14 Cincinnati Student Teams Just Reset the Start-Up Bar! Here's Why?

What happens when you give high school and college students a 100% virtual crash course in "hands-on" entrepreneurship? And tell them they have five weeks to crank out a business plan addressing an extreme challenge facing society?

For starters, you get breakthrough results -- savvier kids, game-changing ideas, inspired stakeholders (including prominent venture capitalists looking for the next big thing), and potentially a better world.

"This summer program saved my quarantine summer!" -- Isabella Li, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy

What am I talking about? Well, we just wrapped up our Summer virtual program entitled "Entrepreneurs Change the World!" culminating in a 14-team pitch competition, and the results were really inspiring! Mark my word, the future is in good hands.

Here's an 5-minute overview of the event narrated by pitch competition training/coach (and Xavier University Faculty Member) coordinator Mike Halloran. If you want to watch the full 3-hour pitch event, here's the link.

We heard high school and college student teams pitch business plans addressing some of society's most pressing challenges around #Covid19, #Sustainability, and #SocialJustice.

"This program gave me a huge head start into the entrepreneur world. The company mentors, high ranking professionals and inspirational startup founders proved to me that if I'm really passionate about something, I can do it too!" – Zaina Ahamad, University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business

Here's the pitch of our 1st place winner, BLK-MKT brand, which is looking to disrupt the beauty & personal care industry by launching gender neutral, inclusive, ethical fragrance balms. I absolutely loved this ...as did the venture capitalist from Lerer Hippeau as you'll see/hear.

Our second place winner, Envoyer – Uberized school supplies – strives to connect students to schools one shipment at a time by getting customized materials into the hands of students who don’t have access to technology

Other Pitch Ideas We Heard Include:

• Socially (Third Place) – curated content to follow and engage in social and community movements/events
• Clean Earth Rovers (Fourth Place) – removes trash, dead sea life and debris from the ocean using autonomous, portable marine vessel technology
• Tutor Up (Fifth Place) – accessible app and website that provides virtual tutoring and engagement rewards to underserved students in Greater Cincinnati through a partnership with Cincinnati Bell
• Ageing Well (6th Place) – contactless solution to deliver everyday products safely and efficiently to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19
• WellMap – breaking down mental health barriers to resources by accessing a robust web platform that provides timely, customized resources

"If you have any interest in entrepreneurship you should definitely participate in this program, it’s really had an impact on me." - Erin Finn, Seven Hills High School

• Higher Octave – matching service to connect students with volunteer teachers who are interested in the same instrument
• Jee Foods – ending worldwide hunger and poverty epidemics by providing hunger relief and food safety models to combat food insecurity
• UMask – customized personal face masks
• CarePAC – Keep clean and stay safe by providing affordable and accessible sanitary supplies during a global pandemic in Cincinnati area

I learned how to branch out and use my creativity to change the world! -- Heather Strom, Walnut Hills High School

• Environmental Solution Technologies – battling the colossal consequences of forest fires through early detection technology through significant time savings
• Aim Hire – AI solution to create a diverse workforce by decreasing implicit bias
• Axxelerate – virtual community that focuses on physical and mental health with personalized content to address unique needs

"Infinite Shelf Space of Local Expertise"

As extra vitamins to this effort we overlaid an immersive "Entrepreneurs Change the World" virtual training program for young entrepreneurs. The training included over 30 webinars and workshops from some of our region's top innovators and change agents. 

We pulled this together at an insanely fast-rate because -- as we learned (much to our delight) -- it's 5X easier to get a rock-star to parachute in for a virtual event than to manage a live in-person training session. For those of you looking to inspire entrepreneurs (from techies to small business) there's "infinite shelf space of expertise" out there.

In case you'd like to double click on the content, here's a few of the sessions you can watch in entirety. Cintrifuse Board Member and seasoned startup entrepreneur in the HR tech space Tarek Kamil helped kick-off the program with some wonderfully inspiring words.

The students were also treated to a highly engaging session with Leigh Radford, head of P&G Ventures, and a proud sponsor of the "Entrepreneurs Change the World" program. P&G Ventures is basically an internal "startup studio" focusing on entirely new business categories for P&G. As Leigh reminds us they are "open for business."

Another outstanding presentation came from Robert Jones of GE Aviation, one of the biggest employers of engineering talent in the Greater Cincinnati region.

Cintrifuse is dedicating to building leading tech and innovation economy in Greater Cincinnati. We do this in three primary ways.

·      We leverage our Syndicate fund to access cutting-edge technologies, generate strong financial returns, and create investment pools for entrepreneurs.

·      We help the largest corporations in our region discover the innovations — and the innovators — that can help them grow and lead their industries.

·      And, we work with entrepreneurs to start up new businesses and to connect them to global, industry-leading customers right here in our own back yard.

We're makers, problem solvers, and URGENT OPTIMISTS.  Our young entrepreneurs are CRITICAL to this ecosystem.  Please support and encourage them -- wherever you are.

And a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this program including our sponsors Kroger, P&G Ventures, North American Properties, Vora Ventures, Taft Law, KMK.