Whitney Barkley, who has been the director of the Greater West Dayton Incubator (GWDI) since October 2021, said she’s felt an overall positive community reception of her program’s efforts.
As director, Barkley said her goal for clients is to be a resource of longevity through sustainability. Even with a multitude of resources available, Barkley knows she cannot reach everyone — despite wanting to. So she works to assure access to every resource available.
“I really see the GWDI as a partner and a guide in the community," Barkley said. "I think it's really important for entrepreneurs to know that we're here to support."
In their first session of Business Blitz, GWDI was able to fund 17 LLCs within the state of Ohio. The event provided an opportunity for Dayton entrepreneurs to meet local resources like the Human Relations Council, the Small Business Development Center, Launch Dayton, and the Entrepreneurs' Center.
The third and fourth rounds of Business Blitz will be in September and October of 2022.
Another new initiative of the GWDI is called The Strong is He Power Hour. It's focused on resourcing male entrepreneurs of color, Barkley said, due to an increasing amount of space for women. The program has the men meet once a month to discuss the impacts of things like mental health, education and law on being an entrepreneur.
Barkley said the GWDI is in the second round of its micro-lending process, which is a program with loans up to $15,000. The loan program currently has about 20 applicants for the upcoming round of announced winners.
For people who identify as under-resourced and under-represented entrepreneurs, they recently had the chance to apply to the GWDI Startup Fellowship Program, which granted the winners with four dedicated office/co-working spaces at the Hub at Dayton Arcade.
Those selected for the spaces were granted the first three months of rent free and admission into the GWDI's new accelerator program, a partnership with the University of Notre Dame. Loosely called the Urban Business and Poverty Initiative, led by Michael Morris, the initiative is partnering with 13 other organizations aside from GWDI.
Barkley said the 11-month curriculum of the program is very culturally relevant and helps entrepreneurs through a mentor-led program. The program is set to be launched around late July of this year and will have 14 out of the 50 business owners enrolled directly served out of the GWDI.
While currently in a temporary location on West Third Street in Dayton, Barkley emphasized the incubator's focus on finding a permanent location. Their search is prioritizing more private office spaces, a maker space, and/or a food location. Adding that they have found what they want in a building, including technological access and student space, Barkley said their search is now on which building fits their mold best.
Barkley hopes to identify the permanent location by 2023 and expects the move-in within the following years. While fundraising for the permanent location is top of mind, Barkley said PNC Bank has been amongst the most helpful funders of the incubator, including the University of Dayton and the Entrepreneurs' Center.
With program participants taking what the GWDI has taught them and implementing it into their journeys, Barkley is continually pushing forward while excited to see the seeds that they’ve planted and what people accomplish.
