The University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Venture Lab—in partnership with the Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub—announced it is helping five socially minded startups grow. The first-ever SustainableCincy collaboration between these two startup accelerator programs is expected to drive positive social impact and innovation throughout Greater Cincinnati.
As one of Queen City’s longest-running business accelerators, UC’s Venture Lab is utilizing its business acumen to support environmentally focused companies. For the first time, the eight-week SustainableCincy program, taught at the 1819 Innovation Hub, will offer business coaching, pitch opportunities, and entrepreneurial networking to Flywheel’s newest cohort.
Even though Flywheel focuses entirely on social endeavors, UC’s Venture Lab offers guidance to all kinds of startups. And the two groups have an identical goal with their most recent cohort: crafting a more environmentally responsive region by supporting socially minded ventures.
The fall 2024 cohort – which launched on September 23 and held a demo day on November 19 – is comprised of the following sustainability-focused startups:
1.) Ecoshell – A Covington, Kentucky-based company aiming to reduce plastic waste by using eggshell biocalcium as a feedstock for plastic packaging.
2.) Greenway Innovations – A Florence, Kentucky-based business that replaces single-use medical waste containers with durable ones that can be cleaned and returned for reuse.
3.) Mod Fab – A Dayton, Ohio-based company building low-cost, environmentally friendly homes out of repurposed shipping containers.
4.) Sunflower Fuels – A Lexington, Kentucky-based business developing eco-friendly aviation fuels and power sources out of miscanthus, also known as silvergrass.
5.) X-inator – A Cincinnati-based company that is developing high-energy-density battery cells to reduce emissions in the aviation sector.
This eight-week program offered by Flywheel and powered by UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub helped guide entrepreneurs through some of the most rigorous and confusing steps of pioneering a business, from finding capital to adapting to change.
The Venture Lab has been guiding entrepreneurs through the process of launching startups for years now. This is the 28th cohort to come through the 1819 Innovation Hub.
KEY QUOTE:
“The ability to leverage the resources we have at 1819 for Flywheel has a multiplying effect to drive growth and impact,” he said.
– Marvin Abrinica, director of UC’s Venture Lab
