Mill Executive Director Chris Lawson said the grant will be used to launch an “innovation fund,” which will allow the Mill to provide funding to start-ups at a “pre-seed stage,” meaning the product is still in a conceptual stage, before prototypes or market testing has begun.
“They’ve developed a business plan, talked to industry experts, but they don’t actually have the money to develop the actual product,” Lawson said. This innovation fund will provide capital to help those startups get to the next level, he said.
The Hamilton Mill has partnered with investor firms before, such as with Cincinnati-based Queen City Angels, but this is the first time they will have their own fund. Lawson said he thought the community foundation approved the grant because the innovation fund will provide "a catalytic kind of investment that can be paid back" and "extremely measurable outcomes."
“We have some companies here with great market potential, but it’s sometimes a challenge to get to that point,” he said.
The Mill has also developed a public fund through the Hamilton Community Foundation, "for the average 'citizen investor' to be part of the mill," said Antony Seppi, operations director for the Hamilton Mill. Interested investors can donate via the Hamilton Community Foundation's website.
The Hamilton Mill currently has 10 official startups on their roster, including Perceptive Devices, LLC, which is developing computer technology for hands-free gestures, and most recently KBWM, where founder Kerry Jackson’s WaterOxyChem™ solution has the potential to reduce wastewater management operating budgets by millions of dollars by cutting energy consumption, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the Hamilton Mill.
Lawson and Operations Director Antony Seppi said they are seeing more regional interest from start-ups because Hamilton can provide access to resources such as public utilities and pilot testing that other business incubators cannot.
“These companies see tremendous value in what we’re doing at the Mill and the resources we connect them with,” Seppi said. “We fill a very specific niche — water-based, advanced manufacturing startups — that aren’t being filled elsewhere.”
About the Author