Startup Services Overview

 Welcome
to the TEAM!
We’re here to take Startups like yours to the next level.

Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, Cintrifuse helps Startups connect with the right people at the right times to help your business grow.

Together, We Thrive

Connect with fellow founders, industry experts, and potential investors across our rapidly growing Startup network.

Startup Resources

Go from formation to validation to growth.
Find resources curated for startups that are committed to helping you through various stages of development.

Explore >

Networking

Connect with industry influencers and investors.
Attract attention to your startup by getting involved in the ecosystem and networking amongst peers.

Explore >

Connect

Join others in the heart of a healthy ecosystem.
Interact, exchange ideas, and gain invaluable insights and inspiration.

Explore >

Coworking: Union Hall

Come together in spaces built to serve you.
Bring your team together in a collaborative space centered around startups.

Explore >

Help At Any Stage

Programs, Products, & Resources for Every Stage of Your Startup Journey

Most startups experience common challenges at similar stages in their journey. Knowing where you are in yours can help you manage time and resources more efficiently. And Cintrifuse is here to help guide you along the way.

Planning & Research

Going from idea to reality begins with a solid business plan. In this stage, you conceptualize your product or service and assess whether it answers a market need.

Commitment & Demonstration

Finding your audience is the inflection point that moves you from concept to company. This is when you prove out your business plan, prototype, and seek feedback.

Viability & Traction

As your business gains traction, you’ll quickly see what works and what doesn’t. This is when you test the viability of the company and find out where to place your focus.

Refinement & Growth

If all goes well, the next step is to scale. This is when you build on all the learnings you’ve picked up along the way and keep tweaking to meet new customer expectations.

Meet the Founders that Make Cincy Shine.

At Cintrifuse, we have the privilege of working with am amazing community on founders, innovators, and creators. Get to know some of our members below!

Your Success is Our Top Priority

Cincinnati's startup ecosystem is home to dozens of accelerators, incubators, and angel investors that are actively looking for startups just like yours. Cintrifuse's network of subject matter experts, strategic partner agencies, and ecosystem stakeholders are excited to work with you as your ideas continue to grow.

Your Next Teammate

Cincinnati is creating 67,505 jobs.

Let’s find you that talent.

Cincinnati is the place to grow! According to our friends at the Cincinnati Chamber, our region is projected to produce more new jobs in the next 10 years than it did in the previous decade. Talk about the right time to grow your startup. With your Cintrifuse membership, post your openings on our exclusive Job Board.

Design
Development
Marketing
Sales
Operations
Business Development
|   Membership Services

Member Services Tailored to Tech-Based Startups

For tech-driven entrepreneurs, there are a myriad of unknowns to consider. Getting expert advice along the way can significantly improve your chances of success. Join our membership for $200/year and gain access to consulting services that could prove invaluable.

Funding Stage Connects

Get 1:1 Guidance through Funding Stages
As a startup founder, knowing where your business stands helps determine its valuation and how to best raise capital.

Funding Stage Subsidized
Professional Services

Access top-tier advisors and consulting partners
As a member, you’ll get access to a broad range of business expertise and partner agencies across a wide range of disciplines — all at heavily discounted fees.

Market Strategy

Formulate plans for profitability and sales growth
When you start with strong sales tactics and strategies for customer acquisition, momentum and revenue are sure to follow.

Brand Development

Get the right marketing partners for your business
Good branding can make all the difference. Our membership services assist with logo design, packaging, and image-driven solutions for your business.

Ready to learn more about Cintrifuse membership?

Explore Next Steps

Getting Started

Activate the Cintrifuse Network

1. Visit Union Hall

Cowork with fellow startups.

Drop in and see us. Event space, offices, and co-working are all available in Union Hall.

2. Join an Event:

Sign up & get involved!

We’ve got a lot going on between Cintrifuse and StartupCincy, Union Hall, FinTech Frontier, and our community partners. Check out our calendar and RSVP for an event––we can’t wait to see you there!

3.
See if Cintrifuse Fits You

Cowork with fellow startups.

Drop in and see us. Event space, offices, and co-working are all available in Union Hall.

Mark Wood
Director of Startup Services

Get in touch

Got a question or just want to chat? Reach out, and we’ll be happy to help in any way we can. We look forward to hearing from you!

Resource Map

Incubators

An incubator brings in an external management team to manage an idea that was developed internally. “Those ideas can gestate for much longer periods of time and the incubator takes a much larger amount of equity [compared to accelerators].

  • Aviatra Accelerators – Aviatra Accelerators is an educational and micro-finance organization dedicated to inspiring and supporting women entrepreneurs in all the key elements of their business.
  • Hamilton Mill – The Hamilton Mill is a Southwestern Ohio small business incubator for green, clean, water, digital and advanced manufacturing technologies. Conveniently located between Cincinnati and Dayton in the original pioneer town of Hamilton, OH.
  • HCDC – Hamilton County Business Center (HCBC) is a nationally recognized startup incubator in Southwest Ohio that helps entrepreneurs launch successful innovative businesses.

Resource Map

Coworking

Coworking provides a physical space for the independent workforce. It gives them access to office amenities (Wifi, copiers, printers, conference rooms, etc.) without necessarily having to abide by all of the other standards of an office. Given that these spaces are looking to attract creatives of all different types, each co-working space takes on a different aesthetic and may focus on specific niches, such as tech or branding.

  • CovWorx – CovWorx is a coworking space in Covington Kentucky. We are a place where creative and technology professional work together as a full-service agency.
  • Fueled Collective – Fueled Collective members enjoy private bars, stylish meeting spaces, exclusive events, curated clubs, unlimited fitness classes, gym access, and so much more.
  • HCDC – Hamilton County Business Center (HCBC) CoWorks space offers aspiring entrepreneurs and early stage ventures the opportunity to have shared space in one of the Midwest’s premier business incubation programs – the Business Center.
  • IMPACT Cowork – an executive coworking community built and designed to convene leaders. It is also a beautiful spot to host your next board meeting, committee meeting, brainstorming session, center of influence or client appreciation event.
  • MOVE – MOVE believes in balance and optimizing life to the fullest. Staying healthy and fit as a busy entrepreneur can be a challenge. With full access to their gym and functional fitness classes you build your business and keep yourself fit.
  • Platform 53 – Platform 53 is conveniently located in Covington right off 71/75, minutes from downtown Cincinnati and surrounding areas.
  • Union Hall – Enviable OTR location, ideal for small teams that have grown out of the corner coffee shop. Proximity to other entrepreneurs embeds startups with other startups allowing for collaborations and teams to form.
  • 1628 – Downtown location affords members and guests convenient access to the culture and vitality of Cincinnati’s central business district. Members enjoy discounted rates from TriNet healthcare benefits.

Resource Map

University Programs

Local universities have created their own support system for the startup scene. With the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University and Xavier University all within 10 miles of each other — opportunity abounds.

  • Altman Internship Program – The nationally ranked Institute for Entrepreneurship at Miami University sources top student talent for hands-on summer internships in early-stage growth companies across StartupCincy. At the end of the summer, companies receive a cost-sharing reimbursement for the intern’s pay.
  • Bearcat Launchpad – The Bearcat Launchpad is an opportunity for all undergraduate students to come together at the University of Cincinnati and work on interdisciplinary teams to turn an idea into a viable business concept.
  • Miami University Institute for Entrepreneurship – Nationally recognized entrepreneurship education bringing talent to StartupCincy through internships, client consulting projects, new venture creation, and a student-run venture fund which invests in business started by Miami alumni for up to ten years after graduation. Whether you’re a startup looking for talent, a BigCo interested in working with a class to solve a business problem, or simply an alum looking to coach and mentor our students, we have multiple opportunities to engage with StartupCincy.
  • NKU Center for Applied Informatics – The CAI supports entrepreneurs and innovation via our nationally recognized virtual co-op program. We recruit and project-manage students from across all disciplines of Informatics to work on cutting-edge projects such as websites, mobile apps, data analytics or visualizations, promotional videos, IOT solutions or MVP prototypes.
  • UCRI – University of Cincinnati Research Institute (UCRI) serves to connect UC experts to industry partners, facilitate commercialization of research and enhance cooperative and experiential learning experiences for UC students.

Resource Map

Funds / Angel Groups

An angel investor is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for ownership equity. In this case, these angels organize themselves into angel groups to share research and pool their investment capital, as well as to provide advice to their portfolio companies.

  • Allos Ventures – Invests in early-stage companies, augmenting the capital provided by angel investors who have helped the companies reach a stage at which they are ready for their first institutional financing round.
  • CCHMC Tomorrow Fund – Biomedical innovation coming out of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is getting another boost with a new $3-million grant from Ohio’s Third Frontier technology-based economic development initiative.
  • CincyTech – CincyTech is a public-private seed-stage investor whose mission is to strengthen the regional economy by driving talent and capital into scalable technology-based companies in Southwest Ohio.
  • Connetic Ventures – The core investment strategy is to see more deals so we can do more deals and create a diversified portfolio. We believe diversity amongst industry, platforms, geography and founders is a good thing. At Connetic™ we believe time matters: finding great ideas who’s time has come with great teams we believe can execute quickly is what we are all about.
  • H Venture Partners – Venture capital for consumer brands. We are a next generation venture fund that gives accredited investors access to brands they love. We are investing in brands that are disrupting billion-dollar categories and changing the way we live our lives.
  • Lightship Capital – At Lightship Capital, they believe social impact and profit are simultaneously achievable. They find, fund, and educate remarkable underrepresented innovators and regions typically excluded from meaningful access to mentorship & venture capital. Lightship Capital invests in early stage companies led by BIPOC, LBGTQ+, women & people with disabilities who operate in the CPG, E-Commerce, Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, and Healthcare spaces.
  • Main Street Ventures – Supports emerging businesses that show potential to create jobs and other opportunities in the Cincinnati area. They also support organizations that are strengthening the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. These can include entrepreneur support organizations that foster collaboration and development of STEM talent in the region. For all initiatives that Main Street Ventures supports, there is a particular focus on women and minority entrepreneurs that have been historically under-represented as founders.
  • Queen City Angels – a group of experienced entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors committed to helping the region’s entrepreneur ecosystem.
  • River Cities Capital Funds – River Cities Capital Funds provides growth equity and business acumen to high-potential healthcare and IT companies.
  • Wunderfund – Wunderfund helps founders raise up to $1M in capital using equity crowdfunding. It’s really hard to raise money in private rooms limited to wealthy angel investors. Why not cast a wider net that allows you to publicly raise capital where both angels and friends & family can invest together? Wunderfund brings alternative financing to startups in StartupCincy, making it easier for companies to raise capital.

Resource Map

Economic Development

The 15-county region at the intersection of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana offers the perfect soft-landing spot for businesses looking to relocate or expand. And these groups make it easier to do so.

  • REDI – Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Cincinnati is the first point-of-contact if you’re interested in starting, locating or expanding your business in our three-state, 15-county region.
  • Kentucky Innovation Network – The Kentucky Innovation Network is a network of business leaders and mentors that encourage relationships, grow companies new and existing, and create jobs.
  • Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed – Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed is a non-profit economic development organization serving Northern Kentucky.

Resource Map

Associations /
Other Stakeholders

Guidance and skills training can be found through a variety of groups in and around the city.
ArtWorks CO.STARTERS – ArtWorks CO.STARTERS (formerly SpringBoard) is a nine-week business development program that helps aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs examine assumptions and turn business ideas into action.

  • ArtsWave – ArtsWave, the planner, promoter and fundraiser of the region’s arts, offers a weekend event each October, following Startup Week. ArtsWave Arts x Tech is a groundbreaking collaboration between the arts, startup and innovation communities. During these two days, ArtsWave brings together strategists, developers, artists, marketers and many more to solve key challenges within Cincinnati’s arts sector.
  • Cintrifuse – Cintrifuse is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) partnership that exists to build a sustainable tech-based economy for the Greater Cincinnati region. Our purpose is to advocate for entrepreneurs leading high-growth tech startups– attracting, inspiring, and supporting them on their journey. Through the construction and maintenance of an Active Network of BigCos, universities, investors and startups, we are turning Cincinnati into the premier destination for startups and innovation in the Midwest.
  • The Circuit – The Circuit provides education, networking opportunities, an online sales channel, advocacy to government, and access to early-stage capital for its members and the entire IT community in our region.
  • Economic & Community Development Institute – Financing: small business loans, small business solutions, veterans loans, construction loans.
  • Flywheel – Social Enterprise Hub – Flywheel: Social Enterprise Hub works alongside nonprofits to design sustainable enterprises and community leaders to create an ecosystem where they will thrive. Resources include the social accelerator Elevator.
  • GCVA – The Greater Cincinnati Venture Association was founded in 1985 to connect entrepreneurs and investors through monthly meetings.
  • Innov8 for Health – Innov8 for Health is a community-based innovation program that identifies, incentivizes, and supports the creation and acceleration of innovative health solutions.
  • SBDC – Cincinnati – The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Urban League in Cincinnati provides comprehensive business management and education services. Free, confidential, in-depth, one-on-one counseling and low- or no-cost training.
  • SBDC – @NKU for NKY – The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Northern Kentucky at Northern Kentucky University provides one-on-one consultations at no cost to existing and potential entrepreneurs in Northern Kentucky.
  • SCORE – It’s free! It’s unlimited! SCORE provides you with expertise that will start you on the right path towards your business goals.
  • Square1 – SQUARE1 is an entrepreneur education and business accelerator services company that provides resources to a broad range of individuals interested in turning ideas and research into business startups.
  • The Women’s Business Center of Greater Cincinnati – Business technical assistance: small business development, one-on-one business counseling, notary services, access to small loans through ECDI.

Resource Map

Venture Development
Organization

CincyTech – CincyTech is a public-private seed-stage investor whose mission is to strengthen the regional economy by driving talent and capital into scalable technology-based companies in Southwest Ohio.

Resource Map

Minority Resources

  • African American Chamber – Mission is to establish, cultivate, and strengthen consumer and business relationships; provide access to major corporate and government markets for our members to help increase business opportunities; aid in the professional development of our members; assist in developing strategic partnerships and alliances for the purpose of strengthening and growing the African American business community.
  • Aviatra Accelerators – Founded in 2010 as an educational and micro-finance non-profit organization, Aviatra Accelerators (formerly Bad Girl Ventures), is dedicated to inspiring and supporting female entrepreneurs in key areas of their business. Aviatra enables bold women to start and sustain well-managed and profitable businesses through our business education classes, guidance from mentors and coaches, and access to debt capital. Aviatra currently has offices in Cincinnati and Cleveland, OH.
  • Black Data Processing Associates – BDPA is an international organization with a diverse membership of professionals and students at all levels in the fields of information technology, computer science and related S.T.E.M fields. “We are a service organization that advances STEM and digital technology professionals’, entrepreneurs’ and students’ careers from the classroom to the boardroom through education, mentoring and business networking that enhance innovation, technical skills, business savvy and personal growth.”
  • Cincinnati Minority Business Collaborative – This joint initiative, started in 2010, is comprised of eight separate nonprofit organizations serving the regional entrepreneurial community: the African American Chamber of Commerce (AACC), Cincinnati USA Hispanic Chamber, the Urban League’s Business and Entrepreneurship Program, Greater Cincinnati Micro-Enterprise Initiative (GCMI), Minority Business Accelerator (MBA), The Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (OMSDC), SCORE and HCDC’s Business Center. Our level of collaboration is rare and unprecedented in the United States. We strive to maximize our collective capabilities to positively impact the growth, development, and success of minority companies in Cincinnati USA.
  • Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI) – Financing: small business loans, small business solutions, veterans loans, construction loans.
  • Elementz – Where street art meets street smart, Elementz is an urban oasis of hope and a catalyst of change for Cincinnati’s inner-city youth. What began as a way to get kids off the streets in 2001 has transformed into a thriving Urban Arts Center that fosters talent, ignites potential and inspires possibilities. Elementz helps build dreams, and brighter futures. Our Vision for Cincinnati’s inner-city youth is “to be a catalyst of transformation for children in the urban core, enabling them to find their artistic voice, engage in community, learn to give back, and carve a path for a successful future”.
  • Generation Now Cincinnati Network – We strive to provide the Young Professionals who live, work, and play in the region with a variety of opportunities in which they can enrich their lives in Professional Development, Business Development, & Socially Engaging Events. Our goal is to build a sustainable model for a mentoring and leadership organization that will help develop, engage, and empower young diverse professionals to grow and thrive in the Cincy Area. We strive to retain our local talent here!
  • Girl Develop It – Girl Develop It is a nonprofit organization that exists to provide affordable and judgment-free opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development. Through in-person classes and community support, Girl Develop It helps women of diverse backgrounds achieve their technology goals and build confidence in their careers and their everyday lives.
  • Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative – GCMI is an unprecedented partnership of human service agencies, local banks and businesses working together to provide economic empowerment opportunities to individuals and communities through job creation and self-employment opportunities by stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship. Our mission is to promote individual self sufficiency and community economic development by stimulating and supporting entrepreneurship among low and moderate income people.
  • Greater Cincinnati Urban League – African American Business Development Program – The mission of the African American Business Development Program is to identify, prepare, involve, empower and sustain African Americans who are committed and positioned to address community challenges in Greater Cincinnati. The goal of AABDP is to create an environment where experienced owners are challenged to explore new leadership concepts and opportunities that will create sustainable companies that benefit the community through economic growth and job creation. AABDP is a comprehensive 6-month program designed for African American business owners who want to build sustainable companies that help to create employment opportunities for the community. The highly selective program is limited to 15 participants per class/session.
  • Lightship – Lightship is a Cincinnati-based accelerator that supports companies led by underrepresented (African American, Latino, Women, etc.) founders. The 16 week accelerator program admits up to ten companies during its summer cohort. Programming includes educational sessions led by seasoned entrepreneurs who have experience growing, scaling, and exiting companies.
  • Minority Business Accelerator – The Minority Business Accelerator (MBA) was established in 2003 as the result of the recommendations of the Cincinnati Community Action Now Commission. The program is focused on reducing disparity in the region’s business community by driving economic activity for African-American and Hispanic-owned companies and increasing employment in underemployed segments of the region. The MBA’s mission is to help accelerate the development of sizable minority business enterprises (MBEs) and to strengthen and expand the regional minority entrepreneurial community. 30 firms are currently in the MBA portfolio. Business Model: Chamber, Corporate Connections, Funding
  • MORTAR – MORTAR’s mission is to enable under-served entrepreneurs and businesses to succeed; creating opportunities to build communities through entrepreneurship. By targeting underserved and redeveloping communities, we’re offering these non-traditional entrepreneurs the opportunity to use their inherent talents to not just make a dollar, but to positively participate in the rise of Cincinnati. Mortar also offers Brick, a pop-up shop for entrepreneurs on Vine Street.
  • Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council – The mission of the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (OMSDC) is to create and foster an environment for the development of mutually beneficial relationships and opportunities between Certified Minority Business Enterprises and Member organizations. Our desire to fulfill our mission is embedded in the mission of the NMSDC, which is to expand opportunities for minority-owned companies; to encourage mutually beneficial economic links between minority suppliers and the public and private sectors; and to help build a stronger, more equitable society by supporting and promoting minority business development. OMSDC is an advocate and stresses the importance of supplier diversity. To become a Corporate Member of OMSDC the corporation must have a diversity program in place, or be willing to implement one.
  • Project Include – Project Include is an open community working toward providing meaningful diversity and inclusion solutions for tech companies. They have crafted a set of customizable recommendations for you, as CEOs, leaders, and managers, to accelerate diversity and inclusion within your startups.
  • The Women’s Business Center of Greater Cincinnati – Business technical assistance: small business development, one-on-one business counseling, notary services, access to small loans through ECDI.
  • University of Cincinnati Office of Diversity & Inclusion – Staffed by the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, the President’s Diversity Council serves as the university-level governance committee charged with building institution-wide capacity to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse campus that embraces diversity as one of our core values, infusing every aspect of campus life and purpose, and every measure of success. The Council is charged with maintaining the Diversity Plan as a living document, holding responsible parties accountable and reporting on at least an annual basis to the President and community at large. The Council is empowered to set its own annual agenda aligned with the Diversity Plan and Academic Master Plan as well as identify short and long term goals. The Council may establish committees and the chair may invite other members of the university community to contribute to this area. Initiatives from the Council are forwarded to the President’s Executive Committee or President’s Cabinet for consideration.

Resource Map

Accelerators

An accelerator takes single-digit chunks of equity in externally developed ideas in return for small amounts of capital and mentorship. They’re generally truncated into a three to four month program at the end of which the start-ups ‘graduate.

  • SoCap Accelerate – Housed at NKU’s Health Innovation CenterSoCap partners with St. Elizabeth Healthcare to provide social capital — potential customers, advocates & mentors, product development and testing, potential investors, non-traditional funding opportunities, legal and accounting assistance and marketing support — to help propel the growth and success of companies solving to make the world a healthier place.
  • Lightship – Lightship is a Cincinnati-based accelerator that supports companies led by underrepresented (African American, Latino, Women, etc.) founders. The 16 week accelerator program admits up to ten companies during its summer cohort. Programming includes educational sessions led by seasoned entrepreneurs who have experience growing, scaling, and exiting companies.
  • Ocean – OCEAN accelerates startup growth by focusing on the purpose that drives founders…and their companies.
  • Flywheel – Flywheel helps social entrepreneurs build and scale businesseses that have both a financial return and social impact through community building events, workshops, and pro-bono consulting. Flywheel’s cohort-model accelerator programs connect participants to customers, talent, and capital. Participants validate and improve their business models using insights from experienced Cincinnati entrepreneurs. Mentors support participants as they launch and scale businesses that have both social impact and financial return
  • UC Accelerator – The University of Cincinnati Technology Commercialization Accelerator provides seed funding, commercialization expertise and business connections to launch potentially high-impact entrepreneurial initiatives.

Innovation Services Inquiry

We help our Strategic Corporate Partners enhance their performance by using Startups as tools for Open Innovation. Strategic Venture and Connect Services leverage the tremendous network of our Syndicate Fund of Funds and its portfolio of cutting-edge Startups to enhance the innovation capacity of our Corporate Partners through collaboration and an external influx of knowledge and innovation.

If you are interested in unlocking the power of our network, please complete the following form, and we will be in touch within two business days.

By submitting this form, you agree to be added to Cintrifuse’s mailing list to receive updates on future events and stories from our community.

Learn more about Innovation Services >

CONTACT