Inno on Fire

Amify borrowed its HQ2 concept from Amazon – the same e-commerce giant from which it built the foundation of its business from the start. The firm has helped brands – such as Birddogs and First Day vitamins – not only find a place on the marketplace but thrive.

The company opened that HQ2 in Cincinnati in 2019, lured by local investor CincyTech. It made the Queen City its main hub a few years later, drawn by the region’s deep talent pool in consumer packaged goods, marketing and logistics.

The startup’s sale this year to Cart.com, one of 2023’s rare unicorn companies – or startups valued at $1 billion or more – is not only a win for its team, but also the region.

For this reason, Amify is the 2024 Startup of the Year, part of our Fire Awards, Cincy Inno’s premier recognition program. Each year we celebrate companies that have produced banner results since their momentum can help spur a flywheel effect for the whole community.

Exits beget more exits. When a startup sells, it can move potential founders – maybe those sitting lower in a company hierarchy – off the bench to pursue their ideas. Investors are more likely to open their wallets, hoping to catch the next big wave.

The remaining category winners – CourtAvenue, Ms.Medicine, Tembo and Egateway Capital, this year’s best venture firm – are also moving the needle, all in different ways. CourtAvenue is innovating heavily around artificial intelligence, an area some experts believe Cincinnati can not only play in but win. Ms.Medicine is sidestepping the stereotypical “growth-at-all-costs” venture path for a slower, steadier approach. Tembo is a case study for what happens when a repeat founder invests in the next generation. Egateway believes so much in the Tri-State’s strength as a digital commerce and supply chain giant (see Amazon, DHL, CVG and more), that it’s investing millions to attract even more capital to the region.

These five winners were chosen from a list of 27 finalists nominated by readers and hand-selected by the Cincy Inno editorial team. Congratulations to all and make sure to read all about our winners below.

Startup of the year: AMIFY

Honoring the top companies and entrepreneurs in the region for banner achievements that push Cincinnati to the next level

It has been a busy few weeks for the folks at Cincinnati startup Amify. The company finalized its sale to Houston-based unicorn Cart.com in mid-March – a notable bright spot in a stretch where exits in the region have otherwise been few and far between.

Amify, founded in 2010, is a turnkey “Amazon-as-a-service” provider. It helps brands market themselves and their products on the mega e-commerce site, also providing warehousing, storefront management, inventory planning, customer service and returns.

Christine McCambridge, Amify’s chief operating officer, said the team wanted to expand beyond Amazon to other marketplaces, like Walmart, Target, even TikTok Shop, Shein and Temu, where it doesn’t currently play. But it also wanted to be a more comprehensive partner, offering growth marketing to direct-to-consumer brands while also growing its fulfillment offering.

Cart.com allows it to do that – and more – under one roof. It’s a win for clients, she said.

“It’s all about growth,” McCambridge said. “We’re not going to see a slowdown (in this industry), and competition for us will continue to get more aggressive. This (deal) means we can bring our vision to life faster.”

About the company

Amify’s 35-member workforce has transitioned to Cart.com. McCambridge is now its vice president of marketplaces. Chris Mehrabi, who had succeeded Amify founder Ethan McAfee as CEO in 2022, is Cart’s chief delivery officer.

McCambridge said the business will continue to operate under the Amify name. The firms continue to work through their business integration.

“If there’s a way to be acquired, we were acquired in the best way possible,” McCambridge said.

Amify, prior to the sale, had raised $15.8 million in funding, including Series A and B investments from Avondale-based CincyTech.

Doug Groh, a partner at CincyTech, sat on Amify’s board and was instrumental in seeing the sale through. He said Cart enhances Amify’s value.

“This acquisition offers a significant opportunity for Amify and our team to grow and thrive (and) highlights our region as arobust and attractive place for investment,” Groh said.

CPG/Marketing: COURTAVENUE

Honoring the most promising emerging lifestyle, food and beverage brands or firms

CourtAvenue, an Over-the-Rhine-based digital agency that counts the likes of Kia, UnitedHealth Group and Dell as clients, wasted no time in cementing itself as a name to watch in the industry despite its small – but fast-growing – stature. Its founding team had logged decades of experience with legacy names including WPP, VMLY&R and Rockfish. In a business built on relationships, that’s proven critical.

Michael Stich, CourtAvenue’s CEO, had barely been onboarded when the team walked into Kia – today its largest client – for its first pitch in late 2020. CourtAvenue beat out much bigger names. It’s maintained its title as the automaker’s official digital agency of record.

The business has only surged from there.

“It was a bumpy three to six months of ‘don’t screw this up,’” Stich said.

And today? “A lot of clients are buzzing about us and are giving us more.”

Its secret sauce is internal innovation. CourtAvenue is making big bets on artificial intelligence and has developed five AI-led products in-house, including Genjo, its core offering. The products help the firm organize data, create optimized content and adapt that content to specific audiences.

Companies are catching on, allocating bigger budgets for AI spend.

“It’s to the point where people are going from asking, ‘What is this thing?’ And, ‘Why should I care?’ To, ‘How can I win?’ ‘How do I compete?’” Stich said.

About the company 

In 2023, CourtAvenue announced a slew of key hires, and it was a finalist for the Business Courier’s Fast 55 award with 92% growth.

For 2024, Stich said CourtAvenue is projected to top $30 million in revenue – another 20% year-over-year gain. The company is eyeing a move to bigger office space in the city’s core. It’s got 130 people in total – including 20 who work from Union Hall, and the space is busting at the seams.

It also signals the firm’s morph from startup to bigger firm. Stich said it’s important to continue to make investment decisions fast,and keep the culture smart.

Health care & biotech: MS.MEDICINE

Honoring companies and ideas that aim to deliver better care, improve health and lower costs

It wasn’t the original plan, but come this summer, Dr. Lisa Larkin will have expanded her Concierge Medicine of Cincinnati group to three locales in the region – two of which have opened in less than a year.

Ms.Medicine, a Madeira-based boutique-style primary care practice with a heavy emphasis on women’s health, added a Concierge Medicine of Cincinnati location in Mason in September 2023. It’s on pace to welcome another this summer in Sycamore Township across from Kenwood Towne Centre.

Nationally, she still plans to grow the concept, too, just not at the break-neck speed sometimes necessitated with venture backing. Larkin last year regained 100% ownership of the business.

The new locations will be dictated more by provider fit than city specifics.

“I don’t anticipate being the type of organization that’s going to launch 20 practices (at once),” Larkin said. “Medicine’s hard, and not every company in the space that’s taken on VC is doing well. I’m trying to be thoughtful about who I’m onboarding and how we’re operationalizing it.”

About the company

Concierge Medicine of Cincinnati will open its latest local practice in Sycamore Township in July. It’s being helmed by Dr. Lisa Joliat, an internal medicine physician who’s been with Mercy Health since 2011. She worked with Larkin previously and recently approached her about coming back on board.

Joining Joliat are two other physicians: Drs. Claire Kappa and Jacqueline Ward, also from Mercy.

By September, Ms.Medicine will boast 16 practice locations in 10 states with 26 providers, when sites in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Grand Rapids, Mich., among others, come online.

The goal, no matter the pace, remains the same. Women are severely underserved when it comes to health care, Larkin said, and those aged 40 to 65, in particular, are prone to “fall through the cracks.”

The long-term plan is to eventually step aside as CEO, which will allow her to focus entirely on building out an education platform, one that will live into perpetuity.

“That’s my true passion,” she said.

Best tech: TEMBO

Honoring the companies that have demonstrated the highest levels of innovation over the last 12 months

While it’s still early, Ry Walker is riding high on Tembo, the company he founded in 2022 shortly after departing his last startup, Astronomer, one of the city’s rare unicorns. A growing number of venture capitalists are also buying in, too. Tembo, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, recently closed a $14 million round to bring its total funding to date to $20 million.

Walker said the company – a database startup built on Postgres, a popular open-source platform like Apache Airflow, which was commercialized by Astronomer – opened billing in January. It continues to add customers to its count. “We’re beyond 10 but below 100, and we’re happy with that,” he said.

He has ambitions to grow revenue fast – no small feat for any small business, but Tembo is playing in an ultra-competitive space.

Tembo wants to make Postgres more accessible and available to all, allowing developers to consume the extensions that live on the edges of the ecosystem. There’s a giant market opportunity, he said.

“No one is trying to help companies make sense of the extensions in Postgres and connect them efficiently and smartly,” Walker said. “Legos, they have connectors that are spaced perfectly, so it’s easy to click them together. That’s not the way the open-source world works. It’s technically challenging, but we’re actively doing it.”

About the company

Tembo is a virtual company but maintains office space at University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub. Walker said its presence is important. He’s actively looking to hire recent college grads in an effort to grow the region’s talent pool.

The startup also made its first sales hire: Brad Kirn, who was also the first sales hire at Astronomer eight years ago, joined Tembo earlier this year. The team sits at 25, and further growth will be dictated by revenue growth. But go-to-market employees will be key.

“I truly believe the success of our company depends on having an amazing sales and marketing team and strategy,” Walker said.

Venture capital firm: EGATEWAY CAPITAL

Honoring firms and organizations playing a sometimes under-the-radar role in propping up fledgling companies or spurring new events or innovations

Egateway Capital, now in its third year, continues to deploy funding to companies enabling the future of commerce. It’s invested around $50 million in 10 firms, including 80 Acres Farms. More than half that amount, $30 million, hails from its Fund II, currently active with a target of $100 million.

Beyond venture, the firm is all-in on the region’s potential as a logistics, manufacturing, finance and marketing hub – largely thanks to its geographic location, within a day’s drive to half the U.S. population.

Last year, Egateway released “the Corridor of Commerce,” a white paper on how the region can rally around and better promote its assets. Managing Director Chad Summe said those strengths will become even more critical in the future economy.

“This transcends health care, aviation, digital commerce,” he said. “All the industries having organic growth – there’s a commerce story. At the end of the day, it’s about storytelling. I joke that when 80 Acres opened its ($95 million) farm in Florence, most people saw it as another big box out by the airport. But it’s not. It’s one of the most technologically advanced farms in the world.

“New stories don’t need to be made; we need to tell the stories of what we have.”

About the company

In terms of planting physical stakes, come 2025, Egateway will be among the first tenants at SparkHaus, an entrepreneurial hub slated to open in Covington in the former Sims Furniture store.

Summe said SparkHaus – much like Over-the-Rhine’s Union Hall and the 1819 Innovation Hub Uptown – will serve as a home and a meeting place for the entire spectrum of “capital allocators.”

Blue North, a Northern Kentucky-focused entrepreneurship support group, is also expected to locate in SparkHaus. Blue North is partnering with Kenton County to bring the project to life.

SparkHaus also serves as an easy launch pad for Egateway portfolio companies looking to open a new office locally. While 80 Acres is its only hometown investment, Summe said more than 25 highly paid employees from the other companies it funds are located in the region.

Finalists

Best tech: Honoring the companies that have demonstrated the highest levels of innovation over the last 12 months.

Previous winners: Sense Neuro Diagnostics, Pieces

Venture capital firm: Honoring firms and organizations playing a sometimes under-the-radar role in propping up fledgling companies or spurring new events or innovations.

Previous winners: Main Street Ventures, Egateway Capital

Health care & biotech: Honoring companies and ideas that aim to deliver better care, improve health and lower costs.

Previous winners: Genetesis, Standard Bariatrics

CPG/Marketing: Honoring the most promising emerging lifestyle, food and beverage brands.

Last year’s winner: Nettie Pickleball Co.

Startup of the year: Honoring the top companies and entrepreneurs in the region for banner achievements that push Cincinnati to the next level.

Previous winners: Standard Bariatrics, Vndly