The change was first mentioned in the city of Hamilton’s Economic Development Newsletter for the second quarter, sent out on June 26. The Hamilton Mill unveiled a press release on Tuesday detailing the name change.
“The ‘mill’ is meant to hearken to both our legacy of manufacturing, as well as inspire this generations’ cutting edge innovators to invent and build things,” wrote Chris Lawson, Hamilton Mill director, in an email. “The ‘Hamilton’ inclusion is meant to serve as a geographical reference point, which is easily identifiable in the region by being the second largest city in the tri-state area.”
Lawson said the transition from Biztech to the Mill began around nine to 12 months ago as a realization that the incubator needed to break into the Cincinnati/Dayton business ecosystem to become a success. The past year’s efforts involved gathering partners, including the cities of Hamilton and Middletown, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, and Miami University.
The Mill premiered its new website last week, a bold, brash and flashy page that is indicative of the brand they are trying to portray, Lawson said.
“Aggressive, bold, innovative, cutting-edge, risk-taking, visionary, pioneering,” Lawson cited as a description for the website. “We are going to make noise and disrupt the current status quo of the city and the region.”
The Hamilton Mill opened as BizTech in 2003, and is a nonprofit that provides services, including discount rent space and mentoring, to businesses looking to grow in Butler County. They currently house 15 businesses, including its newest tenant, Mason-based Perceptive Devices, LLC, which provides technology for hands-free control of diverse computing devices.
Hamilton Mill tenants are selected for the ability to partner with the city and region in key sectors, such as renewable and clean energy, digital technology, and advanced manufacturing. Businesses “graduate” when they become independent enough to achieve success without the support of the incubator.
Lawson and operations director Antony Seppi serve as connectors for the public-private partnership, as both remain city employees. The two positions reduce role duplication across sectors and allow the city to create a seamless experience for start-ups as they grow.
Jody Gunderson, the city’s director for economic development and a Hamilton Mill board member, complimented the incubator’s early success with finding tenants.
“From the board’s perspective, they’re starting to feel very comfortable in the incubator’s early success,” he said.
Prospective start-ups can reach the Hamilton Mill via hamiltonmill.org.
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