Don’t call it a comeback for the Brandery, but Cintrifuse is launching a new, similarly minded cohort-based program that will closely mirror the city's once top-ranked accelerator. The goal is the provide even more support for local startups in the region.
Called Venture Velocity, the eight-week program, set to kick off this summer, aims to prepare early-stage founders for a venture capital fundraise. Applications for the first cohort opened today, May 30.
J.B. Kropp, CEO of Cintrifuse and managing director of Cintrifuse Capital, called Venture Velocity a more condensed version of the Brandery, leaning heavily into its mentorship focus. Those graduating will also walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fresh funding to further build out their ideas.
Kropp in 2010 helped co-found the Brandery, a nationally ranked accelerator that, in its heyday, put Cincinnati on the map as a startup hub both nationally and beyond. He said people consistently ask about its return. Brandery, in 2018, signed partnership with Milwaukee-based Gener8tor, which runs programming in Cincinnati today.
As Cintrifuse has worked to rebrand its venture arm, with a focus on making more local investments, Kropp said there's a noticeable need to better prepare early-stage founders for capital raises. Venture Velocity will stand as one of the organization's new flagships.
“We need more companies going through these programs,” Kropp told me. “When the Brandery was going, we had a very robust group of people building startups, and with that, a huge mentor network as well. That symbiotic relationship really built the fabric of our ecosystem. The Venture program is continuing that same notion of getting founders together through a cohort where there's camaraderie. And mentorship is invaluable.”
The program will be led by Mark Wood, Cintrifuse’s director of venture growth, and programming will take place in-person at Union Hall in Over-the-Rhine.
Sessions will cover topics like venture capital, sales, hiring, target markets, investor readiness and more.
Five companies will be selected per class, Wood said. The cohorts will be industry agnostic, ranging in concepts from consumer packaged goods to high tech, but applicants should be venture scalable. They also must be Cincinnati-based.
Those picked will receive a $250,000 investment: $100,000 in equity at the program’s start and an additional $150,000 in matching investment funds upon completion (to unlock the latter amount, founders need to raise an equivalent amount of outside funding).
Cintrifuse said the matching-dollar concept is somewhat unique. But it means companies quickly have $400,000 in capital to build – enough runway to reach the next phase. Founders will be able to tap into all the capital sources locally as well as Cintrifuse's national network.
“It's advantageous for both sides," Wood said. “We're encouraging them to put to work what they've learned through the cohort.”
The first Venture Velocity program is set for July 16-Sept. 6, and applications are open until June 20.
Cintrifuse said it plans to run Venture Velocity multiple times per year.
“We’re moving very quickly to get this out the door,” Wood said. “We think there really is a big need to answer that need for early-stage capital, early-stage mentorship, and we hope this program can fill it.”
