Welcome to the Refinery Ventures Newsletter! We’re excited to bring you a recap of Startup Cincy Week and some of our recent events. You’ll also find the latest updates on our team and portfolio companies. Enjoy this month’s edition!
Startup Cincy Recap
Startup Cincy Week is an annual event that took place from October 7th-10th and brought together hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators for a series of sessions focused on progressing the startup ecosystem. This continues to be one of the best events of the year in Cincinnati, and highlights the strong culture of innovation and passion present in the city!
On Tuesday, we explored the theme of hypergrowth, diving into what our Hypergrowth Leaders have seen in their own experiences. They discussed best practices for recruiting, empowering a team, and product market fit. Thanks to Sean Morris, Zachary Hensley, and Kyle Grimslid, PharmD for joining us! Peter Schmidt also participated in the Investor Reverse Pitch session where he shared Refinery’s thesis with an audience of founders joining from across the US.
Tuesday night we hosted a Venture Dinner at Che OTR to connect with fellow venture attendees and enjoy some delicious empanadas. Thank you to all who joined us!
Thursday we topped off the week with a final panel on Growing the City Through Culture. It was inspiring to see our community’s passion for nurturing a vibrant culture that encourages innovation and collaboration in the beautiful Washington Park. Our panelists Chad Munitz, Kristen Schlotman, Dan Reynolds, and Natasha Williams, WSET I shared their journeys, offered leadership advice, and explored what we need to do to prepare for the next 75 years. We also enjoyed a mimosa toast to the community sponsored by Natasha Williams, WSET I!
Thank you to Cintrifuse for bringing everyone together, we are looking forward to what next year’s event brings.
Refinery on the Move
Our team was busy traveling around the country in October & November. Tim spent some time in Dallas to start the month connecting with local investors. Later in the month, Peter and Tim journeyed over to Indianapolis and Nashville to meet with leaders in the area. In November, Tim traveled to the Bay Area to partake in the Sierra Ventures Emerging VCs event, where he heard from LPs and fund leaders about their experiences and challenges. Tim also stopped in Phoenix to connect with venture friends around Arizona.
Catch them next as they travel to Atlanta (Nov. 14-15th) and Detroit (Nov. 19-20th) this month!
“Pivoting as a way of Life”
“Pivoting as a Way of Life: Stop Chasing Unicorns and Product-Market Fit” was recently published by Joseph Hanna, and is a must-read for anyone looking to stay ahead in the fast-paced world of startups.
Tim had the honor to write the foreword to this book as he has worked closely with Joe over the past decade and was an early investor in his successful AI-powered recruiting platform startup, ENGAGE Talent in 2018. Grab yourself a copy of this book which has just been named the #1 New Release in its category by Amazon!
News Across the Portfolio
Bitewell announced their exciting collaboration with Kroger to launch the FoodHealth Score for millions of Kroger shoppers. This launch represents the beginning of a groundbreaking partnership, diving real change in food quality and nutrition security nationwide.
Now available on the Kroger website and app, shoppers can view the FoodHealth Score. This score ranks items on a scale of 1-100 based on nutrient density and quality of ingredients. According to a Kroger representative, this partnership has facilitated a more sophisticated approach to reaching Kroger’s goal of nutritional health transparency for their customers.
Texas Rangers Leverage Astronomer
MLB 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers is leveraging Astro to optimize their use of data analytics to gain a competitive edge both on and off the baseball field.
Tech Trailblazer Finalist
Tech Trailblazers has selected Portal26 as a finalist for the 2024 AI Trailblazer award. This category is open to Artificial Intelligence startups offering innovative solutions to enterprises based anywhere around the world. The winners will be determined via a vote. Please use the link below to show your support by Nov. 20!
Purpose Jobs’ Top Tech Companies to Watch
Redi Health was recently named in Purpose Jobs as a top tech company to watch in 2025.
Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50
TealBook was recently ranked 3rd on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Companies for Canada. This honor recognizes the 50 fastest-growing Canadian technology companies holding the highest percentage revenue growth over a consecutive four-year period.
