July 5, 2025 • 31 mins
In this lively episode of On The Fly!, Donna Zaring sits down with two passionate builders shaping the next generation of social entrepreneurship: Josie Dalton, the originator of Flywheel’s accelerator programming and now at the UC Center for Entrepreneurship, and Samuel Baker, current Program Director at Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub.
Together, they reflect on what it takes to support founders who are building with both purpose and grit. From unlocking capital in an underserved middle space to showing up emotionally for dreamers with world-changing ideas, Josie and Samuel share the backstage realities of running programs that turn community-minded entrepreneurs into impact-driven leaders.
Listen to hear more about:
- The evolution of Flywheel’s cohort model and the early days of social enterprise in Cincinnati
- The unique funding challenges social entrepreneurs face, and how Flywheel is bridging the gap
- How mission-driven founders are reshaping what entrepreneurship looks like and why “crazy passion” is a feature, not a bug
- Why emotional intelligence, not just business acumen, is a critical ingredient in supporting entrepreneurs
- PLUS some unexpected real-life behind-the-scenes moments
Whether you're a founder, mentor, or future coach, this episode offers a powerful reminder: creating change is messy, personal, and totally worth it.
At Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub, we believe in coaching the whole entrepreneur—not just the business plan. Our programs give social impact founders the structure, community, and belief they need to scale good ideas into real results. Learn how you can get involved, support our work, or become part of a cohort at flywheelcincinnati.org.
On The Fly! is sponsored by First Financial Bank
Learn More at bankatfirst.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Josie Dalton (00:10):
I say this as lovingly as possible. It is like
one of my favorite parts of thiswork. The crazier an
entrepreneur is, the furtherthey'll go. We have a lot of
conversations in this ecosystemabout betting on the jockey
versus betting on the horse. Andit always comes down to, you
know, you wanna make sure thatthe horse is good enough, but
ultimately, your jockey iswhat's going to see the idea
(00:31):
through from good to great.
An entrepreneur that, again, Isay this with all the praise in
the world, that is stupidlypassionate about solving a
problem that they're working on,that is absolutely married to
the impact that they wanna makeor the gap that they wanna fill,
that founder is going to do itno matter what, regardless of
you, regardless of me,regardless of capital. And those
(00:51):
are the opportunities that if werally around them and take a
little bit of time and energyand resources to invest, you'll
see that multiplied so much.
Joan Kaup (01:00):
80% of the for profit and nonprofit organizations that
have interacted with FlywheelSocial Enterprise Hub are still
actively serving theircommunities. Through Flywheel,
187 social impact drivenentrepreneurs have gathered in
cohorts to improve their toolsand skills needed to expand
(01:23):
their impact through ourprograms. Today, Flywheel
Executive Director Donna Zaringis in conversation with Josie
Dalton, who originated theprograms taught to our cohorts,
and Samuel Baker, who is ourcurrent program director.
Samuel Baker (01:40):
Hello. Hello.
Josie Dalton (01:41):
It's like a tale of two program managers.
Donna Zaring (01:44):
Well, thanks for being here today. Josie, when I
first met you, I guess threeyears ago, you were leading the
Sustainable Cincy cohort atFlywheel. And we bonded because
we were both graduates of MiamiUniversity in Ohio. Tell us a
little bit about your journeyfrom Miami to Flywheel and to
(02:06):
where you are now at the UCCenter for Entrepreneurship.
Josie Dalton (02:10):
I can't claim it was very planned. Miami, as
anyone familiar with Flywheelknows, is a founding partner of
Flywheel from its beginning. Sothe relationship had been there
long before I entered the scene.But when I was in undergrad at
Miami, I was a philosophy majorand entrepreneurship minor. When
(02:30):
I was getting close tograduation, I sort of came to
the realization that I reallyneeded to figure out what I was
going to do.
There weren't really a lot ofjobs at the philosophy factory.
So I started to talk to myentrepreneurship professors and
a good friend of flywheel, BrettSmith, introduced me to Bill
Tucker, which is how I found myway into a internship with Bill
(02:51):
my senior year. Jess Mabes wasin my position before that
through a relationship withAmeriCorps. So for those of you
who know Jess from deep in thestartup Sinsy lore, she was with
Flywheel and then actually leftFlywheel to work for Lesoups,
which is one of Flywheel's firstaccelerator companies. We were
very excited to see her gocontinue to develop their
(03:13):
operations.
And then I stepped in, is how Igot to know Bill and the Startup
Cincy ecosystem. Aftergraduation, I was able to take a
position with a youth and familyservices organization called
NECO that's actually based inOver The Rhine here in
Cincinnati and again maintains arelationship with Flywheel to
this day. So I worked there forabout a year before Bill brought
(03:33):
me back on full time in theprogram manager role in
February. So that was in betweenour second and third cohorts of
the accelerator, which at thetime we were just calling
Elevator. It was broadly socialimpact focused.
So none of the themes, none ofthe specific topics or impact
(03:54):
areas that we were looking for.Social enterprise was kind of a
new and emerging concept in theecosystem. So our mission was
really just to prove to thecommunity that it could add
value and be just as good of aninvestment as the other startups
that were starting to coalescein the ecosystem. So that was
2018. 2019 saw our first fundedaccelerator with cohort four.
Donna Zaring (04:17):
And then we tumbled right into our other
programs. I remember when I metyou, I was super excited to hear
about the work that Flywheel wasdoing and to see that you and
Bill were you know, had hadevolved from Elevator to a
sustainability focusedaccelerator was really
interesting to me. Samuel, youhave been a program manager at
(04:40):
Flywheel for a year and a halfnow.
Samuel Baker (04:43):
Year and half. Yeah.
Donna Zaring (04:45):
You've been doing tremendous work in a short It
feels like you've been therelonger. You are really
experienced in the nonprofitworld here in Cincinnati. For
about a decade, you've beenworking in our community. Tell
us a little bit about the workyou've been doing and and how
you found Flywheel and whyyou're excited to be in this
(05:06):
role.
Samuel Baker (05:07):
For sure. So when I went to college, I was a
business major and anentrepreneurship minor, and my
goal was to come out and be afounder, actually. And that was
kind of my thought all the wayup until the summer before my
senior year. I did an internshipat a small incubator called the
Incline Incubator in Price Hill.Realized that I loved solving
(05:28):
founder problems that I didn'thave to take home with me. And
so instead of being a founder,was like, oh, I just I wanna
help founders. That'd beawesome.
Josie Dalton (05:35):
That's so real.
Samuel Baker (05:36):
And so I was curious about this and I was
like, okay, let me see, like, isthere anyone that's doing this
kind of on a larger scale that Imight be able to get in with?
And it's actually my pre lawprofessor took me to like a
little like conference summitkind of event And guess who was
(05:58):
speaking? None other than JosieDalton. And that was the first
time I heard of Flywheel. And Iremember walking away being
like, wow, she's so passionateabout the work that they're
doing.
I would love to be passionateabout that. And it was cool
because I I had volunteered alot of my life in high school
and college. And so hearing thatthere was a world where
(06:18):
entrepreneurship and communityadvancement could, like, be hand
in hand, I was like, oh, that'slike perfect for me. So I
graduate college. Flywheel's nothiring.
And I look around, I was like,okay, cool. Where where else?
Nowhere else is hiring in thatkind of environment, which is
kind of funny to think about.And so I was like, I don't
(06:39):
really know what to do. And adoor opened into the nonprofit
world.
And so I ended up starting mycareer there working for City
Gospel Mission. I was running aprogram called Rising Scholars.
It's a career readiness programfor high schoolers, and I ran
that for around seven, eightyears. During my time there, I
(07:00):
also got involved with anotherlocal nonprofit called Sprouting
Minds, and I'm on the board forthem as their board chair. And
then continued that themethroughout my life of kinda
balancing, volunteering forother nonprofits, working in
nonprofit, and kinda reallygrowing my roots down there all
the way up until I saw thatFlywheel was hiring.
(07:23):
And I was like, oh, wow. MaybeI'm not the right fit now. Like,
I'm kinda in this nonprofitspace. I haven't looked at
entrepreneurship in a while. Butmy wife held me at gunpoint and
said, if you don't apply, like,I'll do it myself.
Because I had had stayed inconnection with Flywheel, kinda
just watching from afar, like,what they were doing and who
they were working with. I wastold her, like, if I ever left
(07:44):
City Gospel Mission, Flywheelwould be where I would want to
work. And now I'm sitting heretoday.
Donna Zaring (07:50):
Well, we're so we're so glad. Thanks for
sharing that journey. Both ofyou touched on this a little bit
in your intros, but Flywheelworks with founders who are
trying to make the world abetter place. Right? Part of
their business mission is thatdouble bottom line of social and
(08:10):
financial impact.
Josie, during your time withFlywheel, what were some of the
main challenges you saw socialentrepreneurs face in their
startup journey?
Josie Dalton (08:22):
So that's that's a really great question. Social
entrepreneurs are in a reallyunique position that a lot of
times works to their advantage,a lot of times works to their
disadvantage. And that positionat the intersection of social
impact and market viability hasthis weird reverse impact for
(08:45):
the opposite stakeholders, for afounder who's trying to build.
And I'll explain that word saladby saying for somebody who's
building something that ismarket driven, that has a
business model behind it, but isalso designed for social impact.
When that person goes outseeking capital, right, assuming
(09:05):
that they don't come from abackground that enables them to
bootstrap it solo as mostentrepreneurs are not and
especially most entrepreneurs inthe social impact sector are not
because they tend to come frombackgrounds that make them
passionate about some sort of,you know, impact area or
community need or something likethat.
They're building. They needcapital. They need it from
(09:27):
outside sources. Their optionsare traditional funders so they
could look at a VC or an SBIR ora bank or a something who will
look at them and say, oh, that'snice but that's a little more
cushy than we usually fund. Wedon't know if that's necessarily
as profitable as the things thatwe usually fund.
(09:48):
Maybe you should look moretowards the nonprofit and
charitable side of things. Sothe founder is like, okay, good
point. I'll go I'll go lookingfor philanthropic dollars.
Right? I'll go look for grants.
I'll go look for foundationdollars. I'll go try to seek
impact focused capital. Thosefunders say, what you're doing
is really nice and cool, but wereally fund stuff that's more,
(10:11):
you know, that is nonprofit orthat is charity funded or that,
you know, is a community drivenmodel that is not, you know,
they shy away from things likeprofit business model, revenue
streams, market viability. Sothese founders are sort of left
bereft in this middle area wherethey are very smartly using the
principles of entrepreneurshipto solve a problem. But the
(10:35):
people at the opposite ends ofthat spectrum are too unwilling
to meet in the middle.
Which is really the genesis ofwhy Bill and I started pushing
on advocacy for impact investingin this community and starting
to train up the fullentrepreneur network and really
educate people on how if youboth believe in entrepreneurship
as a means of economicdevelopment and job creation and
(10:57):
you believe in different socialimpact causes, there's a perfect
investment opportunity here foryou at this intersection. So
hopefully we can shift thatmajor challenge into an
opportunity.
Donna Zaring (11:09):
That's great. Along those lines, Samuel, what
would you say are the mostcommon questions that founders
have?
Samuel Baker (11:18):
The main question is where's the money?
Josie Dalton (11:20):
Literally.
Samuel Baker (11:22):
No. Like, I think Josie teed that up perfectly.
They kind of are left in thismiddle ground and trying to
navigate that is tough,especially if you are coming
into the entrepreneurshipecosystem without prior
connections, especially if youare coming from a background
where entrepreneurship is notstressed. It's a different
language. Asking that questionof, like, where where do I go
(11:46):
to, like, to actually find somefunding for this to make this
happen is a main question.
I also think, who should I know?Is another great question. Who
are the people? Who are theplayers that I need to be in
contact with to make this areality? What kind of resources
do I need?
A lot of my job as programmanager is making those
(12:07):
connections and putting them incontact with people that they
might not even know that theyneed to know, especially in
regards to, like, legal servicesand and what it takes to get
your business legally founded.At the end of the program, you
know, kinda helping them gettheir feet underneath them and
think about how to scale theirbusiness, I think the the next
(12:27):
question is, okay, cool. Like,this is super helpful. What do I
do now? And and that's anotheropportunity that Flywheel has to
be a resource for them.
Josie Dalton (12:37):
I love that last one because by the time they're
asking that question, you'veseen what they can do in such a
short amount of time. And you'relike, alright, let's go. What is
your next thing?
Samuel Baker (12:47):
100%.
Donna Zaring (12:48):
Bill Tucker was one of the early executive
directors of Flywheel andresponsible for building out
much of the programming that wesee active today designed to
help entrepreneurs who want tocreate social impact. What was
Bill trying to accomplish allthose years ago and how is that
(13:12):
applicable today?
Josie Dalton (13:14):
Right around February, I wanna say 1516 when
the start up Sinsy ecosystemreally started to crystallize.
When Union Hall opened up tostart ups and co working, when
Centrifuge really started toactively recruit capital from
outside this region. A lot ofthose things started to
coalesce. Bill very wisely sawthe opportunity to harness some
(13:37):
of that energy and explore theprinciples of social enterprise
and, you know, pursuing startupand for profit entrepreneurship
as a vehicle for social impact,which led to that very first
social impact summit to helpeducate the community about the
opportunity that we have, led tothe very first social impact
(14:00):
accelerator that Flywheelhosted, which was actually under
a brand label called SocialEnterprise Cinci. And really
just sort of snowballed fromthere.
Between the real need in thecommunity, the financial gap for
impact organizations, and thesort of very timely uptick in
startup activity in thisecosystem, It's sort of what we
(14:20):
tell our startups all the time.Luck is a combination of
preparation and timing. Like, itjust came together at just the
right time. And he did anexcellent job positioning how
the principles ofentrepreneurship can marry with
impact by highlighting thisfirst batch of companies that we
had where we said, look, theseare people who are doing real
(14:42):
work in this community, makingreal impact and you can invest
dollars in them that willactually generate a market rate
of return and everyone is thebetter for it.
Donna Zaring (14:53):
What makes social entrepreneurs uniquely
positioned to drive impact inour community?
Samuel Baker (15:07):
So having spent so much time in nonprofit, I met
very passionate people. But thelimitations of nonprofit is that
you are beholden to ownership,and you can have as many dreams
as you want to be able toexecute. And there are
nonprofits that execute on anincredible level and make some
(15:28):
really valuable changes inlevels of impact in our
community. I think social impactentrepreneurs kind of sit
outside of that. It gives them areally unique vantage point.
They can go where certainnonprofits can't and can look at
an issue from a differentperspective. They're a lot
quicker and more agile because alot of them are are smaller.
(15:51):
Right? They can respond tocommunity needs in a decisive
and very powerful way. The otherelement that I would say is that
for entrepreneurship, there'skind of a creative out of the
box thinking that's required.
Hence, these issues that we'relooking at, environmental
sustainability, racial andgender equity, socioeconomic
(16:12):
equity, these are problems thathave existed for millennia.
Being able to look at it from anentrepreneurial standpoint to
come up with some kind of newstrategy or approach to it
brings creativity to thesolutions that ultimately we're
yearning for and looking for asa community.
Donna Zaring (16:30):
Yeah. Yeah. And if I if I flip that around, Josie,
my question, follow-up questionfor you is what is it about
being mission and impact driventhat that makes a better
entrepreneur? Because you workwith startup founders every day
at the UC Center forEntrepreneurship now. So what is
(16:54):
what is it about a missiondriven entrepreneur that makes
them a better entrepreneur?
Josie Dalton (16:58):
I say this as lovingly as possible. It is like
one of my favorite parts of thiswork. The crazier an
entrepreneur is, the furtherthey'll go. We have a lot of
conversations in this ecosystemabout betting on the jockey
versus betting on the horse. Andit always comes down to, you
know, you wanna make sure thatthe horse is good enough.
(17:19):
But ultimately, your jockey iswhat's going to see the idea
through from good to great. Anentrepreneur world, that is
stupidly passionate aboutsolving a problem that they're
working on, that is absolutelymarried to the impact that they
want to make or the gap thatthey want to fill or whatever,
that founder is going to do itno matter what, regardless of
(17:41):
you, regardless of me,regardless of capital. And those
are the opportunities that if werally around them and take a
little bit of time and energyand resources to invest, you'll
see that multiplied so much.
Donna Zaring (17:55):
I couldn't agree more. I mean, I come from a I'm
in a family of entrepreneurs andI would say without a doubt the
number one quality that thisthat makes success is just never
quitting.
Josie Dalton (18:09):
Right. We get founders all the time. I mean
every founder or aspiringfounder is really excited about
their idea. Right? Whether it's,you know, a product or a service
that they want to introduce tothe market or a segment that
they want to serve or whateverit may be.
They they come in jazzed. Andwe're like, cool. We love it.
You love it. Are you gonna loveit just as much a year from now
(18:32):
when it's two in the morning andyou don't know how you're gonna
make payroll and you're freakingout or whatever.
The ones who say yes, we'relike, let's go. We're all in.
Samuel Baker (18:41):
The only thing that I will add to that I think
is for mission driven founders.They're working towards
something that's bigger thanthem.
Josie Dalton (18:50):
Exactly.
Samuel Baker (18:51):
And I think that they kinda hold that in a
different way. And and again,that's not to say that non,
quote unquote, mission drivenfounders aren't. But I think
when you are working onsomething, but you're constantly
contextualizing yourself withina much larger narrative, I think
that gives you that extra oomphto to say, okay, cool. Like, I
(19:13):
I'm struggling or or I I'm notfeeling it at 2AM this morning,
but this is bigger than me. AndI've seen that in the founders
that I've had the privilege towork with in my short time here
at Flywheel and and continuouslyinspired by it.
Josie Dalton (19:28):
Yeah. The urgency that, like, the world needs
this.
Samuel Baker (19:30):
Yeah.
Donna Zaring (19:31):
That's amazing. That's why I love Flywheel.
Josie Dalton (19:35):
Me too, man.
Donna Zaring (19:37):
Okay. Well, since we're talking about the founders
that you've encountered alongyour journey, what what are some
funny stories that you have fromfrom different engagements with
founders at Flywheel? Oh, funnycan share.
Josie Dalton (19:54):
Know. Right?
Samuel Baker (19:55):
It's a great caveat.
Josie Dalton (19:57):
Honestly, the first the first thing that comes
to mind is that we were abouthalfway through our fourth
elevator cohort. I think ourcohort meetings, we did like a
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdaysort of vibe. So our cohort
meetings were on Tuesday morningand we all got in and the vibes
were just like kind of off. Likeeveryone was tired, like nobody
(20:20):
was really into like thediscussion we were having.
Everyone seemed like they werekind of dragging.
And Bill and I kind of looked ateach other and we were like,
alright, Let's table whateverthis discussion is, whatever it
was at the time and just like,let's go around and just talk
about like what is eating at youguys, what's keeping you up,
like let's have like campfireconversation. Right? Let's just
(20:42):
talk. And the way those foundersblossomed and we were able to
just sit back and be like, okay,you guys are having similar
challenges. Talk to each otherabout it.
Okay. You were just talking tous in a meeting the other day
about how you solve that problemyou're having. Talk to each
other about it. And that likethe realization that, okay,
(21:03):
sometimes founders don't needprogramming. Sometimes they just
need community.
We were like, oh my god. We itwas it was funny to us in a way
because we were like, it canreally be that simple for
especially mission drivenfounders who they tend to be on
an island with their passion andthey're usually getting
discounted by everybody aroundthem. But that little juice of
(21:25):
like sometimes they just needlike friends who understand what
they're going through. That'ssomething that we could have
been providing from the get go.So that was a little bit of like
a kick ourselves moment but itwas you know.
Donna Zaring (21:36):
That is so awesome to see that happen. Samuel, do
you have a funny story to share?
Samuel Baker (21:41):
Yeah. This was my first cohort. So we did an
Elevate Equity cohort. It wasfocused on health equity. And so
I'm getting the hang ofeverything, you know, and
connecting with coaches andfounders.
And I had one particular coachand founder pair. And they were
feeling each other out and kindagetting connected and just
(22:02):
different forms ofcommunication. I remember it was
a Tuesday. I'm not an earlyriser at all. And so the fact
that I was awake enough to evenhave this conversation is a
miracle in and of itself.
I wake up cause my phone isbuzzing at 07:30. And I look in
and I see, oh, it's a it's afounder. And I pick up and I'm
like, "oh, hey, like, what'sgoing on?" And the founder just
(22:24):
launches. Boom.
Straight into the conversation.Ah, like, it's blah blah blah.
And I don't think that this isworking with my coach and blah
blah blah. And she did this andI said this and blah blah blah.
And I was like, oh, snap.
Okay. What what what's going on?And so I talked with her for
about an hour and I was able tokinda like talk her off the
ledge and I was like, hey, youknow, you gotta understand.
(22:46):
She's here to help you. I'm surethat there's a miscommunication
here.
Like, let's talk about it. Andwas able to successfully like
kinda talk her down. It wasgreat. And so I get off the
phone at, like like, 08:20. Tenminutes later, coach calls me.
Josie Dalton (23:03):
Oh.
Samuel Baker (23:05):
And so on the phone with the coach, and the
coach is like, have you heardfrom the founder? And I was
like, yeah. And she was like,well, this happened and this
happened and everything. Andthen I was able to kinda, like,
talk with the coach and we cameto a point of, like, agreement.
And it was funny because they'reboth super passionate.
You know, the founder ispassionate about their idea, you
(23:25):
know, and kinda like you weresaying, comes from a place where
people have been discounting herand her idea and and the
viability of it. And so she'ssuper protective and territorial
about it. And then you have thiscoach that just wants the best
for them and is trying to helpthem, believes fully in their
idea and wants to see itblossom. And so it was funny to
kinda be in the middle of thatand ultimately help come
(23:47):
together. But I remember hangingup from talking to that coach
and being like, what did I signup for?
Seven thirty calls. I don'tknow.
Donna Zaring (23:58):
I think that's a great story because it
highlights a bit about the typeof work that you do every As
program managers, you all workwith coaches, with founders, and
run our nine week cohorts ofaccelerators with different
(24:20):
workshops and speakers come in.There's a lot of education going
on with founders, but there's alot of the emotional piece too.
And I think sometimes that's thepart that goes unseen, is just
the amount of energy that goesinto making sure founders are
(24:43):
feeling heard, understood, thatcoaches are able to give the
best of what they have to offerand that the environment is
right for everybodyparticipating in the cohort and
that support is 24/7. And I knowthat's the case at Flywheel. I
know Josie now at UC Center forEntrepreneurship.
(25:05):
You're still doing this kind ofwork in a different way. Talk a
little bit about the emotionalpiece, if you don't mind. Why is
that important to consider whenyou're helping entrepreneurs?
Josie Dalton (25:15):
For me, it's almost as simple as like, if
they're showing up 24/7, how canI give them anything less than
that? Right? There's a lot offulfillment in seeing somebody
who not only achieves like astrategic goal that they've set
out for themselves or reaches amilestone or whatever, but
(25:36):
reaches a level of impact thatyou know that they were so
personally striving for becauseof how meaningful it is to them.
Because you're like, listen,they're on a mission that I know
is quite literally to make theworld a better place and seeing
them achieve their goals islike, yes, that is one little
step towards that. And we wereable to be a part of that and
help them.
And that development of thefounder as a person is just as
(25:59):
impactful to our community asthe development of those
ventures, for sure. Because evenif that venture or that idea or
whatever ends up you know, notdeveloping any further, you know
that founder is gonna keephustling on that mission. Mhmm.
Samuel Baker (26:15):
Yeah. I think for me, there's there's two
elements. I think the first oneis that I have such a deep
respect and admiration for thefounders because they're rolling
up their sleeves and they'rethey're pursuing solutions that
not only are necessary, butpeople have been working on
these things for millennia. Andso they're taking on this huge
(26:37):
challenge of, you know, applyingthemselves to situations and
challenges that are daunting.And so for me, having an
opportunity to be a resource forthem along that journey and help
them, I think, is an incrediblyfulfilling thing for me.
But it also, like, prompts me,you know, and here's the second
(26:57):
thing. Think because they arepeople first, they kind of need
that space to kind of flex alittle bit and and decompress a
little bit and to just dialogue,like Josie was saying, with
people who get it, people whosee the the need for what
they're doing. And I think thebeing able to provide that that
(27:18):
safe space, that, you know,smile, that conversation, that
call at 07:30AM, I think goes along way with them for sure. And
so those are the kind of the twothings for me, I think,
emotionally, We're dealing withpeople. We're dealing with
people who are trying to solveproblems for people.
Josie Dalton (27:37):
I just thought of another funny story that's not
about a founder, but if you guyswanna capture a little bit of
goofy flywheel lore. Okay. Sure.I'll make it very quick.
Donna Zaring (27:48):
I love goofy lore.
Josie Dalton (27:49):
And again, with apologies to Bill, who's not
here to stop me from tellingthis story, fall of twenty
twenty, our first sustainableCincy accelerator. It got to be
our demo day and fall twentytwenty things were still like
99% online. We were running thedemo day entirely streamed on
Zoom over YouTube. First timewe'd ever done anything like
(28:11):
that. Right?
So we're like, Oh man, we hadeight teams, which is crazy. We
got everybody synced up. We goteverybody in the Zoom. We made
sure everybody's presentationswere rigged up. We were like,
Okay, this is solid.
Our keynote speaker was in ourlittle breakout. We were feeling
real good. So we were on thefourth floor of Union Hall in a
little conference room and wewere like, Okay, we got ten
minutes of showtime. Let's stepout on the pad, the rooftop
(28:35):
patio, get some fresh air andjust get our heads in the game.
I know.
You know where this is going. Sowe step out on the patio, we're
like, this is gonna be great,great cohort, great speaker,
like, let's rock and roll. Wehave no tech issues like
manifesting. We go back to grabthe door to go inside. It's
locked.
(28:56):
I'm like, Do you have yourphone? He goes, No. Do you have
your phone? I go, No. So neitherof us have a way to get back
into the building.
Everyone is online inside readyto go. We're like, oh my god,
there's like 100 people on thestream. Oh my god. So we're
like, all right, let's notpanic, as we're both completely
(29:16):
panicking. We're running up anddown the stairs, looking in
windows, trying to figure out.
Bill down the street. So Billruns down to Kruger's or maybe
Quanhapa uses their phone tocall his wife Eileen, says, Can
you call Eric Weissman and gethim to let us in the building?
She's like, I don't know how tocontact Eric Weissman. What do
(29:37):
you want me to do? He's like,Okay.
He runs back to the front door.Finally, somebody's coming out
the front door, lets him in, hecomes and gets me, and we
literally sit down to like golive on our demo day with like a
minute to spare. Wow. If youwant like a little inside
baseball on how things happen atFlywheel in the era of Josie and
Bill, that was a pretty goodlittle microcosm. Oh my gosh.
Donna Zaring (30:00):
I love it. What a great story. Okay. We're going
to wrap things up with one finalquestion. If you had one piece
of advice for a socialentrepreneur, what would that
be? Mine was don't quit.
Know your story.
Samuel Baker (30:18):
I would say don't schlub on the details.
Josie Dalton (30:24):
That's good.
Donna Zaring (30:27):
I like it. Schlub?
Samuel Baker (30:29):
Yeah.
Josie Dalton (30:29):
It's an industry term.
Donna Zaring (30:31):
Okay. Very good advice. Well, thank you both for
sharing your stories and yourinsights and your perspectives.
And thanks for all you do forour ecosystem.
Josie Dalton (30:45):
Thanks for having us.
Samuel Baker (30:46):
Yeah. Thank you.
Josie Dalton (30:47):
Go Flywheel.
Donna Zaring (30:48):
Go Flywheel.
Joan Kaup (30:53):
On the Fly! is produced by Joey Scarillo with
music composed by Ben Hammer.Recorded at 1819 Innovation Hub
in Cincinnati, Ohio, courtesy ofthe University of Cincinnati.
I say this as lovingly as possible. It is like
one of my favorite parts of thiswork. The crazier an
entrepreneur is, the furtherthey'll go. We have a lot of
conversations in this ecosystemabout betting on the jockey
versus betting on the horse. Andit always comes down to, you
know, you wanna make sure thatthe horse is good enough, but
ultimately, your jockey iswhat's going to see the idea
(00:31):
through from good to great.
An entrepreneur that, again, Isay this with all the praise in
the world, that is stupidlypassionate about solving a
problem that they're working on,that is absolutely married to
the impact that they wanna makeor the gap that they wanna fill,
that founder is going to do itno matter what, regardless of
you, regardless of me,regardless of capital. And those
(00:51):
are the opportunities that if werally around them and take a
little bit of time and energyand resources to invest, you'll
see that multiplied so much.
Joan Kaup (01:00):
80% of the for profit and nonprofit organizations that
have interacted with FlywheelSocial Enterprise Hub are still
actively serving theircommunities. Through Flywheel,
187 social impact drivenentrepreneurs have gathered in
cohorts to improve their toolsand skills needed to expand
(01:23):
their impact through ourprograms. Today, Flywheel
Executive Director Donna Zaringis in conversation with Josie
Dalton, who originated theprograms taught to our cohorts,
and Samuel Baker, who is ourcurrent program director.
Samuel Baker (01:40):
Hello. Hello.
Josie Dalton (01:41):
It's like a tale of two program managers.
Donna Zaring (01:44):
Well, thanks for being here today. Josie, when I
first met you, I guess threeyears ago, you were leading the
Sustainable Cincy cohort atFlywheel. And we bonded because
we were both graduates of MiamiUniversity in Ohio. Tell us a
little bit about your journeyfrom Miami to Flywheel and to
(02:06):
where you are now at the UCCenter for Entrepreneurship.
Josie Dalton (02:10):
I can't claim it was very planned. Miami, as
anyone familiar with Flywheelknows, is a founding partner of
Flywheel from its beginning. Sothe relationship had been there
long before I entered the scene.But when I was in undergrad at
Miami, I was a philosophy majorand entrepreneurship minor. When
(02:30):
I was getting close tograduation, I sort of came to
the realization that I reallyneeded to figure out what I was
going to do.
There weren't really a lot ofjobs at the philosophy factory.
So I started to talk to myentrepreneurship professors and
a good friend of flywheel, BrettSmith, introduced me to Bill
Tucker, which is how I found myway into a internship with Bill
(02:51):
my senior year. Jess Mabes wasin my position before that
through a relationship withAmeriCorps. So for those of you
who know Jess from deep in thestartup Sinsy lore, she was with
Flywheel and then actually leftFlywheel to work for Lesoups,
which is one of Flywheel's firstaccelerator companies. We were
very excited to see her gocontinue to develop their
(03:13):
operations.
And then I stepped in, is how Igot to know Bill and the Startup
Cincy ecosystem. Aftergraduation, I was able to take a
position with a youth and familyservices organization called
NECO that's actually based inOver The Rhine here in
Cincinnati and again maintains arelationship with Flywheel to
this day. So I worked there forabout a year before Bill brought
(03:33):
me back on full time in theprogram manager role in
February. So that was in betweenour second and third cohorts of
the accelerator, which at thetime we were just calling
Elevator. It was broadly socialimpact focused.
So none of the themes, none ofthe specific topics or impact
(03:54):
areas that we were looking for.Social enterprise was kind of a
new and emerging concept in theecosystem. So our mission was
really just to prove to thecommunity that it could add
value and be just as good of aninvestment as the other startups
that were starting to coalescein the ecosystem. So that was
2018. 2019 saw our first fundedaccelerator with cohort four.
Donna Zaring (04:17):
And then we tumbled right into our other
programs. I remember when I metyou, I was super excited to hear
about the work that Flywheel wasdoing and to see that you and
Bill were you know, had hadevolved from Elevator to a
sustainability focusedaccelerator was really
interesting to me. Samuel, youhave been a program manager at
(04:40):
Flywheel for a year and a halfnow.
Samuel Baker (04:43):
Year and half. Yeah.
Donna Zaring (04:45):
You've been doing tremendous work in a short It
feels like you've been therelonger. You are really
experienced in the nonprofitworld here in Cincinnati. For
about a decade, you've beenworking in our community. Tell
us a little bit about the workyou've been doing and and how
you found Flywheel and whyyou're excited to be in this
(05:06):
role.
Samuel Baker (05:07):
For sure. So when I went to college, I was a
business major and anentrepreneurship minor, and my
goal was to come out and be afounder, actually. And that was
kind of my thought all the wayup until the summer before my
senior year. I did an internshipat a small incubator called the
Incline Incubator in Price Hill.Realized that I loved solving
(05:28):
founder problems that I didn'thave to take home with me. And
so instead of being a founder,was like, oh, I just I wanna
help founders. That'd beawesome.
Josie Dalton (05:35):
That's so real.
Samuel Baker (05:36):
And so I was curious about this and I was
like, okay, let me see, like, isthere anyone that's doing this
kind of on a larger scale that Imight be able to get in with?
And it's actually my pre lawprofessor took me to like a
little like conference summitkind of event And guess who was
(05:58):
speaking? None other than JosieDalton. And that was the first
time I heard of Flywheel. And Iremember walking away being
like, wow, she's so passionateabout the work that they're
doing.
I would love to be passionateabout that. And it was cool
because I I had volunteered alot of my life in high school
and college. And so hearing thatthere was a world where
(06:18):
entrepreneurship and communityadvancement could, like, be hand
in hand, I was like, oh, that'slike perfect for me. So I
graduate college. Flywheel's nothiring.
And I look around, I was like,okay, cool. Where where else?
Nowhere else is hiring in thatkind of environment, which is
kind of funny to think about.And so I was like, I don't
(06:39):
really know what to do. And adoor opened into the nonprofit
world.
And so I ended up starting mycareer there working for City
Gospel Mission. I was running aprogram called Rising Scholars.
It's a career readiness programfor high schoolers, and I ran
that for around seven, eightyears. During my time there, I
(07:00):
also got involved with anotherlocal nonprofit called Sprouting
Minds, and I'm on the board forthem as their board chair. And
then continued that themethroughout my life of kinda
balancing, volunteering forother nonprofits, working in
nonprofit, and kinda reallygrowing my roots down there all
the way up until I saw thatFlywheel was hiring.
(07:23):
And I was like, oh, wow. MaybeI'm not the right fit now. Like,
I'm kinda in this nonprofitspace. I haven't looked at
entrepreneurship in a while. Butmy wife held me at gunpoint and
said, if you don't apply, like,I'll do it myself.
Because I had had stayed inconnection with Flywheel, kinda
just watching from afar, like,what they were doing and who
they were working with. I wastold her, like, if I ever left
(07:44):
City Gospel Mission, Flywheelwould be where I would want to
work. And now I'm sitting heretoday.
Donna Zaring (07:50):
Well, we're so we're so glad. Thanks for
sharing that journey. Both ofyou touched on this a little bit
in your intros, but Flywheelworks with founders who are
trying to make the world abetter place. Right? Part of
their business mission is thatdouble bottom line of social and
(08:10):
financial impact.
Josie, during your time withFlywheel, what were some of the
main challenges you saw socialentrepreneurs face in their
startup journey?
Josie Dalton (08:22):
So that's that's a really great question. Social
entrepreneurs are in a reallyunique position that a lot of
times works to their advantage,a lot of times works to their
disadvantage. And that positionat the intersection of social
impact and market viability hasthis weird reverse impact for
(08:45):
the opposite stakeholders, for afounder who's trying to build.
And I'll explain that word saladby saying for somebody who's
building something that ismarket driven, that has a
business model behind it, but isalso designed for social impact.
When that person goes outseeking capital, right, assuming
(09:05):
that they don't come from abackground that enables them to
bootstrap it solo as mostentrepreneurs are not and
especially most entrepreneurs inthe social impact sector are not
because they tend to come frombackgrounds that make them
passionate about some sort of,you know, impact area or
community need or something likethat.
They're building. They needcapital. They need it from
(09:27):
outside sources. Their optionsare traditional funders so they
could look at a VC or an SBIR ora bank or a something who will
look at them and say, oh, that'snice but that's a little more
cushy than we usually fund. Wedon't know if that's necessarily
as profitable as the things thatwe usually fund.
(09:48):
Maybe you should look moretowards the nonprofit and
charitable side of things. Sothe founder is like, okay, good
point. I'll go I'll go lookingfor philanthropic dollars.
Right? I'll go look for grants.
I'll go look for foundationdollars. I'll go try to seek
impact focused capital. Thosefunders say, what you're doing
is really nice and cool, but wereally fund stuff that's more,
(10:11):
you know, that is nonprofit orthat is charity funded or that,
you know, is a community drivenmodel that is not, you know,
they shy away from things likeprofit business model, revenue
streams, market viability. Sothese founders are sort of left
bereft in this middle area wherethey are very smartly using the
principles of entrepreneurshipto solve a problem. But the
(10:35):
people at the opposite ends ofthat spectrum are too unwilling
to meet in the middle.
Which is really the genesis ofwhy Bill and I started pushing
on advocacy for impact investingin this community and starting
to train up the fullentrepreneur network and really
educate people on how if youboth believe in entrepreneurship
as a means of economicdevelopment and job creation and
(10:57):
you believe in different socialimpact causes, there's a perfect
investment opportunity here foryou at this intersection. So
hopefully we can shift thatmajor challenge into an
opportunity.
Donna Zaring (11:09):
That's great. Along those lines, Samuel, what
would you say are the mostcommon questions that founders
have?
Samuel Baker (11:18):
The main question is where's the money?
Josie Dalton (11:20):
Literally.
Samuel Baker (11:22):
No. Like, I think Josie teed that up perfectly.
They kind of are left in thismiddle ground and trying to
navigate that is tough,especially if you are coming
into the entrepreneurshipecosystem without prior
connections, especially if youare coming from a background
where entrepreneurship is notstressed. It's a different
language. Asking that questionof, like, where where do I go
(11:46):
to, like, to actually find somefunding for this to make this
happen is a main question.
I also think, who should I know?Is another great question. Who
are the people? Who are theplayers that I need to be in
contact with to make this areality? What kind of resources
do I need?
A lot of my job as programmanager is making those
(12:07):
connections and putting them incontact with people that they
might not even know that theyneed to know, especially in
regards to, like, legal servicesand and what it takes to get
your business legally founded.At the end of the program, you
know, kinda helping them gettheir feet underneath them and
think about how to scale theirbusiness, I think the the next
(12:27):
question is, okay, cool. Like,this is super helpful. What do I
do now? And and that's anotheropportunity that Flywheel has to
be a resource for them.
Josie Dalton (12:37):
I love that last one because by the time they're
asking that question, you'veseen what they can do in such a
short amount of time. And you'relike, alright, let's go. What is
your next thing?
Samuel Baker (12:47):
100%.
Donna Zaring (12:48):
Bill Tucker was one of the early executive
directors of Flywheel andresponsible for building out
much of the programming that wesee active today designed to
help entrepreneurs who want tocreate social impact. What was
Bill trying to accomplish allthose years ago and how is that
(13:12):
applicable today?
Josie Dalton (13:14):
Right around February, I wanna say 1516 when
the start up Sinsy ecosystemreally started to crystallize.
When Union Hall opened up tostart ups and co working, when
Centrifuge really started toactively recruit capital from
outside this region. A lot ofthose things started to
coalesce. Bill very wisely sawthe opportunity to harness some
(13:37):
of that energy and explore theprinciples of social enterprise
and, you know, pursuing startupand for profit entrepreneurship
as a vehicle for social impact,which led to that very first
social impact summit to helpeducate the community about the
opportunity that we have, led tothe very first social impact
(14:00):
accelerator that Flywheelhosted, which was actually under
a brand label called SocialEnterprise Cinci. And really
just sort of snowballed fromthere.
Between the real need in thecommunity, the financial gap for
impact organizations, and thesort of very timely uptick in
startup activity in thisecosystem, It's sort of what we
(14:20):
tell our startups all the time.Luck is a combination of
preparation and timing. Like, itjust came together at just the
right time. And he did anexcellent job positioning how
the principles ofentrepreneurship can marry with
impact by highlighting thisfirst batch of companies that we
had where we said, look, theseare people who are doing real
(14:42):
work in this community, makingreal impact and you can invest
dollars in them that willactually generate a market rate
of return and everyone is thebetter for it.
Donna Zaring (14:53):
What makes social entrepreneurs uniquely
positioned to drive impact inour community?
Samuel Baker (15:07):
So having spent so much time in nonprofit, I met
very passionate people. But thelimitations of nonprofit is that
you are beholden to ownership,and you can have as many dreams
as you want to be able toexecute. And there are
nonprofits that execute on anincredible level and make some
(15:28):
really valuable changes inlevels of impact in our
community. I think social impactentrepreneurs kind of sit
outside of that. It gives them areally unique vantage point.
They can go where certainnonprofits can't and can look at
an issue from a differentperspective. They're a lot
quicker and more agile because alot of them are are smaller.
(15:51):
Right? They can respond tocommunity needs in a decisive
and very powerful way. The otherelement that I would say is that
for entrepreneurship, there'skind of a creative out of the
box thinking that's required.
Hence, these issues that we'relooking at, environmental
sustainability, racial andgender equity, socioeconomic
(16:12):
equity, these are problems thathave existed for millennia.
Being able to look at it from anentrepreneurial standpoint to
come up with some kind of newstrategy or approach to it
brings creativity to thesolutions that ultimately we're
yearning for and looking for asa community.
Donna Zaring (16:30):
Yeah. Yeah. And if I if I flip that around, Josie,
my question, follow-up questionfor you is what is it about
being mission and impact driventhat that makes a better
entrepreneur? Because you workwith startup founders every day
at the UC Center forEntrepreneurship now. So what is
(16:54):
what is it about a missiondriven entrepreneur that makes
them a better entrepreneur?
Josie Dalton (16:58):
I say this as lovingly as possible. It is like
one of my favorite parts of thiswork. The crazier an
entrepreneur is, the furtherthey'll go. We have a lot of
conversations in this ecosystemabout betting on the jockey
versus betting on the horse. Andit always comes down to, you
know, you wanna make sure thatthe horse is good enough.
(17:19):
But ultimately, your jockey iswhat's going to see the idea
through from good to great. Anentrepreneur world, that is
stupidly passionate aboutsolving a problem that they're
working on, that is absolutelymarried to the impact that they
want to make or the gap thatthey want to fill or whatever,
that founder is going to do itno matter what, regardless of
(17:41):
you, regardless of me,regardless of capital. And those
are the opportunities that if werally around them and take a
little bit of time and energyand resources to invest, you'll
see that multiplied so much.
Donna Zaring (17:55):
I couldn't agree more. I mean, I come from a I'm
in a family of entrepreneurs andI would say without a doubt the
number one quality that thisthat makes success is just never
quitting.
Josie Dalton (18:09):
Right. We get founders all the time. I mean
every founder or aspiringfounder is really excited about
their idea. Right? Whether it's,you know, a product or a service
that they want to introduce tothe market or a segment that
they want to serve or whateverit may be.
They they come in jazzed. Andwe're like, cool. We love it.
You love it. Are you gonna loveit just as much a year from now
(18:32):
when it's two in the morning andyou don't know how you're gonna
make payroll and you're freakingout or whatever.
The ones who say yes, we'relike, let's go. We're all in.
Samuel Baker (18:41):
The only thing that I will add to that I think
is for mission driven founders.They're working towards
something that's bigger thanthem.
Josie Dalton (18:50):
Exactly.
Samuel Baker (18:51):
And I think that they kinda hold that in a
different way. And and again,that's not to say that non,
quote unquote, mission drivenfounders aren't. But I think
when you are working onsomething, but you're constantly
contextualizing yourself withina much larger narrative, I think
that gives you that extra oomphto to say, okay, cool. Like, I
(19:13):
I'm struggling or or I I'm notfeeling it at 2AM this morning,
but this is bigger than me. AndI've seen that in the founders
that I've had the privilege towork with in my short time here
at Flywheel and and continuouslyinspired by it.
Josie Dalton (19:28):
Yeah. The urgency that, like, the world needs
this.
Samuel Baker (19:30):
Yeah.
Donna Zaring (19:31):
That's amazing. That's why I love Flywheel.
Josie Dalton (19:35):
Me too, man.
Donna Zaring (19:37):
Okay. Well, since we're talking about the founders
that you've encountered alongyour journey, what what are some
funny stories that you have fromfrom different engagements with
founders at Flywheel? Oh, funnycan share.
Josie Dalton (19:54):
Know. Right?
Samuel Baker (19:55):
It's a great caveat.
Josie Dalton (19:57):
Honestly, the first the first thing that comes
to mind is that we were abouthalfway through our fourth
elevator cohort. I think ourcohort meetings, we did like a
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdaysort of vibe. So our cohort
meetings were on Tuesday morningand we all got in and the vibes
were just like kind of off. Likeeveryone was tired, like nobody
(20:20):
was really into like thediscussion we were having.
Everyone seemed like they werekind of dragging.
And Bill and I kind of looked ateach other and we were like,
alright, Let's table whateverthis discussion is, whatever it
was at the time and just like,let's go around and just talk
about like what is eating at youguys, what's keeping you up,
like let's have like campfireconversation. Right? Let's just
(20:42):
talk. And the way those foundersblossomed and we were able to
just sit back and be like, okay,you guys are having similar
challenges. Talk to each otherabout it.
Okay. You were just talking tous in a meeting the other day
about how you solve that problemyou're having. Talk to each
other about it. And that likethe realization that, okay,
(21:03):
sometimes founders don't needprogramming. Sometimes they just
need community.
We were like, oh my god. We itwas it was funny to us in a way
because we were like, it canreally be that simple for
especially mission drivenfounders who they tend to be on
an island with their passion andthey're usually getting
discounted by everybody aroundthem. But that little juice of
(21:25):
like sometimes they just needlike friends who understand what
they're going through. That'ssomething that we could have
been providing from the get go.So that was a little bit of like
a kick ourselves moment but itwas you know.
Donna Zaring (21:36):
That is so awesome to see that happen. Samuel, do
you have a funny story to share?
Samuel Baker (21:41):
Yeah. This was my first cohort. So we did an
Elevate Equity cohort. It wasfocused on health equity. And so
I'm getting the hang ofeverything, you know, and
connecting with coaches andfounders.
And I had one particular coachand founder pair. And they were
feeling each other out and kindagetting connected and just
(22:02):
different forms ofcommunication. I remember it was
a Tuesday. I'm not an earlyriser at all. And so the fact
that I was awake enough to evenhave this conversation is a
miracle in and of itself.
I wake up cause my phone isbuzzing at 07:30. And I look in
and I see, oh, it's a it's afounder. And I pick up and I'm
like, "oh, hey, like, what'sgoing on?" And the founder just
(22:24):
launches. Boom.
Straight into the conversation.Ah, like, it's blah blah blah.
And I don't think that this isworking with my coach and blah
blah blah. And she did this andI said this and blah blah blah.
And I was like, oh, snap.
Okay. What what what's going on?And so I talked with her for
about an hour and I was able tokinda like talk her off the
ledge and I was like, hey, youknow, you gotta understand.
(22:46):
She's here to help you. I'm surethat there's a miscommunication
here.
Like, let's talk about it. Andwas able to successfully like
kinda talk her down. It wasgreat. And so I get off the
phone at, like like, 08:20. Tenminutes later, coach calls me.
Josie Dalton (23:03):
Oh.
Samuel Baker (23:05):
And so on the phone with the coach, and the
coach is like, have you heardfrom the founder? And I was
like, yeah. And she was like,well, this happened and this
happened and everything. Andthen I was able to kinda, like,
talk with the coach and we cameto a point of, like, agreement.
And it was funny because they'reboth super passionate.
You know, the founder ispassionate about their idea, you
(23:25):
know, and kinda like you weresaying, comes from a place where
people have been discounting herand her idea and and the
viability of it. And so she'ssuper protective and territorial
about it. And then you have thiscoach that just wants the best
for them and is trying to helpthem, believes fully in their
idea and wants to see itblossom. And so it was funny to
kinda be in the middle of thatand ultimately help come
(23:47):
together. But I remember hangingup from talking to that coach
and being like, what did I signup for?
Seven thirty calls. I don'tknow.
Donna Zaring (23:58):
I think that's a great story because it
highlights a bit about the typeof work that you do every As
program managers, you all workwith coaches, with founders, and
run our nine week cohorts ofaccelerators with different
(24:20):
workshops and speakers come in.There's a lot of education going
on with founders, but there's alot of the emotional piece too.
And I think sometimes that's thepart that goes unseen, is just
the amount of energy that goesinto making sure founders are
(24:43):
feeling heard, understood, thatcoaches are able to give the
best of what they have to offerand that the environment is
right for everybodyparticipating in the cohort and
that support is 24/7. And I knowthat's the case at Flywheel. I
know Josie now at UC Center forEntrepreneurship.
(25:05):
You're still doing this kind ofwork in a different way. Talk a
little bit about the emotionalpiece, if you don't mind. Why is
that important to consider whenyou're helping entrepreneurs?
Josie Dalton (25:15):
For me, it's almost as simple as like, if
they're showing up 24/7, how canI give them anything less than
that? Right? There's a lot offulfillment in seeing somebody
who not only achieves like astrategic goal that they've set
out for themselves or reaches amilestone or whatever, but
(25:36):
reaches a level of impact thatyou know that they were so
personally striving for becauseof how meaningful it is to them.
Because you're like, listen,they're on a mission that I know
is quite literally to make theworld a better place and seeing
them achieve their goals islike, yes, that is one little
step towards that. And we wereable to be a part of that and
help them.
And that development of thefounder as a person is just as
(25:59):
impactful to our community asthe development of those
ventures, for sure. Because evenif that venture or that idea or
whatever ends up you know, notdeveloping any further, you know
that founder is gonna keephustling on that mission. Mhmm.
Samuel Baker (26:15):
Yeah. I think for me, there's there's two
elements. I think the first oneis that I have such a deep
respect and admiration for thefounders because they're rolling
up their sleeves and they'rethey're pursuing solutions that
not only are necessary, butpeople have been working on
these things for millennia. Andso they're taking on this huge
(26:37):
challenge of, you know, applyingthemselves to situations and
challenges that are daunting.And so for me, having an
opportunity to be a resource forthem along that journey and help
them, I think, is an incrediblyfulfilling thing for me.
But it also, like, prompts me,you know, and here's the second
(26:57):
thing. Think because they arepeople first, they kind of need
that space to kind of flex alittle bit and and decompress a
little bit and to just dialogue,like Josie was saying, with
people who get it, people whosee the the need for what
they're doing. And I think thebeing able to provide that that
(27:18):
safe space, that, you know,smile, that conversation, that
call at 07:30AM, I think goes along way with them for sure. And
so those are the kind of the twothings for me, I think,
emotionally, We're dealing withpeople. We're dealing with
people who are trying to solveproblems for people.
Josie Dalton (27:37):
I just thought of another funny story that's not
about a founder, but if you guyswanna capture a little bit of
goofy flywheel lore. Okay. Sure.I'll make it very quick.
Donna Zaring (27:48):
I love goofy lore.
Josie Dalton (27:49):
And again, with apologies to Bill, who's not
here to stop me from tellingthis story, fall of twenty
twenty, our first sustainableCincy accelerator. It got to be
our demo day and fall twentytwenty things were still like
99% online. We were running thedemo day entirely streamed on
Zoom over YouTube. First timewe'd ever done anything like
(28:11):
that. Right?
So we're like, Oh man, we hadeight teams, which is crazy. We
got everybody synced up. We goteverybody in the Zoom. We made
sure everybody's presentationswere rigged up. We were like,
Okay, this is solid.
Our keynote speaker was in ourlittle breakout. We were feeling
real good. So we were on thefourth floor of Union Hall in a
little conference room and wewere like, Okay, we got ten
minutes of showtime. Let's stepout on the pad, the rooftop
(28:35):
patio, get some fresh air andjust get our heads in the game.
I know.
You know where this is going. Sowe step out on the patio, we're
like, this is gonna be great,great cohort, great speaker,
like, let's rock and roll. Wehave no tech issues like
manifesting. We go back to grabthe door to go inside. It's
locked.
(28:56):
I'm like, Do you have yourphone? He goes, No. Do you have
your phone? I go, No. So neitherof us have a way to get back
into the building.
Everyone is online inside readyto go. We're like, oh my god,
there's like 100 people on thestream. Oh my god. So we're
like, all right, let's notpanic, as we're both completely
(29:16):
panicking. We're running up anddown the stairs, looking in
windows, trying to figure out.
Bill down the street. So Billruns down to Kruger's or maybe
Quanhapa uses their phone tocall his wife Eileen, says, Can
you call Eric Weissman and gethim to let us in the building?
She's like, I don't know how tocontact Eric Weissman. What do
(29:37):
you want me to do? He's like,Okay.
He runs back to the front door.Finally, somebody's coming out
the front door, lets him in, hecomes and gets me, and we
literally sit down to like golive on our demo day with like a
minute to spare. Wow. If youwant like a little inside
baseball on how things happen atFlywheel in the era of Josie and
Bill, that was a pretty goodlittle microcosm. Oh my gosh.
Donna Zaring (30:00):
I love it. What a great story. Okay. We're going
to wrap things up with one finalquestion. If you had one piece
of advice for a socialentrepreneur, what would that
be? Mine was don't quit.
Know your story.
Samuel Baker (30:18):
I would say don't schlub on the details.
Josie Dalton (30:24):
That's good.
Donna Zaring (30:27):
I like it. Schlub?
Samuel Baker (30:29):
Yeah.
Josie Dalton (30:29):
It's an industry term.
Donna Zaring (30:31):
Okay. Very good advice. Well, thank you both for
sharing your stories and yourinsights and your perspectives.
And thanks for all you do forour ecosystem.
Josie Dalton (30:45):
Thanks for having us.
Samuel Baker (30:46):
Yeah. Thank you.
Josie Dalton (30:47):
Go Flywheel.
Donna Zaring (30:48):
Go Flywheel.
Joan Kaup (30:53):
On the Fly! is produced by Joey Scarillo with
music composed by Ben Hammer.Recorded at 1819 Innovation Hub
in Cincinnati, Ohio, courtesy ofthe University of Cincinnati.
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