Main Street Ventures, a longtime booster of Cincinnati’s startup scene, is bringing back a pitch competition and summer-long program aimed at keeping undergraduate student founders in the region.
“Launch It: Cincy” is returning for its second year in 2023, sponsored again by consumer goods manufacturer Kao USA.
Applications are open now until Dec. 2.
Main Street Ventures founded the program to help bridge the gap between university-offered entrepreneurship programs and the StartupCincy ecosystem.
The idea is to keep talent local — the top three winners of the pitch competition receive a grant from Main Street Ventures to spend the summer living, working and exploring Cincinnati.
In terms of what’s new, Abby Ober, director of community engagement and entrepreneurial support at Main Street Ventures, said the organization is expanding the radius of the program. That will allow even more undergraduate student founders to apply.
Prior, the program was open to undergraduate students in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
The new territory stretches from Dayton to Lexington and into Southeast Indiana.
Overall, the prize package is valued at more than $28,000.
“Kao's support throughout the first year of the program was crucial to its success, and we are thrilled to have them continue their support in an even larger capacity for year two,” Ober said in a release.
Companies will be evaluated on different aspects for each phase of “Launch It: Cincy.” Main Street Ventures said strong applicants demonstrate a "well-thought-out idea and understand the problem they are trying to solve."
Each phase is judged by StartupCincy leaders including founders, investors and Main Street Ventures board members.
Applicants will attend a pitch training in January with a pitch night scheduled in February. The program runs from June 1-July 28.
Last year, Miami University students swept the competition. Winners included Blake Faulkner, founder of Bloxsmith, a marketplace for game developers; Emil Barr, founder of StepUp Social, a social media marketing firm that specializes in TikTok campaigns; and Ben Corwin, founder of AutoHive/Obscure Euro Parts, a marketplace for car parts.
Barr called the program “one of the most rewarding experiences” he’s experienced as a student entrepreneur.
“(It) gave me the sense of community and confidence I needed to take my business concept to the next level,” he said in the release.
Main Street Ventures, founded in 1999, supports emerging businesses with a particular focus on women and minority entrepreneurs. Its programming includes grants and other initiatives.
Since 2018, Main Street Ventures has distributed more than $1.9 million to local startups and organizations – 77% of its grants were awarded to underrepresented founders. The funding has created 267 jobs, and recipients have raised $8.6 million in follow-up funding.
