We caught up with eight Early Risers alumni last week at our special March Madness edition. It was a great chance to check-in with these entrepreneurs and learn how our community can continue to support them as they grow their startups:
Carlos Portis and Frank “Buddy” Pitts, Jr., and Inveloped Cards, their texted cards service, took first place in the friendly March Madness competition. Formerly known as Texted Cards, Inveloped Cards is partnering with area designers and area design schools to offer students and professionals a chance to design cards for the platform and earn a commission for cards sold. They’re in search of designers interested in participating, and, of course, customers who want to send Inveloped Cards! Check them out here.
Jon Umstead and Plan Canvas, his business planning software, were runner-up in the March Madness pitches. The company has pivoted — Jon is looking to connect and market to existing business coaching businesses rather than directly to business owners and entrepreneurs. He’s looking for an investor so he can run a national outreach campaign. Learn more about Plan Canvas here.
Tom Heil and Cover, his wifi service for small businesses, is excited for an upcoming meeting with several angel investors. At the moment, he’s looking for salespeople and, as always, clients. Check out Covur here.
Dave Bean and Mobius, his coupon-sharing service, is in search of data science expertise. He will be collecting a lot of data through the platform and wants to know best way to aggregate it. Know someone who knows big data? Send them to David! More info on Mobius here.
Will Foster and Picnk, his prepped-meal service, celebrated a grand opening in his new space at Five Seasons Sports Club Powered by LOGIK Fitness at 4242 Clyo Road, Dayton earlier this month. He’s continually looking for folks who want to do collaborative projects — think a meal pop-up in your friend’s local business — and, of course, customers. Check out Picnk here.
Jerricha Hoskins and CrownMe Coil Care, her natural hair care line, are working to get into larger retailers, like Target. She’s looking for a connection within such a retail organization. Check out her product lineup, and list of current Dayton-area retail locations, here.
Angela Malone and Dr. Scribbles, offering educational, interactive exam paper for children in hospitals, recently returned from a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where healthcare providers gave thrilled feedback on the exam paper placed in a series of pediatric exam rooms. She’s looking for a national company interested in advertising on the paper, as well as connections to hospital administrators. Check out Dr. Scribbles here.
Sukhman Singh and Divine Services, his on-demand valet service, is looking for connections to real estate developers in growing urban areas. As cities redevelop urban cores, parking challenges arise, and his platform can help alleviate them, he said. Learn more about Divine Services here.
Having trouble connecting with one of these entrepreneurs? Reach out to us and we’ll make a connection!
Need a fresh space, a new view, a little extra inspiration?
Cowork in the clouds the first Tuesday of every month at the The Dayton Club, 40 N Main St., Dayton.
Located on the top floor of Kettering Tower, Ohio’s tallest building, the Dayton Club offers 360-degree views of downtown — and they’re opening their doors to our region’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Open coworking starts at 7am the first Tuesday of every month and runs until 5pm, when coworkers are welcome to stick around for the club’s Daily Pour Happy Hour. Coworking individuals are also welcome to purchase the breakfast buffet and daily lunch specials.
The open coworking in the clouds is a way to remind current members of another way they can use the club, as well as to showcase the club to potential new members, Membership Director Jocelin Dean said.
LeKeisha Grant, fellow entrepreneur and a business advisor with Miami Valley Small Business Development Center, will hold open office hours at the Dayton Club during these open coworking days.
For more information, click here.
We’re bringing back some Early Risers alumni this Friday, March 22, for a special March Madness edition!
Eight founders/founder teams will face off, bracket-style, for a fun, three-round competition. In round one, all entrepreneurs will present their 30-second elevator pitches.
Winners moving on to round two will present two-minute pitches.
The final two teams in round three will present full 10-minute pitches.
A panel of judges from the local entrepreneur communities will offer feedback & scores after each pitch. The audience will also get to vote to move startups into the next round.
The returning entrepreneurs/startups are:
Jerricha Hoskins and CrownMe Coil Care, her natural hair care line;
Will Foster and Picnk, his prepped-meal service;
Carlos Portis and Frank “Buddy” Pitts, Jr., and Inveloped Cards, their texted cards service;
Tom Heil and Covur, his wifi service for small businesses;
Angela Malone and Dr. Scribbles, offering educational, interactive exam paper for children in hospitals;
Dave Bean and Mobius, his coupon-sharing service;
Sukhman Singh and Divine Services, his on-demand valet service;
& Jon Umstead and Plan Canvas, his business planning software.
March’s Early Risers is sponsored by LeKeisha Grant & Ambition Magazine — LeKeisha is celebrating the seventh anniversary of Ambition Magazine!
See you Friday, 7:30am, at 444 E. 2nd St., Dayton. Register here!
When Josh Panczyk started college, he didn’t know anyone else who was interested in entrepreneurship.
That all changed when he attended his first Flyer Formation in fall 2016.
“I had always felt alone, but I walked in and saw the resources available and felt the energy – I realized there are actually a lot of people who all want to do really cool things.”
Flash forward — Josh is now the external outreach chair of University of Dayton’s entrepreneurship club, and he’s organizing this year’s Flyer Formation, slated for Saturday, April 6, from 9am to 2pm at 444 E. Second St., Dayton. He is also co-founder of a new company that is working to license technology from the Air Force Research Lab that can potentially save lives by effectively barricading doors in the event of school shootings.
Flyer Formation is designed for students who are interested in entrepreneurship, but haven’t taken that first step yet, Josh said. The speaker lineup is split between entrepreneurs and resource providers on campus and their counterparts from the wider Dayton community.
“It’s a chance for people to get a feel for Dayton’s startup community,” he said. “We’re getting a group of like-minded thinkers together to network with a plethora of speakers. Find your co-founder here.”
The Flyer Pitch is part of the day’s lineup, kicking off at 10am. Local businesses Ashley’s Pastry Shop and Company 7 BBQ will provide breakfast and lunch. Josh is particularly stoked about the closing keynote speaker, Lance Tyson of Dublin, OH’s Tyson Group, taking the stage at 1:15pm.
Check out the full Flyer Formation lineup here.
Often wonder how venture deals really work?
Kauffman Fellows Academy & Techstars are teaming up to offer Venture Deals, a free online course written demystify this startup financing option that will run April 7 to May 31.
The seven-week course will be taught by renowned venture capitalists Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, co-founders & partners at the Foundry Group. Feld has been financing startups since the early 1990s.
The lessons are designed to give both first-time & experienced entrepreneurs a guide to secure financing. Topics cover what exactly venture capital is, how to structure deals, and requirements post-investment.
The work is team-oriented and practice-based. Feld and Mendelson estimate participants will spend 4-6 hours per week on coursework.
Kauffman Fellows Academy is the online training arm of the Kauffman Fellows, the premier leadership organization in innovation and capital formation. Nearly 500 graduates from the distinguished 2 year Kauffman Fellows program lead venture capital, government, corporate, university, and startup innovation efforts in more than 40 countries, investing billions into startups globally.
Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorship-driven accelerator programs and thousands of startup programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world’s most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO.
Get more info & sign up for the course here.
Do you want a day job helping bridge the gap between our entrepreneurs and resources?
We’re hiring a project manager who will focus on outreach and inclusion efforts.
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 develop targeted, regional commercialization and entrepreneurial programs designed to engage communities that face persistent gaps in economic opportunity, such as persons of color, women, veterans, and students. They will also oversee the development of new partnerships within our region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
We’re looking for someone with at least a bachelor’s degree; at least three years’ experience in outreach and economic development or program management; at least six years’ experience in a professional work environment, whether full-time, freelance or consulting; and superior verbal, written and presentation skills.
We prefer someone with experience developing relationships with diverse groups and institutions; experience building startup ecosystems; experience as an entrepreneur themselves; and project management certification.
If this sounds like you, or someone you know, check out the application here. We’re excited to work with you!
Spintech, a shape-memory polymer tooling solutions company based in Xenia, recently wrapped up a $3.75M funding growth round with a $500K oversubscription.
“We’re thrilled with the faith our investors and customers are putting in us,” President & CEO Craig Jennings said.
Spintech makes Smart Tools that allow customers to make composite parts. These tools arrive at the customer’s factory formed to shape and rigid, ready for a part to be made around them. The composite part is laid up on the Smart Tool and put in an oven to cure. Once the part is cured, the Smart Tool is heated to a targeted temperature that causes it to lose its rigidity and become highly flexible, allowing the worker to simply pull the Smart Tool out of the cured part and drop it in its mold, where it returns to its original formed shape to be used again.
These tools are primarily used by companies manufacturing parts for the aerospace and defense industries. Parts made using Spintech Smart Tools can be found in commercial space rockets, unmanned aircraft vehicles, jet engines, helicopters, and business jets, Craig shared.
The Smart Tools enable manufacturers to make parts that are geometrically complex — think parts with ridges or small openings on the ends, elements that make it impossible to get solid metal tools out of the composite part without breaking it. Traditional methods for making such parts are labor- and material-intensive, such as pouring a ceramic mold, making the part, then using a power sprayer to break up the ceramic mold and wash it out of the inside of the finished part.
Craig’s journey to Spintech began in 2009. He was hired by the Dayton Development Coalition’s Entrepreneurial Signature Program team to review 14 new technologies at Cornerstone Research Group’s Beavercreek labs. Of the 14 new technologies, Craig identified four with solid near-term market prospects and wrote plans to commercialize them. Cornerstone Research CEO Dr. Patrick Hood then tapped Craig to implement the plan he drafted for the shape-memory polymer technologies.
Before Spintech, Craig began his career at General Motors, putting the first robots onto plant floors. He helped scale a Silicon Valley tech company, then returned to Ohio in 1989 for an opportunity at then-startup robotics company Motoman. By the time he left in 2008, he’d served as company president for more than a decade and led the company’s growth in annual revenue to $165M.
For Spintech’s first three years, its main customer was Spirit, a manufacturing company in Kansas that was scaling the technology to make a fuselage for single-aisle commercial jet airplanes. In 2014, Spirit’s market shifted and this work ended. Spintech was a startup all over again, Craig recalled.
In 2016, the company reinvented its Smart Tool-making process, significantly lowering the cost to the customer. By the end of 2018, Spintech had more than doubled its sales from the year prior. It expects to double sales again this year.
The $4.25M Series A funding round will enable Spintech to aggressively ramp up marketing and expand its salesforce.
“We’re positioned for aggressive growth well into the future,” Craig said.
Want to speak on the TEDxDayton stage, but not sure your idea is on the right track?
No formal program, drop in anytime to chat one-on-one about your idea, your application, the speaker process…whatever you want to know!
TEDxDayton’s mission is to bring the spirit of ideas worth spreading to deep conversation and connections within the community. The event will feature TED’s signature format of brief talks, demonstrations and performances meant to inspire learning and curiosity while encouraging meaningful conversation.
This year’s speakers will take the Victoria Theatre stage on Friday, Oct. 11. The theme is “CONNECT.”
TEDxDayton is looking for diverse topics from diverse speakers who can deliver a focused, thought-provoking message in about ten minutes. Aspiring speakers should apply here by March 24.
Dayton startup Battle Sight Technologies landed a 6-figure contract to commercial tech for the Department of Defense at the inaugural United States Air Force Pitch Day, March 6 in New York City.
“It is an incredible honor to be recognized in the is way by the United States Air Force,” Battle Sight President Nick Ripplinger said. “I founded Battle Sight with the goal of delivering innovative solutions to our troops; this is real validation that what we’re doing is meaningful to warfighters on the front lines.”
The Dayton startup was awarded $65K on the spot to aid commercialization of CrayTac, its infrared crayon — a next-generation chemiluminescence solution to enhance communication in low-light and no-light conditions. Additional follow-on funding will be made available to the company in the next 90 days for a contract total of over $165K.
Battle Sight Technologies is a veteran-owned business rooted in technology licensed from the Air Force Research Lab. The company will use the funds to further enhance its product offering based on feedback from evaluation teams and from the field, Nick said.
The Air Force presented the pitch competition to inspire and accelerate startup creativity toward national security challenges. Pitch Day was open to all ideas furthering national security in air, space and cyberspace in the areas of command, control, communications, intelligence and network solutions; special warfare technologies; and digital technologies. Participating startups and small businesses had to be U.S.-based, for-profit businesses, more than 50% owned by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, and employing less than 500 people.
“This inaugural Pitch Day is unlike anything in the history of the Air Force. In order to boost the U.S. competitive advantage in technology, new processes, like this event, aim to make the Air Force an early adopter of cutting edge technologies from companies of all shapes and sizes,”Ryan Helbach, AFRL Chief Intrapreneur at United States Air Force, said. “Our ability to streamline resources to these innovators enables us to get the best solutions into the hands of our troops faster.”
Ryan led the effort to make Pitch Day a reality. More than 60 companies presented to Air Force leadership and evaluators on March 6. Some pitches were selected for a second presentation to media and other broader audiences on March 7.
Battle Sight Technologies is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business focused on commercializing technologies that improve the day-to-day lives of the warfighter, first responders and emergency management professionals. The CrayTac is the first in a line of innovative security products being developed and commercialized by Battle Sight.
Dayton entrepreneur and National Black Business Directory CEO Nate Dillard graduated Founder Gym last week, joining the ranks of Cohort 6 —Founder Gym’s largest cohort to date, and its first black founder class.
Founder Gym, an organization dedicated to closing the minority founder funding gap, launched its first cohort in January 2018. The six-week program trains founders in fundraising — specifically focusing on how to appeal to & pitch venture capitalists.
Currently, less than 2% of VC-backed founders are black, Founder Gym states. In the roughly year it has been active, Founder Gym has helped founders of color raise $35M.
“That’s the focus of Founder Gym,” he said. “It’s about understanding the terminology and VC speak, what they want to see in your profits, what you should and should not include in your pitch deck — the things that will get you investment.”
The cohort met virtually, interviewing successful venture capitalists and successful VC-backed founders, such as Morgan DeBaun, CEO of Blavity, who raised $6.5M in her B-round.
“As a minority, when you’re building a startup, you don’t know other people doing it. Friends and family don’t understand what you’re trying to do,” Nate said. ”But being in that (Founder Gym) course, we connected with each other, and now we have those friendships. It’s lonely being an entrepreneur. It was beautiful to meet other minorities actually doing what I’m doing.”
Founder Gym also recently announced at the Startup Grind Global Conference in LA that it is teaming up with Google for Startups. Among other benefits, this partnership means someone at Google will review each graduate’s two-minute pitch deck.
The Founder’s Gym training costs $2,000. The program runs several times each year. Apply by March 25 to participate in the next cohort. Visit https://foundergym.com/ for more info.
Nate is building the National Black Business Directory to be a one-stop-shop for business solutions for black business owners. In December, he acquired a popular black news media app to serve as the initial platform from which he’ll build out additional services.
He intends to begin reaching out to investors by the end of Q3. Connect with him here.
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