We first met Brian LeCocq this spring when his team won the 2023 Launch Hack Startup Weekend. But Brian has been busy on his own startup, Gear Bin, as well! Last week, he launched his product — a specialty ruler for electrical engineers — on Amazon.
We caught up with Brian to learn more about his company and his entrepreneur journey.
Hi, my name is Brian LeCocq. I’m a third-year computer engineering student at the University of Dayton. I’m also founder of Gear Bin LLC, a tech company focused on providing premium electronics tools. In my free time, I enjoy cycling, reading, and 3D printing.
Over the years I experimented with new ways to combine textbook electrical engineering information into a compact, multi-use form factor. I was first inspired to develop a ruler for electrical engineers during the pandemic. As a member of my school’s Science Olympiad team, I stumbled upon similar rulers during competition prep. I realized I could bring in my own tool if it could fit in a three-ring binder with the rest of my allowed notes. Three months later, I had engineered a ruler for the competition that had more information (and binder holes) than any other electrical engineering ruler on the market. I crushed the competition, and my engineering teacher encouraged me to find a market for my invention. I connected with a Chicagoland distributor to sell it in Chicago and Milwaukee, then left for college. Recently, I revisited my product and found new ways to make it more cost effective and compact. This summer, I am launching the new product on Amazon to learn more about the e-commerce and digital marketing worlds.
When I was younger, I always wanted to be an inventor. It wasn’t until launching my first product that I even considered being an entrepreneur. Creativity and innovation have always been invaluable skills to me. My technical expertise has helped me support my new ideas through rapid prototyping. Over the last two years, I’ve begun to broaden my horizon to develop the mixed skillset that’s associated with the business and entrepreneurship world. I look forward to learning the skills of sales, pitching, marketing, and more to grow my professional value.
During my time in the Dayton area, I have attended Flyer Pitch and Startup Weekend. Flyer Pitch was extremely humbling. From the moment my friend Joe told me about Startup Weekend, I was incredibly excited to work alongside other driven entrepreneurs. What I didn’t expect was the amount of work, connections, and idea validation I could accomplish over the course of the weekend. To my surprise, my team, Kitchen Kanvas, ended up winning the weekend! But more important than my unexpected success was the friends and connections I made through the experience. Both events spurred my entrepreneurial spirit in new and unexpected directions. The skillsets and connections I made were truly invaluable. I would absolutely recommend both programs to my fellow entrepreneurs and business owners.
I embody the Launch Dayton community values through my entrepreneurial spirit and social focus. On my own, I ambitiously approach challenges in business and boldly defy expectations for entrepreneurs of my age. Outside of my personal drive, I’ve been hard at work alongside UD alum Joe Fuchs and UD students Aiden Mornhinweg and Loring Leitzel to launch the UD Entrepreneurial Mindset Association club. Unlike other business-focused clubs and groups on campus, we aim to connect UD entrepreneurs through a roundtable-like experiences to listen to guest speakers, troubleshoot through shared experiences, and complete career-building certifications.
As a student, band member, and member of other clubs, my identity as a curious, dedicated, and hardworking team member shaped much of who I am today. Over the past few years, I’ve translated my experience in the classroom to help me learn 3D printing and communicate with global manufacturers. I’ve learned to crowdsource feedback and interact with purchasing agents to create value in my business and grow my professional network.
The biggest barrier I’ve faced on my entrepreneur journey is growing an audience for my business.
I’m not sure I know the answer yet. I love creating and I love learning. The variety of challenges I face as an entrepreneur is daunting, but also exciting. Business is not a zero-sum game. As I learn and grow as an entrepreneur, I can pay it forward and help others succeed. Likewise, those who are more successful and experienced than I am are typically happy to share their advice to help me grow. I believe business is a good way to channel growth as a person.
Start doing. Oftentimes, I’ve noticed the biggest challenge holding back my progress is whatever I tell myself. There’s more to be learned from practical application than there is from learning through reading. There is never a perfect time to act, but overcoming the challenges presented when you act is what makes you grow as an entrepreneur and as a person. Be kind to others. Ask for help when you need it, but don’t take advantage of other’s generosity.
Check out my product on Amazon! And feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I love meeting other entrepreneurs!
Connect with Brian @gearbin on IG, TikTok and YouTube.
Kelsea Pernsteiner quit her job on a whim to pursue her passion — exploring wild flavors through her “punk rock” cottage bakery, Eat The Rich.
“I wanted a logo that set me apart and firmly said, I’m here to do things differently and boldly,” she said. “When the timing felt right, I went for it.”
We recently caught up with Kelsea to learn more about her business and her entrepreneur journey.
Eat The Rich is a punk rock cottage bakery hidden away in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio. We specialize in creative gourmet flavors and cater to allergies and dietary restrictions. We focus on high quality ingredients, real flavors with imaginative combinations, and community involvement. You can find us popping up at events all around Dayton or in the kitchen baking up custom orders.
I decided to leave my kitchen job on a whim to focus on creating wild flavors with ingredients and business practices I believed in. I read a wonderful interview from Dayton’s own incredible Bootleg Bagels and I thought, “Yes! How punk rock is that!?” It inspired me to go the cottage bakery route, and the rest is history.
I wanted something that showcased who I am and what I do. So I wanted a logo that set me apart and firmly said, “I’m here to do things differently and boldly.” I’d had the name and logo in my head for years. When the timing felt right, I went for it. I don’t want to be white noise in a sea of so many talented bakers in the area.
It’s one of the several things I always found myself going back to. In third grade, I wrote that I wanted to have a bakery/cafe and I would give kids and homeless people free goodies. I’m proud to say that I often do just that, and little Kelsea would be psyched.
I hold all of those values very near and dear. I’m here to kick down doors and let people in. And I want to make incredible flavors accessible to the people regardless of class, race, identity etc. I proudly donate to great causes and often have giveaways or hand out free goods just to share the love. I believe in treating all people right and justly regardless of positions of power or anything else.
I’ve had an absolutely wild life filled with too many experiences to fit here, and that’s what I bring. I’ve been so many things and have occupied so many different spaces. It taught me a lot of empathy and compassion for people.
Finding reasonably priced business spaces to open a brick and mortar. There are a lot of spaces investors are just sitting on, creating artificial scarcity and driving prices higher than what’s fair.
Creating and giving unto people are my favorite things in the world. To have my passions so warmly and widely received is a blessing I cannot possibly express fully.
It doesn’t matter if you’re afraid. Do it. You’ll always wonder what if, might as well find out.
I love Dayton. Its sense of community and pride are like no other. I’ve lived all over this country, and I never doubted for a moment that I was coming back home as soon as I could. There’s a huge culture of support and love for all here that I just can’t get enough of.
Stay tuned with Kelsea and her latest pop-up schedule on IG at @EatTheRich.
Launch Dayton Startup Week draws hundreds of attendees each year to celebrate, inspire and empower the Dayton region’s startup founders & business owners. The week-long, free conference offers high-quality talks, hands-on business workshops and vibrant networking opportunities.
This year, Fifth Third Bank returns as our presenting sponsor.
“Our commitment to support Startup Week and the region’s entrepreneur and small business community continues! We are proud to be the presenting sponsor again this year,” said Marya Rutherford Long, Fifth Third Bank VP, Community Impact Manger. “Our communities are vibrant because entrepreneurs take risks every day and pursue visions for a better world. Startup Week offers an invaluable opportunity for those founders to connect to the right people and resources to grow their businesses and to succeed. We’re thrilled to help bring this opportunity to our community.”
The conference is also made possible by our platinum sponsors, Parallax Advanced Research, Entrepreneurs’ Center, Mile Two, and McGohan Brabender. This year’s event will be fully in-person and will be held in the historic Dayton Arcade and The Hub Powered by PNC.
We are also teaming up with Sportcial to make this year’s conference our most vibrant and interactive yet.
“Sportcial is so excited to partner with Startup Week this year! We’ve always enjoyed the connectivity that it brings to our city in support of our small business and entrepreneur community,” said Buddy Pitts, Co-Owner and Chief Fun Officer at Sportcial. “Get ready to work hard, and play even harder, as you build your business and community!”
This year’s lineup will feature 50+ speakers across more than 60 sessions.
What are you waiting for? Register today and build your custom conference agenda! Can’t make it all week? No problem! Startup Week is built so you can drop in and out. Snag a coworking spot to knock out a bit of work. And feel free to bring your kids with you, they’re welcome to learn from the Startup Week speakers, too!
Our incredible sponsors help us keep the conference free, empowering Launch Dayton partners to pursue our mission to build an equitable community where all entrepreneurs are welcome and supported. Want to be a part of this work? Reach out to [email protected].
Dayton startup UnlistedHomes.com, the leading off-market real estate platform, launched the first universal AI-powered home search engine. All users can now find their next home using natural language.
The technology is backed by ChatGPT, an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by OpenAI.
“Unlisted is thrilled to be the first real estate technology to offer ChatGPT-enabled home search to all our users,” Unlisted founder and CEO Katie Hill said. “This innovation aligns with our commitment to connect people and real estate in all new ways to create more opportunities for buyers, sellers, agents, and the industry as a whole.”
This development marks a significant milestone in property search. It allows buyers to find their dream homes using conversational search terms instead of toggling filters. For example, “Show me homes with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms between $750,000 and $900,000 in Upper Arlington, OH.”
Real estate search capabilities have not changed significantly since property listings moved online 15+ years ago. Historically, online home search engines have limited users to selecting criteria one attribute at a time, often requiring seven or more specifications before revealing search results. Unlisted’s ChatGPT integration provides a more streamlined mechanism where users simply type a description of the home they desire into an open text box.
The software then translates users’ words into complex queries of UnlistedHomes.com’s massive database of more than 121M homes in the U.S. The result is a list of homes curated specifically for the buyer.
“Unlisted’s ChatGPT integration represents one example of the immense potential of AI technology to revolutionize the real estate industry,” Unlisted CTO Henri Hegemier said. “We’re demonstrating a very practical application of large language models, helping users find their ideal homes more efficiently and intuitively than ever before.”
This isn’t the first example of Unlisted’s non-traditional approach to real estate. Since launching in 2022, Unlisted continues to be the only residential real estate platform giving attention to off-market properties instead of properties listed for sale nationally. Unlisted allows buyers to find off-market homes they like and send personal notes and care packages with treats like chocolate bars and cookies to the homes’ owners. Owners are then able to respond to buyers through a secure and anonymous chat at UnlistedHomes.
Drumroll, please!
Greater West Dayton Incubator is thrilled to announce the exceptional nominees for the 2023 Gem City Black Business Month Awards! These incredible individuals have inspired us with their dedication to their craft. Let’s give them a round of applause!
Vote for your favorites by August 7!
Congratulations to all nominees! And thank you people of Dayton for your votes!
Celebrity makeup artist Chante Jackson is bringing a little bit of that LA beauty to Dayton through her business, House of Caurel. You can shop her beauty supplies and custom lash collection online or at her store in Englewood. Read on to meet Chante.
A new national accelerator based in Dayton, Ohio aims to boost businesses in the veteran and military community.
Project Accelerate seeks diverse veteran-, military- and military spouse-owned companies for its first cohort, kicking off this fall.
Project Accelerate is backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce will manage the cohorts.
The accelerator will drive equity and inclusion within the veteran and military community. Facilitators are seeking 50 cohort participants. Participants receive training and coaching to expand their business within the commercial and government sectors. They will also be connected to national supplier diversity partners to maximize contracting opportunities.
“We are thrilled to unveil Project Accelerate as a transformative initiative that will provide strong training support and connections to support growth of established businesses,” said Belinda Matthews Stenson, vice president, Business Inclusion for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. “Through Project Accelerate, we aim to remove barriers and promote equity in the veteran and military community here in the Dayton region and across the country.”
Apply by July 26. Candidates will be notified by Aug. 15. The cohort will kick off Sept. 19.
Million-dollar ghostwriter Joshua Lisec has dropped a new book, but this time, he is sharing his own expertise.
“So Good They Call You a Fake” pulls from his work ghostwriting 80+ books for leaders across industries ranging from healthcare to construction to share a step-by-step process on how you can build a business off your own expertise.
You may remember Joshua from his standing room-only 2022 “How to Write Content that Sells” Startup Week session. He’s back in town later this week for a book launch and signing event at the Beavercreek Barnes and Noble, Saturday, July 8.
We caught up with him recently to learn more.
I am the Internet’s favorite ghostwriter. My work has gained widespread recognition, from TED to TMZ to Twitter Trends, establishing my reputation for always finding “the best way to say it.” I’ve ghostwritten more than 80 nonfiction books for celebrities, executives, entrepreneurs, and for experts asserting authority in their industries for the first time. I am the only Certified Professional Ghostwriter (California State University Long Beach) and Certified Hypnotist (National Guild of Hypnotists) in the world, and more than 3,300 people have taken my persuasive writing courses.
I decided to start a ghostwriting company completely by accident. At age 20, I received a 2-book publishing deal for novels I’d written in college. While promoting them at signings, on panels, and through social media, two aspiring authors bought my books, enjoyed them, and asked me if I could help them finally finish theirs. Especially since they’d had the desire to become authors longer than I’d been alive. Given that I was nurturing a tiny freelance writing side hustle at the time, I thought, “OK . . . fine . . . sure . . . I guess I can help you write your book.” And here I am all these years later still saying that.
I’m now considered the world’s best ghostwriter because people don’t get rich selling books. I’ve built an unstoppable results business for clients. These authors have made so much more money through their authority-establishing books that many feel bad about how much they paid Lisec Ghostwriting. And this despite me, Joshua, being one of the most expensive ghostwriters in America. I have a proven process for any aspiring author who has done the hard work of being the best at what they do. I take great pride in this craft, delivering experts the authority book they’ve already earned.
No. But in college, several professors praised my essays as superior in depth and readability compared to the typical “just give me my degree so I can get out of here” efforts from the typical student. One professor in particular told me, “Joshua, you can probably do this professionally.” And I thought, Why not? That same day, I listed myself as a writer-for-hire on freelance marketplaces that no longer exist. My very first writing gig paid $1.67/hour. Words fail me as I attempt to describe the joy that those few bucks brought me. For the first time in my albeit young life, I’d made my own money. Outside a job. Selling my service. No boss but me. No longer do I charge that rate (or anything near it, thankfully). But I’ve been a thrill-seeker pursuing that same rush ever since.
My book is the very definition of value 1., “BE BOLD.” My own book, the instant #1 international Amazon bestseller SO GOOD THEY CALL YOU A FAKE teaches that cultivating haters and critics is the last rite of passage into greatness. Further, if you are *not* being “called out” for generating results in your business that appear too good to be true, then you are not even close to trying hard enough. The path of excellence is not for the faint of heart; it’s for those who are too good at what they do to keep being the best-kept secret of their niche. And my book fixes that, teaching readers how to command attention, maximally monetize their expertise, and never stop winning — no matter what the haterz say!
I was homeschooled Pre/K-12. In the 1990s, that meant reading the entire Encyclopedia America, Volumes A-Z “for fun.” Later, that translated into me already having entry-level expertise on every book I would ghostwrite, be it business, healthcare, or technical topics.
Originally, my company was named Legacy Editions Publishing because my first ghostwriting wanted to complete their memoirs. My promise was, “I’ll put your legacy in print.” And that was exactly what we did. I had a vision for documenting as much of the world’s wisdom as possible in masterpieces that made their authors proud. But over time, I realized that entrepreneurs have an even greater desire to become authors. Entrepreneurs earn authority, build credibility, and showcase expertise when they author a book. My purpose realigned with theirs, and my company followed. But I pushed a rope uphill for far too long!
Google me and I am consistently dubbed “the #1 ghostwriter in the world” and “the world’s best ghostwriter.” It’s good to be king. (See Value 1. BE BOLD)
Learn and obey the JOBS TO BE DONE framework, used in Silicon Valley and at Harvard Business School, to design and launch successful products in brutally competitive fields. My book SO GOOD THEY CALL YOU A FAKE teaches how to do this, step by step, with no step skipped.
1. Attend the book launch event for my new nonfiction book, the instant #1 international Amazon bestseller SO GOOD THEY CALL YOU A FAKE (3,000 copies sold already). It’s at the Beavercreek Barnes & Noble on Saturday, July 8th, 2-4 pm.
2. Read SO GOOD THEY CALL YOU A FAKE and write an honest review — even a 1-star review! As I say in the book, “Haters are your most valuable marketers.”
Stay in touch with Joshua on social media @joshualisec.
When Jasmine Hill whipped up her first cheesecake-in-a-jar, it was a love letter to the grandmothers she’d just lost.
Today, she shares that love with the community and beyond through her business, Jars by Jas.
Jasmine is graduate and second place pitch winner of the spring 2023 Entrepreneur Rising Academy cohort, a graduate of Greater West Dayton Incubator’s Urban Elevation Accelerator, a Dayton Score mentee, and multi-year Startup Week attendee.
We recently caught up with her to learn more about her business.
Funding and financials are the biggest factors to solidifying my foundation for my business. This a constant learning process, and I’m glad I was able to get some help in the Entrepreneur Rising Academy program.
I need mentorship with food truck operations and financials right now.
Connect with Jas online @jarsbyjas.
By Te’Jal Cartwright, Founder, What’s The Biz
In September of 2018, I walked into a new business I’d recently learned about called Theze Dealz, a “thrifty boutique” located in the heart of West Dayton. I was excited to interview the owner, Zontaye Richardson, about an incident at her shop. Someone had attempted to break in, busting her front window in the process. She shared this news on Facebook, and by the end of the day, the community had come together to raise over $600 to fix her window.
I was truly inspired by her strength and the cooperative energy that centered her business. During our interview, we had a good time, Zontaye became a dear friend, and Theze Dealz became one of my favorite stores.
This interview led me to bring a personal idea to life. At the time, I was dedicated to uplifting the Black community in any way that I could. I was curious to see what it would look like if I applied my passion for on-camera journalism to a mission to elevate the Black community through Black economics.
What if I created a show that highlighted the stories of Black business owners? What if the goal was to not only to promote the business, but also to share the story of the business owner in order to build solid relationships in the community?
A year later I would interview Zontaye again and launch a digital web series-turned-media company called What’s the Biz with TJ. Over the next three years, the WTB team would share the stories of 130+ local Black business owners in a fun and quirky way to strengthen the relationship between Black business owners and consumers.
Today, we find ourselves planning for season 4, but with a twist. Season 4 will be about addressing some of the bigger issues Black entrepreneurs face and finding long-lasting solutions as a collective.
Since launching WTB, I’ve seen firsthand some of the injustices and inequities that plague Black businesses and Black business owners. I’ve seen business owners forced to shut down because out-of-state landlords refuse to prioritize building maintenance and repairs. I’ve seen successful business owners unable to access funding to expand or purchase their own spaces. And I’ve heard about racist antics from public officials that target minority-owned businesses for random inspections and fines.
As I listened to countless stories of the treatment Black entrepreneurs face behind closed doors, a feeling of naivety and frustration rushed over me.
How did I not know these things? How did I overlook the possibility of discrimination that Black business owners have to face?
I began to understand the myriad of ways the growth of Black communities and the Black economy are hindered.
Yes, business owners can benefit from classes that cover finances, management, marketing and more, but what else can we do? We hold classes to help business owners strengthen their businesses, and these things are needed, but what about the other stuff? What does a Black business owner do if they have everything in order, but still face outright discrimination? It’s not right.
Theze Dealz has been in business for 5+ years simply because Zontaye understands the value of her “thrifty boutique,” and she refuses to give up. But she shouldn’t have to constantly fight these large battles. How long are we going to ignore the serious problems Black business owners face or make excuses about what we can and cannot do? Sometimes I feel like we have a “that’s just the way things are” mentality, but I urge us to be proactive.
Black entrepreneurs deserve better, and I’m excited for our team to partner with Launch Dayton to give business owners a platform to share what they really need. Launch Dayton has been a key player in building the small business ecosystem in Dayton. This is a great opportunity for resource providers in our community to elevate and work to discover what that next level of support looks like.
I’m also excited to talk about the importance of economic solidarity. If Black business owners and customers continue to find ways to empower each other and work together, maybe we can find the solution within ourselves.
As we gear up to begin production for season 4 of What’s the Biz, I invite everyone to join the conversation. Our team consists of so many people. We only know so much! We welcome all experiences, thoughts, and voices throughout this process. Stay tuned for our fourth season, premiering this July!
31 S. Main St.
Dayton, OH 45402
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