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Dayton Entrepreneurs

Yacht Rock the Dock Coming to The Rose

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Ambrosia, John Ford Coley, Peter Beckett (The Voice of Player), and Walter Egan will unite in Huber Heights, OH this summer for Yacht Rock the Dock – a smooth-sailing concert packed with all their 1970s and 1980s Billboard Top 40 Hits.  Joined byParrots of The Caribbean, the ultimate beach party will dock at Rose Music Center at The Heights on July 15.

These songs are the soundtrack to a generation. Today’s so-called smooth yacht rock music scene would not be yacht rock without the contributions of these Grammy winning artists. What emerged primarily from southern California during one of the greatest periods of music is a classic rock radio staple across the United States. You cannot turn on the radio without hearing many of these songs every day. As younger generations of music fans fall in love and embrace these classic rock/soft rock hits, everyone realizes that these songs are becoming bigger now than at any time since their heyday which by common consent stretched between 1976 and 1983. Get ready to ROCK THE DOCK!

AMBROSIA

Ambrosia, the band known and loved by a multitude of fans since the 1970’s, is now more alive and compelling than ever. This 5-time Grammy Nominated ensemble is exploring new musical territory and bringing an exceptional musical performance to stages everywhere.

JOHN FORD COLEY

John Ford Coley is most revered as half of the Grammy nominated duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. Churning out many memorable hits during this era, some of John Ford Coley’s songs are: “Love Is The Answer”, “Gone Too Far”, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”, “We’ll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again”, “Nights Are Forever Without You”, and “Sad To Belong”.

PETER BECKETT

Peter Beckett, known as “The Voice of Player”, is the original lead singer and songwriter of the band Player. Player was voted by Billboard Magazine’s honor roll as Best New Single Artist for 1978 for their international #1 hit “Baby Come Back”. As a follow up on the record charts, Beckett and Player also enjoyed great success with their hit “This Time I’m In It For Love”.

WALTER EGAN

Walter Egan is an American rock musician, best known for his 1978 gold status hit single “Magnet and Steel” from his second album release, Not Shy, produced by Egan, Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #18 on the Easy Listening chart. In Canada, it reached #9. Overseas, it peaked at #32 on the Australian Singles Chart.

Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning at 10AM on Friday, May 29 at Ticketmaster.comand the Rose Music Center Box Office.


 

Meet Amber Tipton, Baker Extraordinaire

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Amber Tipton was 43 years old when she began culinary school with her youngest daughter, a journey that ultimately led her to launch The Neighborhood Nest Gluten-Free Baked Goods.

The Fairborn bakery is dedicated to gluten-free goodies, and also accommodates individuals who are dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan and keto, she said.

“We’re very focused on the people that can’t just eat the regular food that’s out there every day,” Amber shares.

The dedication is personal for Amber. While she was in culinary school, her middle child was diagnosed with Celiac disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. A year later, Amber was diagnosed with Celiac disease as well.

“At that point, I knew what was out there, and I was not eating that way,” Amber recalls.

She had one pastry class — her only pastry class — left to complete in her final semester. Her professor allowed her to bring in about 70 pounds a week of gluten-free flours and alternative ingredients.

“At the end of the 16 weeks, if I plated my things the same as everyone else and slipped them into the lineup, no one could pick mine out,” she said.

Neighborhood Nest was born.

‘THE BEST BAKERY IN DAYTON’

Neither baker or entrepreneur was on the list of things she thought  she’d be when she grew up — a list that included counselor, race car driver and mortician, among others, she said. But as her family grew and she found herself hosting birthday parties and family gatherings and church pitch-ins where attendees always asked for her recipes, an idea began to form.

And as her youngest daughter grew out of homeschooling age, Amber found herself looking for something new to do. She planned to open a diner — instead she opened a bakery.

“After our diagnosis, I really experience what it was like to go out and eat and try to be safe,” she said. “Cross-contamination is such an issue for people. It can lead to anything from a distended belly and discomfort to vomiting that can leave you in the hospital. I wanted to give people a space that they can come into and have absolutely everything at their finger tips.”

It’s giving people back something they miss, she continues.

“One of my very first customers, it was the first time in 22 years that he’d had a strawberry cake for his birthday,” she recalled. “That is why we do this.”

Amber doesn’t yet take a paycheck from her business, so that feedback from customers who haven’t had their favorite treat in so long and tell Amber that hers is even better than they remember is what keeps her going, she said.

“My goal is not to be the best gluten-free bakery in Dayton,” she said. “It’s to be the best bakery in Dayton.”

JUST START

Her advice to other dreaming moms or older women who want to do something different? Don’t limit yourself  — just start.

“There’s no rules to life,” she said. “We’ve been told there’s a lot of rules to life, but there’s really not, and you don’t have to know everything to start, just start. Have a plan and a goal, be a little tenacious, and just do it. I don’t know enough to be afraid of what I take on usually, and so, I just do it.”

“I’m Amber Tipton, and I’m an Entrepreneur.”

The Neighborhood Nest

313 W. Main St.
Fairborn, OH 45324

(937) 902-3515

Wed – Fri 8am – 6pm

Sat 8am – 2pm

Registration is LIVE for the Virtual 2020 Techstars Startup Week

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In its fifth year, the free, annual, week-long, entrepreneur-led, community-focused conference brings together the Dayton region’s entrepreneurs and small business owners in a virtual setting. All experiences are welcome, from seasoned entrepreneurs to new community members: there is space for everyone to join in.

“We’re excited to bring Startup Week back for a fifth year and while we’re disappointed we can’t see everyone in person this year, we hope this pivot to a virtual event will allow more people to tap into the expertise and energy in Dayton’s startup community,” said John Owen, Wright State Applied Research Corporation program manager and lead organizer for Techstars Startup Week Dayton.

On Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 21-22, Startup Week Dayton will bring the community together around inspirational local founders who offer applicable advice for various industries.

Erica McGeady

High-level speakers who will grace the virtual main stage include:

      • Marty Grunder, founder of Grunder Landscaping
      • Kala Gibson, executive vice president & head of business banking at Fifth Third Bank and board chair of MORTAR
      • Jerricha Hoskins, founder of the million-dollar haircare line Arcani Coil Care
      • Robin Gentry-McGee, the Functional Formularies founder who recently sold her medtech company
      • Erica McGeady, founder of EricaFitLove and trainer on The Biggest Loser
      • Lance Juhas, chief operating officer of Piada
      • Stephen Hightower, founder of Hightowers Petroleum Co.: one of the country’s largest fuel suppliers

Monday evening will wrap up with a social event featuring two local businesses. Snag your signature Startup Week cocktail from new avant-garde bar Tender Mercy and play Dayton startup trivia hosted by Liftoff Entertainment.

Tuesday evening will feature the annual Early Risers: Startup Week Pitch Competition. Ten startups across both tech and main street categories will compete for cash prizes. Apply to pitch by Sept. 8: 

Wednesday through Friday, attendees will be able to delve deeper into their own business needs with industry-specific tracks that include sessions on how to find funding and customers in the food and beverage, health / beauty / wellness products, medtech, materials and manufacturing and defense industries. Topics and speakers include:

      • in Health / Beauty / Wellness: “Holistic Branding: How to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace”
      • in Medtech: “Don’t Tell Me, Show Me: 12 Months of MedTech Deals”
      • in Food & Beverage: “The Rapid Fired, Hot Head Story” by founder Ray Wiley
      • in Defense: “A Look Forward at U.S. Air Force Research and Development Priorities” by Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, Air Force Research Laboratory Cmrd.
      • in Materials & Manufacturing: “The State of Manufacturing in Ohio” by JobsOhio’s Glenn Richardson

Anthony Head

Throughout the evening, Launch Dayton will also present the first Launch Dayton Startup Storytelling Night in collaboration with LORE. Founders Anthony Head of The Chicken Spot and Vaniti Bryd of Baba Love Organics will take the virtual stage between pitches to share their launch stories.

“Winning the pitch competition during Startup Week Dayton was by far one of the most exciting milestones yet for Baba Love Organics,” said Byrd, who was one of the 2019 Early Risers: Startup Week Pitch Competition winners. “It was my first time to compete among other small business owners and share the Baba Love vision in front of so many guests.”

This year, Startup Week Dayton will also broadcast 30-second pre-recorded elevator pitches from attendees between sessions. Attendees can submit a 30-second recording introducing themselves and their business and sharing a need. Launch Dayton will share recordings to connect attendees to the community to help attendees move their companies forward. Submit here: https://bit.ly/ElevatorPitchDSW

Techstars Startup Week Dayton 2020 is made possible through support from title sponsors Fifth Third Bank, The Entrepreneurs Center and WSARC. WSARC’s Launch Dayton efforts are supported by the Entrepreneurial Services Provider program administered locally by The Entrepreneurs Center.

FREE 10-week Program Will Take Your Business From Idea to Launch

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Launch Dayton will run its upcoming Early Risers Academy cohorts virtually in an effort to support our local business owners and entrepreneurs as our community collectively works to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Our 10-week Early Risers Academy program is completely free. The program is designed to take aspiring entrepreneurs from idea to launch, or to help newer small business owners plan & train to successfully pivot or scale. Entrepreneurs of all genders, colors & creeds are welcome.

The next general cohort will launch April 7 and run through June 9, and a tech cohort will launch April 8 & run through June 10. If there is enough interest, we will launch additional cohorts in April to meet the need.

The program utilizes Kauffman FastTrac curriculum from the Kauffman Foundation, the country’s preeminent entrepreneurship-building organization. Aspiring founders will receive pitch coaching and hands-on mentoring, weekly discussions with successful entrepreneurs and experts, access to Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, & alumni support after graduating the academy.

The tech cohort will be run by reps from Converge Technologies, an engineering and business advisory firm that helps companies with development and commercialization of novel technologies. This focused cohort will offer additional experts on topics such as prototype development and how to design to appeal to end users and for large-scale manufacturing.

Applicants should be able to commit at least 4-6 hours per week to coursework for the duration of the academy.

Each program will conclude with a pitch event in which one graduate from each cohort will win $1,000 to infuse into their business. Pitch events will be organized by partners of Launch Dayton, a collaborative effort to connect entrepreneurs to peers, resources, and supporters, and to tell the stories of our region’s thriving startup community.

“We are intentionally carving out space for minority founders and business owners to access resources that help build solid foundations and provide hands-on support in order to create successful businesses,” program manager KeAnna Daniels said. “We are committed to reaching non-tech and historically under-represented founders who haven’t always felt seen in Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Apply here.

Early Risers Academy is supported by Launch Dayton partner organizations Wright State Research Institute and The Entrepreneurs Center with their respective grant funds through the US Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment and Ohio Third Frontier’s Entrepreneurial Services Provider Program. 

Free 10 Week Class to Help you Launch Your Business

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The Early Risers Academy pre-accelerator program, designed to take participants from business idea to launch within 10 weeks, will kick back off in January 2020.

There are six cohorts slated for 2020, three of which are industry agnostic — any team or individual with an idea for a business can apply. Two of the cohorts will focus on entrepreneurs with ideas for tech-based businesses. The final cohort will be for students who are in between their senior year of high school and their freshman year of college.

One graduate from each cohort will win $1,000 to infuse into their business.

“2020 is the beginning of a new decade, and in this new decade, we are intentionally carving out space for minority founders and business owners to access resources that help build solid foundations and provide hands-on support in order to create successful businesses,” program manager KeAnna Daniels said. “We are committed to reaching non-tech and historically under-represented founders who haven’t always felt seen in Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The dates for each cohort are as follows:

• Jan. 14 – March 17, 2020 — general
• Feb. 5- April 8 — tech-based
• April 7 – June 9 — general
• June 3 – Aug. 5 — student
• Aug. 26 – Nov. 4 — general
• Oct. 6 – Dec. 8 — tech-based

The Early Risers Academy pre-accelerator application will be open on a rolling basis. Applicants should indicate which cohort they want when they apply. Up to six places are available in each cohort.

Cohorts will meet for 10 weeks, with in-person meetings on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings from 5:30-8:30p in the Nucelus Coworking Space in the Kuhns Building, 15 W. 4th St, Dayton. Applicants should be able to commit at least 4-6 hours per week to coursework for the duration of the academy.

“Our ideal applicants are aspiring entrepreneurs with solid ideas that they have given some real thought to and have begun to asks themselves the hard questions regarding its feasibility,” Daniels said. “We particularly want to know that they have skin in the game and are committed to making their idea work, even if they have to pivot. We are looking for aspiring founders who are looking to take action.”

Participants will spend those 10 weeks moving from idea to founding a business through coursework from the Kauffman Foundation, the country’s preeminent entrepreneurship-building organization. Aspiring founders will receive pitch coaching and hands-on mentoring, weekly discussions with successful entrepreneurs and experts, access to Dayton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, & alumni support after graduating the academy.

Graduates who pursue business launch will also have a chance to pitch for a $1,000 grand prize at the conclusion of their cohort’s programming. Pitch events will be organized with Launch Dayton, a collaborative effort to connect entrepreneurs to peers, resources, and supporters, and to tell the stories of our region’s thriving startup community.

Apply here.

This pre-accelerator is supported by The Entrepreneurs Center & Wright State Research Institute, collaborators on the region’s Entrepreneurial Services Provider (ESP) grant which is funded by Ohio Third Frontier.

Savorista Offers Shockingly Great Decaf Coffees

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Love coffee, but it doesn’t love you? Fear not, Savorista & its line of caffeine-conscious coffees are here!

Founder Kait Brown was working a high-stress job in Chicago when her father was diagnosed with cancer. She switched to decaf when she realized her coffee consumption was making it even harder to sleep and deal with the stress.

But she discovered that her decaf options sucked, she recalled with a laugh. So she and her husband set off around the globe to find and bring home the best decaf coffee.

Kait pitched Savorista at our August 2019 edition of Early Risers.

“Most decaf is bad because it starts with lower quality beans that are chemically decaffeinated,” she said.

Kait & Daniel visited coffee producers and decaffeination centers in South America & East Africa. They tried hundreds of cups of coffee to find better beans & processes.

Savorista currently offers four caffeine-conscious decaf coffees online. The coffee begins with high-quality beans that are naturally decaffeinated using a water process, then roasted to order in small batches. Wait plans to also offer a low-caffeine coffee later this fall.

“We’re looking to shift the way people think about low-caffeine & decaf coffees,” she said. “It’s a valuable addition to your day, especially in the afternoon or evening with a great pastry. It’s not a punishment for being caffeine-sensitive.”

In the U.S. there are 30M people who drink decaf coffee at least once a week, representing a $1B market, Kait shared. And there are another 80M who drink coffee every day, but are interested in limiting their caffeine intake, representing an addition $2.7B market, she added.

Savorista is aiming to be the household name in decaf coffee. So far, they have shipped product to 37 states and 3 countries.  Support Kait by trying a cup of Savorista coffee & telling a friend!

Local Soaper Creates Storybook Line to Support Dayton Children’s Hospital

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When a rep from Dayton Children’s Hospital approached entrepreneur Katie Hall about having a coin jar at her 2nd Street Market booth, Katie saw an opportunity to make a much larger impact.

Next month, the founder of Fox in Socks Soapery will release a new line of storybook soaps to support the institution’s work.

The soaps — locally made and sourced, true to Fox in Socks’ mission — will be packaged to look like children’s books. Katie will open up sales Nov. 2 with a faux book launch party at 2nd Street Market that will feature face painting & a scavenger hunt through the market.

Katie will also be accepting children’s book donations during the launch party — and she’ll match every book donated with a bar of storybook soap that will be delivered to a patient at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

“I knew I wouldn’t make an impact with a coin jar,” Katie said, reflecting on her foot traffic. “I said, ‘I want to make you a specific line.’”

The solopreneur made the jump from hobbyist to small business owner about five years ago. She tapped the knowledge she gained studying biotechnology to create her formulas, then she set off visiting Ohio Proud farms to locally source as many of her ingredients as possible.

“I want to build community one bar at a time,” she said. “When you buy a bar of my soap, you’re supporting up to 15 small businesses. My dream for my business is to source enough product that I can impact other small business owners to reach their dreams, too.”

Katie will donate 25 percent of the proceeds from the upcoming storybook line to Dayton Children’s Hospital.

LAUNCH PARTY:

Saturday, November 2, 2019 at 8am – 3 pm

Stop by the 2nd Street Market on Saturday, November 2nd. The party starts in the Market Pavilion with family storybook activities, face painting, an Instagram photo booth and then you’ll be on your way to hunt for sweet treats throughout the market.

Your treasure hunt will end at the shop where you will get the chance to see (and smell!) the new children’s Storybook Soap. 25% of all Storybook Soap sales will go directly to Dayton Children’s Hospital. Still want to give more to Dayton Children’s Hospital…for every children’s book that is donated during the launch party, I will donate a swag bag full of goodies to a child at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

 

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Kickstarter live for veteran startup seeking to recycle uniforms, tell stories

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Will Romes is working to help fellow veterans transition to civilian life — by helping their uniforms make that same transition.

Will’s new company, Eighth Order, will take donated uniforms from retired veterans and re-pattern them into new oxford-style cotton shirts. He’s running a Kickstarter now to get the company up & running.

An Air Force veteran, Will wasn’t ready to retire at age 38.

“In military life, there are stage gates,” he explained. “Goals are easily achievable  if you follow the path laid out.”

As he looked toward retirement, he realized he didn’t have a path laid out for his post-military career. He was pondering this new reality one Sunday as he dressed for church, and his eyes wandered to the four stacks of military uniforms that he would soon be throwing away.

It seemed like a shame, he recalled. So he looked for a way to repurpose it.

He connected with a factory in California that can make eight pattered shirts out of each military uniform, But Eighth Order isn’t only about clothes — it’s also about the stories behind those uniforms, he said.

According to the Veterans Administration, between 11 and 20 percent of U.S. veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. Will is one of them.

Sharing the stories behind the uniform — what countries it has traveled to, what campaigns it has seen — can help the veteran deal with the disorder, Will said.

When veterans donate their uniforms, they’ll also return a card where they share as many or as few details from their service as they wish. This card will eventually be distributed with the shirts the uniform is used to create.

Will has 45 days to go on his $20K Kickstarter goal. He hopes to launch his Eighth Order e-commerce shop in February 2020. Share this story, & click here to support him!

Meet the entrepreneur opening a boutique workout studio downtown

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Looking for a quick, efficient group workout downtown? Lindsey Deck wants her new workout studio, Third Space Fitness,  to be just the spot.

Lindsey is building out a boutique fitness studio in the St. Clair Lofts with plans to launch classes in September. Classes offered will include barre, TRX and dance cardio. 

Attorney at Taft Law, wife and mother, Lindsey knows how important it is to take care of yourself — and how important it is for those workouts to be time-efficient & require a limited commute.

“As a mom, I take better care of my daughters if I take care of myself,” she said. “But I’ve got to get in, get out and get home.”

Lindsey has been taking group fitness classes since she was a teenager. She likes the community atmosphere & the variety of workouts that hit flexibility, cardio and strength all in one.

“I don’t want to go into the gym and have to figure it out,” she said. “I want to be told what to do, see friends, then go home.”

Lindsey first dreamed of someday owing her own studio when she was in law school in St. Paul, Minnesota. After returning to Dayton, as she started to look for the perfect studio location, she kept being drawn back downtown, where she works.

“I’ve been living in Dayton since I was 6 years old, and I’m super excited about everything going on downtown,” she said. “I feel like a proud parent, I get so excited whenever there is good news about Dayton. I am thrilled we found a spot downtown.”

Her studio offerings will complement other fitness offerings in the downtown area, such as yoga, cross fit, weight lifting, cycling and boxing, she said — & maybe someday, these studios will join forces for a membership that allows people to tap into them all, she added.

In the meantime, she blames her father for her entrepreneurial goals. A general contractor, he launched his business when Lindsey was in elementary school.

“I kept waiting for that feeling to go away, but when I finally talked to my dad, he understood it, this nagging,” she recalled. “It’s very cool to create something of your own.”

Stay tuned on Instagram thirdspacedayton for the latest as Lindsey gets her studio up & running.

Dayton woman launches social media management co

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Need a social media guru for your small business? Taylor Hudson is your woman.

Taylor launched her company, Taylored Social, on July 1. Taylored Social is a small business social media management company, offering a full suite of services including social media monitoring, posting, content creation and consulting.

“We’re empowering small businesses to grow and leverage online communities,” she said.

Taylor face is familiar to many local entrepreneurs — a Dayton native, she tapped into the local startup scene early when she took a job at Nucleus Coshare at 19.

“I love how everyone treated me as an equal, even when I was in college,” she recalled. “If you’re engaged in the startup community, you’ve experienced that sense of support — you’re empowered, even if you don’t own a company.”

Last fall, Taylor accepted a full-time position at The University of Dayton. But she quickly realized that she preferred the odd but flexible hours of the startup world to the steadier pace of a 9-5. As she started voicing these feelings to friends, they encouraged her, and purchased an online course in entrepreneurship for her.

“It was a pivotal moment, to realize they believe in me, and they’re willing to invest in me,” she said.

In July, she returned to The Entrepreneurs Center part-time and launched her social media company.

“I love social media because it’s a platform to be creative and easily connect with individuals across the world,” she said. “Relationships and interactions don’t need to be bound by geography, social media makes connecting with others remotely quite easy.”

But Taylored Social is more than just social media — it’s about being social and connecting in real life to support fellow creatives & small business owners, she said.

To demonstrate this side of her work, Taylor organized a photoshoot event that pulled in multiple collaborators including The Brightside Music & Event Venue, Fusian, Home with Ashley, Breana Soliday Co., Kandice Stidham Photography & volunteer models. The participants donated their time and supplies to connect in person, then used the resulting images to cross promote each other’s skills across social media. 

“It was magic,” she described. “Remember to stay connected and supportive online and in person.”

When she’s not running her social media management company, Taylor can be found hanging with her two best guys, fiancé Alec and dog Blue; shopping local; or organizing events to benefit local charities.

Connect with her here.

Dayton Syringe Co Named Most Promising Startup

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Mick Hopkins

Dayton startup True Concepts Medical, brainchild of Mick Hopkins, has been named 2019’s most promising startup by the Quality & Safety Education for Nurses International Forum.

Mick has invented a series of new syringe technologies capable of revolutionizing healthcare across the globe. The first of these technologies, Diversyn, has the potential to reduce false blood cultures by up to 92%. The second, S.A.F.E., can save lives during cardiac arrest by ensuring the proper saline flush automatically follows the administration of epinephrine.

He exhibited prototypes of these devices at the annual QSEN conference, held in Cleveland at the end of May. He was one of seven companies set up to demo products to the 150+ nursing leaders from across the country during a new “Evolving Ideas in Healthcare” event.

These leaders tapped Mick’s company for the award for the most promising innovation in healthcare technology for quality and safety.

“I knew that people would be interested since it was a nursing conference, and they would get it, but the overwhelming acceptance of devices was humbling,” Mick said.

Several of the hospital leaders were interested in purchasing the syringes, and the Institute is willing to help market the devices when the time comes, which will hopefully be within the next two years, he said.

There were also great questions from these future end users, including suggested applications Mick hadn’t explored, such as use in dialysis treatment, he added.

Other products demoed at the QSEN conference included analytics-driven software apps, a new chest-tube technology, & a learning platform for nurses.

Mick holds 4 U.S. patents for his syringe technologies & has multiple international patent applications pending. He’s currently raising funds to manufacture a full prototype run and clear FDA regulations. Ultimately, he hopes to license the technology to an existing medical device manufacturing company.

Workout outdoors with new fitness startup Honey Active

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Heather Allen

Heather Allen has weights, jump ropes and a bluetooth speaker — and she’ll travel to a park near you.

Heather is the founder of Honey Active, recently launched outdoor fitness startup. She leads outdoor group fitness classes in Dayton parks, and offers personal training and corporate fitness event services.

“I like showing people new spots — places they don’t think to workout,” she said. “You really can do it anywhere, and I’m proving that to people.”

Heather is an accountant-turned-fitness guru. She actually got into fitness, specifically running, after her first busy accounting season. A former cheerleader and soccer player, she had always been active, until that that stretch of 60- to 70-hour work weeks behind the desk.

“I started feeling slow and groggy and icky,” she recalled. “So I signed up for a marathon to motivate myself.”

She got addicted to running after that, she added with a laugh.

A few years ago, she helped start an accountability group with a few friends to talk about wellness. The group wound up deciding to do weekly workouts together, and Heather found herself organizing those workouts at Riverscape Metro Park.

Soon, people outside the original accountability group started showing up for the workout classes, so she rented Knack Creative’s Studio 42 and began holding training classes on the side. Requests from personal and corporate clients soon followed.

Sweat Bee is a boot camp style class that is 45 minutes of hard work.

Heather quit her day job and went full-time with Honey Active in March. She runs the bulk of her outdoor group classes at Oak & Ivy Park in the Wright Dunbar neighborhood she calls home. She hasn’t decided what her winter season will look like yet — if she’ll build out a studio or just find a big, open space.

“What drives me is helping people be more confident and energized,” she said. “I’m helping people find a healthy lifestyle, not chase fad diets. It gives me energy, helping others in this specific way, doing something I love and sharing it with people.”

She’s grateful she experienced those periods of inactivity because it helps her relate to her clients, she said.

“I believe in discipline, but I’m not no-excuses,” Heather said. “Life happens, we deal with it, then we move on and build.”

The desire to convey this sentiment shows in her company name — Honey is for natural, local; Active is for fitness, she said.

“I wanted the brand to reflect who I am,” she said. “A little fun, a little cheeky, and I don’t really like rules.”

(DE-FI) Seeking Input on Fashion Coworking Space

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Caressa Brown founded (DE-FI), the Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator, six years ago with the goal of making Dayton the fashion capital of the Midwest.

Today, she is poised to open the region’s first multidisciplinary fashion coworking studio — and she wants your input.

“We’re shedding our grassroots structure and becoming more visible within the community,” Caressa said. “The multidisciplinary fashion coworking space will offer fashion professionals an affordable and unique workspace right here in Dayton — a fashion business hub created by and for the fashion community.”

(DE-FI) is holding a series of bi-weekly public meetings  in the Dayton Metro Library Main Branch’s Conference Room 1B, to get community feedback on the general direction, business model, and logistics for the fashion coworking space. The current vision for it incorporates a design studio featuring design software, designated and roaming desks, designated and roaming offices, a visual art studio, a fashion studio, a makerspace, a micro-manufacturing/fabrication space, photography studio, sewing studio, conference room, production room, classroom space, networking space, and venue rental.

 

Participants in the Aug. 3 session will hear about the progress of the local fashion community and will work together in small groups to generate ideas for the character and amenities of the space that may be incorporated into the overall plan, Caressa said.

Follow-up meetings will be held at the Dayton Metro Library Main Branch on  Aug. 31, 10a-12p, Conference Room 3A; & Sept. 14, 10a-12p, Conference Room 3A.

(DE-FI) currently operates a number of subsidiaries that work different angles to make Dayton a fashion center. Among them, The Gem City Sewing Company trains individuals to sew, prioritizing work with underserved communities; Dayton Garment & Textile District offers micro-manufacturing and an online registry of seamstresses, fabric makers, pattern makers, weavers, fabric dyers, beaders, embroiderers and vendors; & Dayton Threads, an online boutique, hopefully soon to be a brick and mortar shop, offers retail space for individual and emerging designers to sell their products.

(DE-FI) also runs Dayton Fashion Week, and holds workshops on topics ranging from combatting sexual harassment and trafficking to advocating legislators and establishing reporting hotlines to combat the predatory aspects of the fashion industry.

For more info, visit (DE-FI) online.

Battle Sight Tech gearing up to launch suite of new products

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Nick Ripplinger

As Dayton startup Battle Sight Technologies approaches its second birthday, the company is preparing to launch a suite of new products to serve the warfighter, founder and president Nick Ripplinger said.

Battle Sight Technologies recently announced a new licensing deal with the Air Force Research Lab that would enable it to build out its suite of infrared spectrum tools using a new phosphor technology.

This phosphor works like the light in watch dials — it charges on any type of light, then emits in the infrared spectrum, Ripplinger explained. The charge lasts about 20 hours.

Battle Sight will be using this new material to spin out at least four new products for its military customers.

The first product will be phosphor-equipped badges, enabling friendly identification on the battlefield or in a training environment, Ripplinger said.

The phosphor tech can also be incorporated into a paint-like substance to use to mark tools to make it easier to identify items on a patrol or similar mission.

The tech can be used as a sort of backlight for information to allow soldiers to keep track of important frequencies or locations – think the reflective bands that quarterbacks use to keep info on plays on their person, Ripplinger described.

Also, in its powder form, the phosphor can be used to tag and track objects, he added.

Battle Sight Technologies is also developing a second product with the infrared capsules it uses in its CrayTac markers. The new product is an infrared sea dye marker that utilizes buoyant, chemiluminescent squares to float with a life raft to make it easier to find downed pilots and aircraft faster, Ripplinger explained.

The sea dye was developed in tandem with end-user feedback, Ripplinger said — military leaders came to the shop and brainstormed with the Battle Sight Team, which then won the first Air Force Pitch Day competition. The company was able to use the prize money to prototype the new product, which debuted at Tech Warrior in June.

“There’s no better feeling than when the warfighter is coming to us with a problem because they think we can fix it,” Ripplinger said. “We have the best customers in the world.”

Battle Sight’s new suite of phosphor tech products are expected to hit the market in Q1 of 2020.

As the product lines grow, Ripplinger hopes to grow the team as well. He’ll expects to hire four to six employees in year three, ranging from product managers to admins to brand managers.

Interested in working for this awesome veteran-owned Dayton startup? Check out battlesighttech.com for more info on the company.

Local Startup Ella Bella Shipping Internationally

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Local startup Ella Bella Gluten-Free can now be found abroad!

The company landed its first international account last month, founder Mandy Groszko shared. She shipped one case each of her gluten-free flour, brownie, chocolate chip and sugar cookie mixes and two cases of her lactation cookie mix to a shop named Chisai-Bums in Okinawa, Japan.

“I am extremely excited, and just flabbergasted, that something I made and created is going halfway around the world,” Groszko said.

The Japanese shop is approximately 7,000 miles from Ella Bella’s home base in Fairborn, OH. Shipping was easier than anticipated — the presence of a US Air Force base at the destination allowed Groszko to use domestic pricing and domestic customs forms, all available on the USPS website, she said.

The Chisai-Bums store owner found Ella Bella through a closed Facebook group created for the community of mothers using cloth diapers for their new babes. The owner of a cloth diaper store in Fort Wayne that sells Ella Bella’s lactation cookie mixes posted a positive review of the cookies, along with a note about how she could sell them at a 100 percent markup.

The lactation cookie mix is the top retail product for Ella Bella, founded in 2012. Groszko launched the company when her daughter was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance.

“I wanted to be able to make a single chocolate chip cookie that she would eat and like and that my husband would eat and like,” she recalled.

She developed the lactation cookie mix two years ago after a conversation with her longtime friend Allison Hopkey Fullenkamp, owner of samozrejme, a Troy store featuring eco-friendly parenting products. The lactation cookie mix includes additional minerals and vitamins that help new moms produce milk.

Groszko sold the cookie mix at samozrejme for a year before she began marketing the product, she said.

Ella Bella is currently on shelves in 21 retail stores, primarily in the Dayton-Cincinnati-Columbus region. You can also find the mixes on shelves in California and Alaska — those shop owners also found Groszko through the post in the closed Facebook group before purchasing her products through FAIRE an online wholesale marketplace for retailers seeking unique goods for their stores.

“The dream is to get into a store in every state across the country,” she said. “I have a gluten-free product, the flour, that allows people to get back in the kitchen.”

The Ella Bella gluten-free flour is a one-to-one substitute for traditional flours, whether it’s in a roux, a fried breading or a baked good, Groszko said.

“You can cook your family recipes,” she said. “You can have that family connection, that communication, that love that happens in a kitchen, and then it’s good food to eat at the end, and those people who don’t have to be gluten-free also enjoy the food.”

Want to try the mixes for yourself? Order online or find a store near you!

Luminaries of Dayton: Jacob Stickle

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Jacob Stickle was born in Neckar-Thailfingen, Wurettemberg, Germany on February 26, 1825, son of John Jacob and Katerina Stickle.

Jacob helped his father on the family farm until he was old enough to be apprenticed to a butcher. He learned the trade of butchering and stayed in the business until he immigrated to the United States, landing in New Orleans on May 1, 1849. He arrived in Dayton on the first of June.

On his arrival Jacob started working for Adam Happle, a meat packer whose business was located on Valley Pike in Mad River Township. He worked for $7 a week and board. After two years Jacob had saved enough money to rent a butcher’s stand and later opened a stall in Harshmanville, on Yellow Springs Pike, which he attended for seventeen years.

In 1868, Jacob purchased the brewery of Sander and Stoppelman on Warren Street. When he started the business he decided to use only the best quality products, and to make his beer out of only barley, malt and hops.

In 1881, the City Brewery building burnt down. Jacob Stickle rebuilt and enlarged it at an expense of eight thousand dollars, building a three and a half story brick factory. The ice houses had a storage capacity of 2,000 tons and the beer cellars of 3,000 barrels. The first year the business made 4,000 barrels of beer and by 1882 the brewery was producing 7,000 barrels annually. The business required ten men and several teams for delivering the beer to local businesses.

Jacob married Barbara Drechsel on August 31, 1851 and they had two children. Jacob’s son, William, later helped his father run the brewery. In 1890, the business moved to 653 and 655 Warren Street. Jacob Stickle merged his brewery with The Dayton Breweries Company in 1904 and then sold out his part.

Jacob died on November 20, 1908 and is buried in Section 63 Lot 1126.