform combines hardware and software to detect burnout.

• Alan Smith & Cognovi Labs — Cognovi automatically extracts emotional undertones from text and applies behavioral psychology to predict what people will do next.

• Tim Klein & Arete Associates — Arete’s ALIEN uses artificial intelligence to detect, locate and describe objects of interest in imagery.

• Josh Gratsch & Ascend Innovations — Ascend is developing eye tracking and facial landmark tech to enable real-time and longitudinal monitoring of fatigue in jobs requiring constant vigilance — like fighter pilots, or long distance truck drivers.

Registration is LIVE for the 2019 Techstars Startup Week Dayton! Join us June 3-7 in downtown Dayton to Build Your fill-in-the-blank — Community, Startup, Business, Nonprofit, etc.!

In its fourth year, this free, annual, week-long, entrepreneur-led, volunteer-run, community-focused conference brings together the region’s thinkers, dreamers, doers, makers & entrepreneurs in venues located across downtown Dayton. All experiences are welcome — whether a seasoned entrepreneur or new to the community, there is space to jump in.

“We’re excited to roll out our most community-driven conference yet,” Techstars Startup Week Dayton organizer John Owen said. “You asked and we responded — with new specialized tracks and evening sessions, there’s something for everyone.”

Base Camp this year will again be the Steam Plant, located at 617 E. 3rd St. in downtown Dayton.

The Steam Plant will host talks that appeal across industry lines — how-to sessions for entrepreneurs covering marketing, branding, legal business needs, sales & customers, funding & finance, and inspirational founder stories. Breakfast and lunch is provided each day, catered by Dayton food startups and businesses.

But this year, Startup Week will also feature industry-specific talks and workshops held in locations across downtown Dayton.

We put out a speaker call and tapped more than two dozen experts across the region to help organize these special tracks. As a result, food industry entrepreneurs will gather at Second Street Market on Monday afternoon, medtech entrepreneurs will gather at the 444 Innovation Hub on Wednesday, arts & music entrepreneurs will gather at The Brightside Music & Events Venue on Wednesday afternoon, defense entrepreneurs will gather at the 444 Innovation Hub on Thursday, and more.

Friday, June 7, will be the conference’s first community day as businesses along Third Street and Wayne Avenue open their doors to host workshops on niche topics including co-op opportunities, solopreneurship, retail options, social entrepreneurship, founder wellness and leadership.

Can’t get a day off? Techstars Dayton Startup Week has also added evening workshops this year. Topics range from building your business plan to paying yourself in these later workshops, held at Dayton Metro Library and The Brightside.

And don’t forget, Startup Week is all about connecting — our evening social events range from community pitch nights to happy hours to a startup market that will feature products, food and music from our city’s entrepreneurs! We’ll close the week on Friday with a business crawl through Dayton’s Oregon District, with built-in stops to help you build your own picnic basket for Friday night’s free concert at Levitt Pavilion.

Don’t want to wait until Monday, June 3 to start connecting? Catch the 2nd Annual Gem City Entrepreneur Resource Fair, Friday, May 31 from 5:30-8pm at Central State Dayton West, 840 Germantown St.

In December of 2017, eight Dayton young black professionals hosted the first resource fair, described as “one of the most successful community-wide resource/networking events for millennial and minority entrepreneurs,” organizer Ke Daniels said. This year, the resource fair will kick off Techstars Startup Week Dayton 2019!

Techstars Startup Week Dayton 2019 is made possible through support from title sponsors The Entrepreneurs Center and Wright State Research Institute and official media sponsor, Cox Media Group.

Last year, about 900 people attended 83 sessions & events featuring 88 unique speakers over the course. This year, we’re on track to host more then 125 sessions featuring more than 100 speakers! Check out the full schedule, and join us!

Dani Ruffolo, founder of Handy Hats, auditioned last week for the next season of Shark Tank.

Handy Hats, founded in fall 2016, is a hat with a patented inner pocket to hold keys, cash, credit cards, an ID or chapstick. Dani pitched the idea as part of an entrepreneurship class during her sophomore year at University of Dayton.

Currently, she’s seeking marketing dollars and connections to large sportswear companies with the goal of licensing her patent.

Last week, she traveled to Nashville, TN for a shot at pitching her product on the national stage.

The lines were long, with some people camping out to get their 60 seconds with the show’s directors, Dani described.

The Nashville open call is one of a handful of open calls happening across the country this spring as Shark Tank searches for entrepreneurs to pitch during Season 11.

Dani will find out by mid-April if she made the cut to pitch to the Sharks — but she won’t be allowed to tell us if she did. If her pitch makes the show, it will air sometime between October 2019 and April 2020.

“I’ve done my pitch several times, and there’s always self-reflection after about what I’d change or could do better, but I think I did extremely well this time,” she said. “My fingers are crossed that I hear back. I’d be super excited.”

If you missed her Early Risers pitch in February, you can see her pitch locally on Saturday at University of Dayton’s Flyer Formation. You can also keep up with her on Instagram.

“If you have an idea and believe in it — do it,” she said. “I don’t know if this (trip) will do anything, but take the chance, do a little extra work, go for it, explore the options.”

The Collaboratory, Dayton’s civic innovation lab and social venture incubator, has launched its first national initiative, 1Million1s.

1Million1s is an online platform designed to engage Millennials and GenZs in philanthropy. 1Million1s community members commit to monthly donations, starting at just $1 per month. Those gifts are then bundled into one large donation that goes toward whichever Millennial- or GenZ-founded innovative, community-based, non-profit organization that 1Million1s identified that month.

“The long-term goal is twofold, first to engage Millennials and GenZs in terms of their giving, ultimately both money and time, and second, to disrupt traditional philanthropy and bring new voices and resources to the table when it comes to determining what the future of our communities look like,”Peter Benkendorf, Founder & Catalyst of The Collaboratory explained.

1Million1s was conceived and beta tested in the fall of 2018 by Mike Doyle, a 29 year-old Chicago-based, Shark Tank-funded entrepreneur. Doyle came to The Collaboratory for additional resources.

“This is an idea I’ve had for a few years. Lots of my peers want to support nonprofits, but don’t feel that they have the means for their donations to be impactful,” he said. “By building an online community and leveraging collective giving, every dollar really does make a difference.”

The world of nonprofits was new to Doyle. By connecting with The Collaboratory, he was able to leverage their experience building civic brands, their national network of civic innovation resources and their support in the project management process and incubation.

Jän Paul Ostendorf, Brand Strategist at Dayton’s Purpose Branding, worked on the organization’s branding and created the visual identity.

“It is inbred to our human psyche to want to contribute to something bigger than ourselves. 1Million1s is such an endeavor,” Ostendorf said. “I’m excited about its vision and what I believe is its ability to impact and transform a generation into changing the world.“

Anthony Weir, a student at The Modern College of Design in Kettering, created an animated Public Service Announcement that has been integrated in 1Million1s social media.

Weir initially approached Peter seeking freelance work to gain real-world experience. 1Million1s immediately caught his attention.

“I’ve always been intrigued by non-profits and I try to donate to a cause I believe when I have the ability to,” Weir said.

When he was assigned a project to create a public service announcement for his motion graphics class, the choice was simple. He created the PSA and sent it to Peter and Mike as a donation to 1Million1s.

“I was extremely pleased when they contacted me to work with them. As a result, I have been able to get more insight into how the branding and marketing world works,” he said. “If this experience has taught me anything, it has taught me that small donations, even something like my PSA, can really go a long way.”

Roderick D.S. Wheeler, Executive Director of Grassroots Grantmakers in Indianapolis, is providing ongoing counsel and access to a national network of funders and community change agents. Communications and social media management is being handled by national advertising agency Sunny505, headquartered in New Mexico.

“1Million1s has the possibility to completely disrupt how young people think about philanthropy,” Wheeler said. “It is very exciting for us to be involved with this innovative initiative and incredible team.”

As an incubator, The Collaboratory’s goal is to spin out 1Million1s into a freestanding non-profit organization, just as they did with the Dayton Sewing Collaborative, which was conceived that at The Collaboratory in 2014 and became its own non-profit organization in 2017.

Cincinnati-based OCEAN’s Small Business Training program is coming to Dayton this spring!

OCEAN is a Cincinnati non-profit that focuses on the intersection of faith and entrepreneurship. Their small biz training program is designed for a range of new entrepreneurs from those who are just to build an idea to those who launched within the past two years.

The training sessions are 9 weeks long. Each weekly meeting is four hours long. Each meeting results in an assignment that will take 2 to 3 hours to complete. After the training concludes, cohorts continue to meet once a month for 6 months for group mentoring.

The Dayton cohort will meet Thursday evenings, April 11-June 6, 5:30-9pm, at The Entrepreneur’s Center, 714 E. Monument Ave., Dayton.

During the training, participants will develop a detailed business strategy, a company mission statement, a marketing plan, sales projections for one year, an effective business pitch, a metrics system to measure success, and key performance indicators to monitor the business performance.

The training will also address Biblical business principles: growing faith and fruitfulness, pursuing relationships, building a consistent brand,, developing a discipleship model, stewarding God-given resources, growing sustainably, and selling in a way that honors others and fosters relationships.

The cost of the training is $599, with a $100 deposit due upon registration. If you’d like to attend with your business partner, the second registration is only $299.

In this new monthly feature, we’re celebrating milestones big and small with our entrepreneurs and founders! See what our awesome startups have been up to this month, in no particular order:

• Bridget Flaherty & Lore celebrated a grand opening in their new space at 116 W 5th St, Dayton. Congratulations, Bridget!

• Founder Will Foster & Head Chef Ben Kalis of Picnk celebrated a grand opening in their new space at Five Seasons Sports Club Powered by LOGIK Fitness at 4242 Clyo Road, Dayton. Congratulations, Will & Ben!

• Sheri Scott & Springhouse Architects celebrated a ribbon-cutting at their new office at
676 N Main St, Springboro. Congratulations, Sheri!

• Patty Vanderburgh & Rare Active received the second production run of her patented athletic pant. Congratulations, Patty!

• Zontaye Richardson & TheZe DealZ — A Thrifty Boutique landed a new space! No address announced yet, but we’ve seen social media posts of keys and renovations underway. Congratulations, Zontaye!

• LeKeisha Grant & Ambition Magazine, which turns 7 today! Congratulations, LeKeisha!

Do you want to work on new ways to reach entrepreneurs and connect them to resources?

We’re hiring a marketing and communications manager who will drive communications across our programming.

At Dayton Tech Guide, we believe everyone, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity to determine their own economic prosperity. We’re doing this by building an intentionally inclusive community that celebrates and supports all entrepreneurs.

Our new team member will manage commercialization and entrepreneurship program brands. They will utilize an array of communication channels including media relations, web, digital and social media, newsletters, community relations, special events, sponsorships, and community collaborations. They will also develop media plans and pitch stories about our entrepreneurs across local, regional and national outlets.

We’re looking for someone with a bachelor’s degree; at least three years of experience in marketing, communications or journalism; at least six years of experience in a professional environment, either full-time or as a freelancer; proven project management skills; and superior verbal, written and presentation skills.

We prefer someone with more than five years of experience in marketing, communications or journalism; experience building relationships with journalists and news publications; a bachelor’s degree specifically in journalism, marketing or a related field; experience pitching stories and writing press releases; familiarity with national media; and certification through the DMA Certified Marketing Professional program.

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