Two new entrepreneur-focused programs are being offered in downtown Dayton for the first time this week. One for early-stage entrepreneurs and the other to help accelerate rising startups in the area.
New entrepreneurs workshop program for women
Aviatra Accelerators, a nonprofit accelerator dedicated to woman-owned small businesses, has created a new bi-monthly program of workshop-style events for potential women entrepreneurs in the city. The program, dubbed SOAR, will focus on a variety of topics including marketing, SBA loans, business law, self-care and mindset.
“SOAR is a way for women entrepreneurs to learn about important topics and meet like-minded women,” said Kourtney Terry, Aviatra Dayton Program Manager.
Aviatra’s SOAR and “Side Hustle without the Hustle” workshops will be held at a variety of locations throughout Dayton.
The free workshops called “Side Hustle without the Hustle” will focus on providing meaningful information to help entrepreneurs quickly establish a second income stream business. The first “Side Hustle” workshop will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Main Branch of the Dayton Library. Visit the official Aviatra Accelerators website for more information.
With a presence in Dayton, Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, Aviatra Accelerators has helped over 3,000 women entrepreneurs create 15,000 jobs and receive millions in funding. Its alumni have generated a cumulative total of over $1 billion in earned revenues.
New startup pitch series at The Hub
The Entrepreneurs’ Center (EC) is launching a new morning pitch series called “Pitch AM” to give Dayton startup founders the opportunity to connect with the things they need most in the early stages of development – like funding, strategic partners, mentors, and employees.
The first Pitch AM event will be held at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 in The Square on the second floor of the Arcade Innovation Hub Powered by PNC Bank. The free hour-long session will provide two new ventures with a platform to pitch their business plans and discuss current needs for 10 minutes each, followed by a five-minute Q&A with the audience.
“According to a recent Small Business Trends report, first-time entrepreneurs launched one-third of new startups in 2022, and two in five Americans plan to start a business in 2023, so the market is expanding,” said Scott Koorndyk, president of The EC. “Furthermore, Dayton is in the top ten for job growth so we are excited to fuel the local economy by giving our startups access to all the resources they need to be successful.”
Here are the two startups which will kick off the new series:
- Motor – An all-inclusive monthly electric car subscription service with a purchase option to help break down the barriers for driving electric, giving Daytonians the opportunity to discover and switch permanently to electric car adoption
- I-Squared Learning Solutions – A company making math education more fun, effective, and inclusive through the use of storybooks that teach mathematical concepts using augmented reality on a mobile app, involving characters in colorful 3D models that visually represent the individual reader.
Startups getting some or all of their asks granted through these kinds of networks is as much as 90%, according to an EC press release. As a result, expectations are high for the EC fostering lasting connections between the participants and members of the community through this series. Participants can register for free online.
The EC's team of advisors, entrepreneurs-in-residence, and staff design and facilitate diverse business acceleration programs on behalf of corporations, higher education institutions, and government agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense from their headquarters at the hub.
Annually, the EC works with over 1,000 entrepreneurs to start and grow companies, create jobs, generate revenue and attract investment. For 2023, the economic development group reported an operating budget of $7.8 million.
