Several programs this year focused on artists as entrepreneurs, led by Kelly and Brian Mercer of Boom Crate Studios, and offering insights on monetizing creative work, building relationships and branding.
The event expanded to all four floors of the Arcade Innovation Hub, and on Thursday spilled out to the street with a vendor market and block party. Dubbed “Startup the Block,” more than 30 small business vendors, local restaurants, and live entertainment acts participated.
Attendance was down slightly from 2023, with 797 tickets sold, compared to 900 last year. However, of those attendees, 63% came to Startup Week the first time.
Others are returning faces. Panelist and CEO Luis Estevez and his team took second place in Startup Week’s pitch competition last year, and Estevez returned to give his thoughts on raising capital for research and technology startups.
Estevez’ company, AIMM, or Advanced & Innovative Multifunctional Materials, creates a material called hierarchically porous carbon, which is designed to remove contaminants from drinking water, and can remove two to three times more chemicals from water compared to activated carbon, according to the company’s website.
“When I started this journey, I definitely didn’t consider myself an entrepreneur. You feel very imposter syndrome-heavy, because everyone seems to know what they’re doing. What am I getting myself into?” Estevez said. “Now, at this point, to be invited stuff like this is really kind of cool, because people are coming here to listen to me that were me a couple years ago.”
The event comes amidst a challenging year in the startup market, a trend not just in Dayton but reflected nationally, said Mike McCann, Vice President of Innovation and Engagement at the Entrepreneur Center.
“While there are signs of venture fundraising picking up, we also see examples where quality companies are experiencing a challenging fundraising environment,” McCann said.
On the whole, 2024 venture fundraising for Dayton startups is trending behind 2023, McCann said.
“But, when you filter to seed and early stage deals, 2024 is trending up from 2023, which is something we’re really excited to see,” he added.
Nearly 30% of funding rounds this year are flat rounds or down rounds, McCann said, which means that valuations of those startups either stayed the same or went down from one round to the next, which is challenging for founders and early investors.
“On the positive side, we’ve seen many examples this year of our clients getting to market and raising impressive seed and early stage financing rounds,” he said. For example, Dayton-based cybersecurity company Niobium raised $5.5 million in its first seed round in May.
Dayton startups are also seeing more success with “non-dilutive” funding sources, including grants and research contracts, in the challenging capital market McCann said.
Local entrepreneurs’ commitment to learning, growing, and serving others is what makes Dayton’s entrepreneurial spirit so strong, said Leslie Klenke, the Entrepreneurs’ Center Director of Marketing.
“The energy at this year’s event is absolutely palpable, and it’s a true testament to the vibrant startup ecosystem we have here,” she said.
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