The wheels of Cincinnati’s startup scene are spinning faster than ever these days. Growth-stage companies are closing record-setting venture capital rounds, while two mainstays in the region, Standard Bariatrics and Vndly, have announced nine-figure exits within a nine-month span. The city has never had more momentum, and a new group looks to be waiting in the wings.
In that spirit, we have chosen this year’s five Inno Under 25 winners – nominated by readers and ecosystem leaders and selected by Business Courier and Cincy Inno staff.
Grit, passion and hustle define this group. Blake Faulkner grew up playing video games. He’s now tackling a host of virtual problems in the metaverse. Dog lover Megan Burriss, who hails from a family of business owners, is ready to launch a full-time career blending the two. Cristion Brown put his software engineering degree to work developing a platform to help small businesses navigate crises like Covid-19, while Nicole Scott’s clothing design has become a platform for inclusivity and sustainability. On a more macro level, Miami University’s Abigail Bartlett helms the school’s student-led venture capital firm, a role she plans to segue into a job at Goldman Sachs when she graduates next year.
“This class sees possibilities we don’t, and that’s a critical part of how we succeed as a region,” said Pete Blackshaw, CEO of startup catalyst Cintrifuse. “We’re looking at this generation with a much higher order of respect and humility. And we need to be much savvier about how we tap into them and let them lead.”
In 2020, Cintrifuse debuted “Entrepreneurs Change the World,” an introduction geared toward high school and college students. This summer, participation doubled in its “fintern” program, which plugged interns into nine local fintech startups. Programs such as “Launch It: Cincy,” a Main Street Ventures initiative, showcase the city in a different way, in hopes of enticing young entrepreneurs to stay.
“When I was in college, a lot of people immediately left for Chicago or the coasts, because that’s where they thought they had to go,” said Abby Ober, director of community engagement and entrepreneurial support at Main Street Ventures. Now, “the dream is to support one of those companies all the way, so they can be our region’s next big startup.”
A decade spent on the video gaming platform Roblox is paying dividends for 21-year-old Miami University senior Blake Faulkner. His startup, Bloxsmith, a web 3.0 company that serves as a marketplace for developers in the metaverse, is gaining traction while also garnering early attention from the venture capital community.
Initially, Roblox was a way for Faulkner to connect with friends. He grew up in rural Ohio, about 20 minutes outside Oxford. He’s built out at least 100 games, which have generated a few million plays. But in the process, he noticed a “ton of problems” within the game developing industry. Bloxsmith is that solution.
When developers create a game, they use 3D models, basically anything tangible in the virtual environment, from buildings to park benches. Roblox makes it easy to produce content, and developers can easily build up a stockpile. When games are retired, Bloxsmith offers an avenue to sell those extra 3D models. According to Faulkner, there’s limited ability, and no real marketplace to do that now. “It’s a huge opportunity,” he said.
So far, Bloxsmith has raised $90,000 in venture capital. Investors include Dorm Room Fund and Rough Draft Ventures, two of the top firms investing in student-led companies today. It’s landed another $28,000 in grants from Main Steet Ventures through its “Launch It: Cincy” program and Miami University.
Faulkner spent half his summer in San Francisco, “running circles around a number of other startups” to win a Draper University pitch competition, said Tim Holcomb, chair of Miami’s department of entrepreneurship and director of the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship. Faulkner and co-founder Mason Williams then pitched live on Stonks, a crowdfunding platform backed by famed Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz. That effort generated $625,000 in investment interest, which Faulkner said they’ll likely roll into a future fundraising round.
Currently, the platform is in alpha stage, or early development, with plans for a beta release this fall and a full release by the end of the year. The waitlist is currently 1,000 and counting.
Post-graduation, Faulkner’s company will set up shop in Cincinnati, New York City or somewhere on the West Coast, a decision heavily dependent on talent. Cincinnati is still short on gaming developers and engineers, he said.
Bigger picture, Bloxsmith won’t just be a Roblox-focused company. Faulkner plans to build a “cross-metaverse” platform, with the ability to tap into gaming sites like Decentraland, Mutate and Sandbox, even game-building engines Unity and Unreal, the latter backed by giant Epic Games, owner of Fortnite and other blockbusters. “We want to build a billion-dollar brand,” he said. “We think we can be the nexus of game development going forward.”
Unity II, the latest fashion collection from University of Cincinnati student Nicole Scott, is meant to represent her vision for the world. Featuring clean lines and unisex design, it embodies both harmony and balance.
Visually, it’s a continuation of her original collection, Unity I, which debuted last October. But from a business perspective, Unity II stands out on its own.
When Scott released Unity I, she was launching Nicole Scott Inc., and fresh off participation in Amped’s Russell Technology Business Incubator, a Louisville-based organization focused on developing Black businesses.
“It was a shot in the dark in terms of if it would sell or people would like it,” Scott said. “The goal was to get my feet on the ground and my website up and running.”
She made each piece by hand, using scrap fabric to boost the line’s overall sustainability. And while feedback was positive, Scott also learned several valuable lessons that she parlayed into Unity II. For example, size inclusivity was an issue when each item was custom. Partnering with Over-the-Rhine’s Sew Valley to produce Unity II solved that problem. The nonprofit allowed Scott to produce a limited run, maintaining sustainability and staying on-budget, while still catering to a larger audience. That’s critical to growing the brand, she said.
Scott’s goal is to produce specialty collections — think holiday and seasonal drops — before launching her next, full-fledged collection in 2023. In the interim, she still needs to navigate her fourth year of UC’s five-year fashion design program. She also wants to expand her company’s marketing, since “social media can only get you so far;” grow custom ordering; and restock her most popular items, such as the “harmony” T-shirt and bucket hat.
“I’ve been in business since 2021 … and it’s always been hard to juggle the class schedule, homework and making time for the brand,” she said. “It’s harder emotionally to deal with the stress and anxiety, but my passion motivates me.”
Building a company from the ground up is less than glamorous work. Cristion Brown, founder of Norwood-based software startup Hypernova Technologies, faced plenty of personal struggles as a founder: He was homeless for several months until he landed some key accounts earlier this year. Several illnesses and recent hospitalizations also threatened to slow him down. But still, he persevered.
Brown came up with the idea for Hypernova in 2020, during the second half of his senior year at Miami University. He realized small and medium-sized businesses needed help mitigating disasters — “anything that puts a halt to their standard, day-to-day business performance,” he said. Covid-19 is still top of mind for many, but Brown also saw HR emergencies, business model pivots and new government regulations as potential pain points.
“I’ve thought about (giving up) so many times. I’d tell myself, ‘You have a software engineering degree. Go get a job and live like a normal person and eat good food and get a place for yourself.’ But I wanted to create something from the ground up,” he said. “If I don’t work on the problem, it’s still going to be there.”
Hypernova continues to pick up speed. It now calls Alloy Growth Lab, formerly HCDC, home, with clients ranging from small businesses to local government entities. A pre-seed fundraise is also in the works. The company has already received a pair of angel investments, including one from an unnamed yet up-and-coming entrepreneur in the city.
In its earliest days, Hypernova served as a software consultancy, but the focus has shifted to launching a software-as-a-service product, which is expected to land this fall. According to Brown, it will be sold on an insurance-based model. “It’s been cool to help out small businesses that may not have the experience to build out something themselves, and we can do it cheaper and faster than a regular dev shop or tech provider,” he said.
As for Brown’s struggles, he said he wants to use them as a learning experience, both for himself and others. “I don’t want to forget, even when we make it big,” he said. “I want to remember I was able to get through challenging times.”
Megan Burriss knows firsthand just how much money people are willing to spend on their pets. As the owner of two – soon to be four – St. Bernards, the sky’s the limit when it comes to food, gear, accessories and toys.
It’s certainly a captive, and growing, audience. According to the National Pet Owners trade association, about 85 million American households have dogs, compared to 35 million with children. And expenditures for the former top $3.6 billion each year.
Burriss hopes to make her own mark in the industry with newly launched ON Dogs, specializing in 100% waterproof collars and leashes. Her company’s website went live in July, a couple months after capturing a first-place finish in a Kentucky-wide pitch competition for college students. She’s since generated a couple thousand dollars in sales, with dreams of growing the business into a full-time venture.
It’s been an interesting journey for the Northern Kentucky University senior who wasn’t sure she initially wanted to go to college, let alone study entrepreneurship. “I’ve found what I want to do. This is what I’m passionate about,” she said.
According to Burriss, traditional fabric dog collars absorb water, dirt and oil, making them a breeding ground for bacteria. They’re also incredibly difficult to clean. ON Dogs collars and leashes are made from heavy-duty biothane, a popular leather alternative, making them “virtually indestructible,” as well as waterproof, fade proof, stink proof and antimicrobial. The collars are finished with low-lead solid brass hardware, which is also more durable. Cost ranges from $26 to $47, depending on sizing and engraving.
A $15,000 grant from the aforementioned KY Pitch means Burriss has been able to stock up on material and hardware. Tasha Sams, executive director of the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs at KEENStart, which helps organize and govern the competition, said the company could be an “outrageous” success.
“When the judges were deciding which business was the most viable…they settled on ON Dogs because she could very easily take that funding, buy X amount of product and continue to grow pretty rapidly,” Sams said.
Leading up to graduation in May 2023, Burriss plans to continue to build out the company’s online presence. ON Dogs could even expand into harnesses, dog jackets or bandanas. But maintaining the company’s personalized touch is essential, she said. Each collar and leash are handmade.
Beyond that, Burriss dreams of opening her own storefront. As for other entrepreneurial pursuits, those would certainly be pet-related, too. “Dogs show unconditional love. They give us so much. It’s easy to give back in return.”
For Abigail Bartlett, working her way to the top of one the nation’s few student-led venture capital firms comes down to one thing – trust. Now in her final year at Miami University, she is also in her second year as managing director of RedHawk Ventures. But success wouldn’t have been possible without the advice of others, as she hadn’t considered venture capital when she entered college.
“It wasn’t really something that was on my radar,” she said. “I knew (Miami’s entrepreneurship department) was something that would push me in the right direction regardless.” But after her first semester, when her entrepreneurship professor passed along information about RedHawk’s search for new recruits, she decided to give it a go.
In her sophomore year, Bartlett was approached by RedHawk’s then managing director to run for the organization’s executive team. She took the advice and won, serving as RedHawk’s director of internal communications. From there, Bartlett said she made a “natural transition to managing director” since she understood so much of RedHawk’s back-end operations.
One of Bartlett’s earliest wins as managing director was investing in Mad Rabbit Tattoo, a tattoo aftercare company whose backers include famed investor Mark Cuban and Buffalo Bills’ wide receiver Stefon Diggs. It remains one of her proudest investments. “The work we do is right up there with other VCs,” she said. “(University officials that approve Red Hawk’s investments) trust that our decision was made thoroughly. To have that power as 20-year-olds is incredible.”
Now, Bartlett, who will join Goldman Sachs post-graduation, is focused on her most ambitious project yet. She’s aiming to launch RedHawk’s next fund so that it can continue to be self-sustaining. Currently, the organization is using original fund money, supplied by Procter & Gamble in 1997. Red Hawk limits its contributions to Miami students and alumni, and caps those checks at $25,000. Bartlett’s aim for the second fund is to give RedHawk more financial flexibility. “I hope fund II is able to have a successful raise and close… and we’re able to write a slightly bigger check.”
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