A marquee event meant to celebrate the region’s top up-and-coming entrepreneurs is ready to kick off its sixth year in Cincinnati, and organizers have unveiled a nearly full slate of speakers and programming ahead of its kickoff this October.
StartupCincy Week, an annual weeklong celebration set for Oct. 10-14, will include a diverse lineup of workshops and panels from industry leaders, happy hours, a pitch showcase and job fair.
One hundred speakers and 20 hours of programming are on slate, and more than 1,000 people to date have registered for the event, which will take place at four venues across the city, including Union Hall in Over-the-Rhine.
Donna Zaring, director of external relations and development for Cintrifuse, the lead organizer of the event, said this year’s event will have a different look and feel — it’s not the StartupCincy Week of old, she said.
StartupCincy Week, founded in 2017, has traditionally served as a means to recruit talent and funding to the region. The 2022 event, which has been dubbed, “Spark the Future,” is about energizing startups in the region, she said, but highlighting collaboration in the region that makes the local ecosystem unique.
“The last two years have been so hard, and everyone is really energized about coming back together in person,” she said. “There were some great things that happened during these Covid years and a lot of money raised. But there's a lot more work to do. We need to continue on that momentum. StartupCincy Week is about everybody being a part of that.”
Each day will start with a daily wellness activity and conclude with a happy hour.
This year’s schedule also includes workshops in the morning — a change from traditional speaker panels held in the past (panels still take place in the afternoon and cater to a wider audience, Zaring said).
Adding the workshops is an idea StartupCincy organizers borrowed from Black Tech Week’s playbook. Black Tech Week, a gathering for founders of color, funders, tech professionals and more, was held for the first time in Cincinnati in July after Lightship Foundation acquired it from its Miami, Fla.-based founders earlier this year.
“They said to us their workshops were some of the most useful and well-liked. So we really amped up that aspect,” Zaring said. “We wanted to give founders the opportunity for a more intimate setting on topics that were focused on skills and tools they can use. Overall, we’ve tried to incorporate thought-provoking panels to really advance the conversation on things that would have the opportunity to create an impact in our region.”
Speakers include influential thought leaders as well as some of the ecosystem's biggest cheerleaders, Zaring said, from Google-growth-strategists-turned-founders, crypto and blockchain pioneers, university and governments leaders, big corporation executives, venture capitalists and investors.
The following speakers are confirmed:
- Phil Santoro, founder of Wilbur Labs and past growth specialist for Google)
- Manny Addo, founder, True Shea
- Andrew Goldner, founder and CEO, GrowthX
- Ashley Barrow, founder and CEO, ReAssist
- Ry Walker, founder of Astronomer
- Rachel DesRochers, founder and director, Incubator Kitchen Collective; founder, Power to Pursue
- Josh Smith, Hamilton city manager
- Ryan Salzman, Northern Kentucky University political science professor, Bellevue City Council member
- Dan Johnson, economic development director for the city of Blue Ash
- Ian Smith, director of business development, REDI Cincinnati
- David Ponraj, founder, Economic Impact Catalyst
- Liz Keating, Cincinnati City Council member
- Eric Denson, senior development analyst
- Ross Klosterman, CEO, Poppins Health
- Dave Knox, executive director, Blue North
- Mike Venerable, CEO and managing partner, CincyTech
- Candice Brackeen, general partner, Lightship Capital
- Tim Schigel, managing partner, Refinery Ventures
- Jeremy Faust, vice president and director of operational sustainability, Fifth Third Bank
- Hannah Meredith, senior manager of strategic innovation, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- Melissa Wideman, vice president of ESG initiatives, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- Tim Donovan, founder and CEO, Donovan Energy
- Marc Beller, president at Blue Ocean Solids
- Sue Baggott, founder of Power Within Consulting, angel investor
- Will Carter, founder, WiPropser
- Christine Fisher, co-founder and COO, Possip
“A big goal we’ve set is to bring people from outside Cincinnati, from Columbus and Dayton. We want this to be more of a regional draw,” Zaring said. “A lot of VCs will be here, and our startups will be able to get some great exposure.”
As in year’s past, Cintrifuse will host its annual meeting during StartupCincy Week, on Thursday, Oct. 13. Speakers for the annual meeting include:
- Greg Crawford, president of Miami University
- Neville Pinto, president of the University of Cincinnati
- Guy Persuad, president of global new business, Procter & Gamble Co.
- Brackeen
- Stephanie Jenkins, vice president of strategic partnerships, technology and digital, Kroger Co.
- Venerable
- Brian Cobb, chief innovation officer, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- Gary Lindgren, president, Cincinnati Business Committee
- Tim Spence, executive VP, Fifth Third Bank
Zaring said collaboration has been key in prepping for this year’s event. Accelerators and incubators in the region as well as various startups are working in conjunction with Cintrifuse to produce the event.
“That’s what StartupCincy Week is all about,” she said.
This year’s event sponsors include:
- Cintrifuse
- Hunt Club
- Brewing the American Dream (Sam Adams)
- REDI Cincinnati
- Alloy Growth Lab
- Blue North
- Cincinnati BBB
- CincyTech
- Empower
- Flywheel
- Fintech Frontier
- Limelight Videos
- MadTree
- Main Street Ventures
- Miami University
- Poppins Health
- Product Refinery
- Black Achievers
- ECDI
- Lightship
- PayTile
- Pomme Communications
- Queen City Angels
- Reversed Out Creative
- African American Chamber
- Contact CI
- Pieces
Organizers are stretching the traditional four-day format in order to overlap with Blink’s return. The nation's largest light and art and festival will take place Oct. 13-16 all over Over-the-Rhine, downtown and Covington.
The full schedule is as follows:
Day 1: Monday, Oct. 10
Programming begins at 8 a.m.
Sessions include: Daily Wellness Workshop | Spark the Future Welcome Breakfast | From Idea to Realty | Refining Your Product Idea | GrowthX | Navigating the Ecosystems: From Accelerator to Exit
The afternoon will showcase the “Unlikely Partnerships: How Cities are the Next Innovation Labs” panel focusing on Cincinnati’s role in helping the Midwest become a top innovation center. The panel, sponsored by Poppins Health, will feature leadership from Cincinnati and from neighboring cities including Blue Ash, Columbus, Bellevue and more.
The day will conclude with an Ecosystem Happy Hour at Union Hall from 4-6 p.m., sponsored by Blue North and Black Achievers Network.
Day 2: Tuesday, Oct. 11
Tuesday's programming will feature a panel on “Sparking Sustainable Startups in Cincy” as well as a funding panel.
Programming begins at 8 a.m.
Sessions include: Daily Wellness Workshop | Coffee and Breakfast sponsored by Main Street Ventures | Into the Metaverse | Open House: Building Your Career on the Fintech Frontier (held from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the 1819 Innovation Hub in Avondale) | Telling Your Story | Creating a Winning Pitch | The State of Capital and Funding | Green Charge: Sparking Sustainable Startups in Cincy
The day will conclude with the Alloy Happy Hour & Green Room at MadTree Alcove from 4-6 p.m. and a Women in Food & Happy Hour presented by Power to Pursue from 6-8 p.m. at MadTree Alcove.
Day 3: Wednesday, Oct. 12
Programming begins at 8 a.m.
Sessions include: Daily Wellness Workshop | Coffee and Breakfast sponsored by Main Street Ventures | Telling Your Story | Working with BigCos - Getting in & Staying In | Low/No-Code Bootcamp | Making the Most of Networking | Angel Investing 101 | Social Enterprise and Impact Investing | Building the Team presented by Hunt Club
The day will conclude with the Brewing the American Dream Happy Hour at Sam Adams sponsored by Sam Adams.
Day 4: Thursday, Oct. 13
Programming begins at 9 a.m.
Sessions include: Coffee and Breakfast sponsored by Main Street Ventures | Cintifuse annual meeting | Startup Showcase | “Cincy’s Got Startups” pitch contest and happy hour
The Cintrifuse annual meeting will take place from 10 a.m.-noon. This event highlights the strategic focus areas of fintech, supply chain and sustainability. There will be speakers from the startup, corporate and venture community.
Day 5: Friday, Oct. 14
Programming begins at 8 a.m.
Sessions include: Daily Wellness Workshop | Coffee and Breakfast
StartupCincy Week 2022 will conclude with a job fair sponsored by REDI from 9 a.m.-noon at Union Hall. Participants include Possip, Pieces, Electrada, Innago, Luma Financial Technologies, NTT Data Business Solutions, Main Street Ventures, Pays, TinnCann, GiveToGet, Kaleidoscope Innovation, Liona Enterprises, Cintrifuse and Quotient Technology.
More information about panels and events can be found at www.startupcincy.com/startupcincyweek.
StartupCincy Week is free. Registration is required.
