Cincinnati’s only manufacturing business accelerator,
First Batch, is seeking applications for its 2015 class through May 11.
In its third year of growth, First Batch will accept six candidates this year, up from two in 2013 and four in 2014. Entrepreneurs participating in the program will receive up to $8,000 in financial support as well as business development services that include strategic planning, branding and marketing.
First Batch focuses on physical product development and is open to candidates who have existing prototypes of innovative product ideas. The 2015 class will work out of the
Losantiville Design Collective in Over-the-Rhine, where they will have access to 3D prototyping tools and a collaborative work space.
“I think the biggest basis for us starting the program (in Cincinnati) was that there was this known expertise in consumer products and branding and a big push for entrepreneurship and tech,” says Matt Anthony, First Batch program manager and director of the
Cincinnati Made nonprofit group. “We saw a need to tie that excitement into the often overlooked but robust manufacturing ecosystem here.
“With the great things happening in OTR and the urban core and the proximity of a lot of available light industrial space, you can afford to be an entrepreneur and still live somewhere exciting with great food where you can walk to bars and your production space. Cincinnati makes things. We’ve got all the wrap-around services to support it and an accessible urban lifestyle that entrepreneurs want and can actually afford here.”
First Batch works closely with the University of Cincinnati Department of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (
DAAP). Faculty serve as advisors and graduates are potential candidates.
“Every year I go to DAAP and personally encourage students to apply,” Anthony says. “In previous years I was disheartened to hear students say, ‘I really want to pursue my idea and passion but don’t know how to turn it into a real company.’ I’m happy that we’re offering an avenue to get design-based product companies started and keep them here.”
Participants in the 2013 and 2014 classes have manufactured an eclectic array of products, including musical instruments, textiles, men’s grooming, toys, furniture and home goods.
“I don’t know that I would have expected the mix we’ve seen so far,” Anthony says. “I always like to see variety, and in some ways it always reflects both our historic industry but also the future of what’s possible here. I’ve seen a few applicants already for 2015 that might really push the capabilities of what’s possible here in a good way.”
Although past participants were all local, First Batch is reaching out to national and international candidates by getting involved in events in places like Buffalo, Philadelphia, Oakland and Detroit. First Batch was also
recently featured in
Dwell magazine, which helps raise its national profile.
First Batch is also seeking sponsors, partners and mentors to help with the 2015 program.
“Sponsorship is mostly set up to help cover the costs of the production budget,” Anthony says. “Manufacturing sponsors aren’t necessarily locked in to taking an applicant if the pool doesn’t have a good fit, so ideally we would have a list of potential sponsors that also become judges in the process to decide on projects they’d like to support.
“Sponsorship can also come in the form of service donation. Donated services would allow us to select a few applicants that might need additional development support like engineering or industrial design, where we usually have to err on the side of picking entrepreneurs who already have the idea developed far enough and are capable of their own development.”
Mentors are a critical part of the accelerator experience. First Batch, with its focus on developing physical products, targets mentors from the manufacturing sector but is also seeking advisers with experience in marketing, technical writing, design and legal.
“Our goal is to make a small mentor team around each finalist and have a pairing session within the first week of the program to find the right balance of skill-sets and personalities to help keep each entrepreneur on track with their project road maps,” Anthony says.
First Batch will accept applications through May 11 and announce its 2015 class around June 1.
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