Greater West Dayton Incubator unveils brand, final contenders for cafe name
February 23, 2021
The Greater West Dayton Incubator has launched its brand & logo.
The color palette for the incubator was inspired by the Ancestral Spirit Dance collection of world-renowned Dayton artist, Bing Davis. A piece from this signature collection will be purchased by the GWDI and housed at the incubator permanently.
The brand also pays homage to the geographical focus of the incubator with Greater West Dayton being prominently featured on the top banner. The small circle within the State of Ohio is strategically located to represent the City of Dayton. The positioning of the word incubator brings forward the primary purpose of this collective endeavor.
The process of determining the branding included several design iterations and presenting multiple design choices to the GWDI Advisory Council, UD’s Administration, and the Entrepreneurs’ Center leadership team for feedback.
How are the Greater West Dayton incubator and the University of Dayton connected?
The GWDI was envisioned by and developed in partnership with Black community leaders through the University of Dayton – Greater West Dayton Conversation. This ongoing multi-year initiative proposes an intentional and active engagement between the University of Dayton and Greater West Dayton neighbors. It creates a space for leaders who are impacted by, concerned with, and committed to creating equitable education, research, and economic development opportunities and outcomes for the common good. The initiative is designed for purposeful, proactive, and sustained action and dialogue to explore mutually beneficial opportunities for the development, execution, and assessment of activities or interventions.
As the first tangible community-university outcome of the Conversation, the incubator seeks to make intentional connections with six members from the Conversation being represented on the GWDI Advisory Council, including three individuals who serve on the Conversation steering committee. The fruits of this work also assisted in the formation of UD’s 11-step strategy toward becoming an anti-racist university. In the coming months, the GWDI will work with community leaders and leverage storytelling avenues to more fully and accurately depict the partnership and role of Black leaders in the conception of this initiative.
The GWDI is housed within the L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in the University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration. The Crotty Center provides a distinctive approach to university entrepreneurship education with a vision of being an incubator for the next generation of diverse entrepreneurs. The center leads the entrepreneurship capstone courses, which provide opportunities for business owners to receive market research support and individualized business deliverables from student-led teams with professional mentors.
The Crotty Center is also home to Flyer Consulting and Flyer Enterprises.
Flyer Consulting is a student-run organization providing complimentary business consulting to nonprofit organizations while promoting economic growth locally and around the world. With a current international micro-lending program in Nairobi, Kenya through the IMANI Marianists, Flyer Consulting is equipped with previous experience to support the GWDI’s local micro-lending program. Students within this local lending program will also receive mentorship and guidance from banking professionals.
Flyer Enterprises is one of the largest completely student-run corporations in the world. From sales associates to CEO, students drive more than $1.2 million in annual revenue. This includes 10 divisions across campus that range from coffee and smoothies cafés to storage space. Flyer Enterprise students will utilize these experiential learning opportunities to further support food-preneurs that are pursuing supplier diversity pathways through the GWDI for the café located within The Hub.
How will the Greater West Dayton Incubator connect entrepreneurs to the Dayton region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem?
The Hub at the Arcade powered by PNC Bank is a joint-venture between UD and the Entrepreneurs’ Center that leverages synergistic partnerships and collaborations with entrepreneurs, community stakeholders, Launch Dayton, and ecosystem partners. Space, opportunity, and entrepreneurial collisions are vital to any startup community. The 95,000 square feet of innovative transdisciplinary launching and learning space at The Hub provides just that. From co-working space, office space, academic classrooms, and state-of-the-art design studios, The Hub has everything you need.
The GWDI has an on-site satellite office to ensure equitable access and a sense of belonging in The Hub for entrepreneurs that are engaged with the incubator’s initiatives. This will include a scholarship program that is forthcoming. Additionally, the café at The Hub will have a menu that is intentionally curated by the Greater West Dayton Incubator to feature underrepresented entrepreneurs. These strategic connections will support the synergies of Dayton’s startup community between Greater West Dayton and downtown.
The Hub Café will be a grab-n-go breakfast and lunch option in the historic downtown Dayton Arcade that leverages the joint-venture between the University of Dayton and The Entrepreneurs Center to provide convenient food and beverages to hustling entrepreneurs, organizational leaders, Arcade shoppers, and Dayton residents. The menu will be intentionally curated by the Greater West Dayton Incubator to feature underrepresented food and beverage entrepreneurs.
