Crossroads Church-born accelerator secures new venture backing, launches latest class

A high-tech accelerator that launched out of Crossroads Church has announced new venture backing as it readies to launch its latest — and most mature — class of startups.

Ocean Accelerator, the flagship offering of Hyde Park-based Ocean Programs, is now backed by 11 Tribes, a Chicago-based early-stage venture fund. The two organizations recently inked a three-year commitment, Ocean president Luke Dooley said, that kicks off with the launch its latest class this month.

The announcement, while a significant step for Ocean, also aligns two organizations with similar missions, Dooley said. Ocean was the nation’s first accelerator to offer both faith and business-focused programming; 11 Tribes exists, the fund said, to empower entrepreneurs to create companies that advance the common good. 

“It’s a fairly unique partnership,” Dooley told me. “Ocean and 11 Tribes are both very purposed driven, both very concerned about the kinds of cultures our companies create. It's broader than just growing big, growing fast and doing it again. It’s grow healthy and grow in such a way that it benefits the broad community.”

The accelerator class represents Ocean’s seventh overall and is also its most mature, Christy Johnson, Ocean Programs’ VP of marketing, said. Ten companies, which hail from Cincinnati to Fort Worth, Baltimore and Mexico City, will receive $50,000 in seed funding, with the potential to receive an additional $25,000 based on their progress during the program.

Meet the Ocean accelerator class of 2021 below.

This 16-week session will run in a hybrid fashion, both in-person and online, starting with an onsite week at Union Hall in Over-the-Rhine before shifting to virtual. The companies will reconvene midway through in Boulder, Colo., for onsite intensives with experts in the city’s high-tech start-up community. The program culminates with a public Demo Day event in early August, which will include a virtual presentation focused on potential investors.

Dooley said he was unsure how the online shift would impact the accelerator program going forward — whether Ocean would return in-person, take a hybrid approach or move the program fully remote.

“We’ll see how this year goes,” he said. “We love, love having the accelerator in Cincinnati. There’s something really special about bringing in people from all over, having them crash here and fall in love with the city. But we don’t know how the world is shifting under our feet. If digital everything becomes the norm, do you take a lesser applicant because the other can’t travel around the world for this, or do you take the best regardless?”

Tim Metzner, Chad Reynolds and Tim Brunk, all Cincinnati entrepreneurs and members of Crossroads Church, launched Ocean in 2014. The accelerator, an independent 501(c) nonprofit, was initially housed at the Oakley campus, and the church, Cincinnati's largest, has been among its loudest proponents.

Ocean, through its previous six accelerator classes, has launched or scaled more than 45 companies that have created more than 200 jobs. Some of its most notable alumni include Cloverleaf, which has raised more than $5 million in capital to date; Streamspot, which was acquired by Seattle’s Subsplash in 2020; and Sawa, which was acquired by Mailchimp in 2019. 

Prior to 11 Tribes, Ocean had been supported by a local fund called Ocean Capital, which has since been liquidated, Dooley said. The investment arm worked well as a vehicle to launch the accelerator and gain traction, he said, but fell short when it came to follow-on funding and more. The backing by 11 Tribes is a natural progression of the organization, he said.

An official from 11 Tribes, meanwhile, declined comment citing SEC regulations.

“It signifies the maturity of the overall idea. This is its seventh class. As the organization overall is maturing, on the capital side we’re maturing as well,” Dooley said. “We’re doing a bunch more stuff beyond just the accelerator.”

Specifically, Dooley lauded Ocean’s nine-week entrepreneurship training program, called Genesis, as the “next new big thing.” After holding in-person cohorts for two years, it has now been fully digitized. Engagement scores are up and participants span from Cleveland to Florida and beyond, he said. 

“People love it,” Dooley said. “It’s a program that can be broadened on a more national scale, and we’re looking for the right partnerships to do that.”

Meet OCEAN accelerator’s class of 2021: