Meet the startup ventures elevating Cincinnati’s scene

Team members: Isaiah Clifford and Samarth Edlabadkar

Approximately 6.18 million car accidents were reported across the U.S. in 2024, causing 2.42 million injuries and leading to 39,254 deaths. These statistics, as recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reveal an unsettling truth: The road remains a risky place.

• Risk mapping: Discover where on your route car accidents are most likely to occur.
• Real-time risk assessment: Get tailored insights on car crash risks based on your driving behaviors.
• Safer routes: Find alternative ways to get where you’re going on lower-risk roads.
• Predictive intervention: Employ real-time preventive measures to travel with less risk.
• Live dashboard metrics: Learn how you can drive more safely while you’re still on the road.

Rather than just flagging hazards that already exist, Revl is built to spot patterns early and warn drivers before danger turns serious.

Team members: Tessa Manuszak and Evan Moore

Most companies juggle multiple software products that don’t always work well together, leading to what is known as “integration technical debt.” Businesses often patch those gaps with shortcuts and workarounds, but those fixes usually create new problems later.

By bringing company tech stacks together, Open Prem aims to give organizations a stronger foundation for growth. The 1819 coworking partner and Venture Lab graduate is also building the tools to make that vision possible.

Team members: Richard Harknett and Kathryn Harknett

The average data breach cost U.S. companies over $10 million in 2024, according to a report by the Ponemon Institute. That was a 9% increase from the prior year, making the case for stronger cybersecurity habits even harder to ignore.

Yet many organizations still rely on training that feels more like a box to check than a lesson that sticks. That mindset leaves the door open to costly mistakes when a single click or careless reply could hand sensitive data directly to malicious actors.

Persistent Cyber Improvement (PCI) believes there's a better way: turn cybersecurity training into a game that pushes employees to identify possible threats before they happen. The gamified model uses competition and fun to build the kind of vigilance businesses desperately need.

Harknett’s model of “persistent engagement,” reflected in PCI’s game, serves as a key cybersecurity doctrine for the U.S. government and military along with others around the world. He believes private businesses should adopt the same mindset through proven techniques built into PCI’s role-playing game.

Today, cybersecurity matters more than ever for businesses. As Harknett says, “They do not quit; neither can you.”

Team members: Emilio Sese, Jaran Chao and Jaydee Lorenzo

Organized events can be incredible experiences, unless you’re the one making them happen behind the scenes. In that case, they’re all too often stressful, costly and chaotic.

Kloob takes some of that pressure off by offering a unified tech stack that brings event planning resources into a single app. With Kloob, planners can delegate tasks, communicate with other organizers and track engagement analytics all in one place.

Sese understands exactly what works, and what does not, for today’s event planners. Kloob turns that experience into a single platform that simplifies the process and gives planners room to focus on the event itself.

Team members: Broder Schmidt and Maobing Tu

Biofuels, energy sourced from plants and animals, accounted for over 55% of all consumption of renewables in the U.S. in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. They produce less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels and are relatively easy to source since they come from wood, agricultural crops and waste materials. Ethanol is the most common biofuel.

Ethanol is cleaner than fossil fuels and easy to source. Athanex helps remove one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of a more efficient and economical biofuels industry.

Team members: Chris Edwards, Tristan Fogt and Mark Gagas

Robots are no longer just the future. In manufacturing facilities around the world, they’re already here. But human-robot collaboration is not always seamless or safe without advanced technology, which Sensory Robotics offers.

Traditional fencing around robots also takes up valuable floor space. According to Sensory Robotics, the SR-1 can free up that 30% of factory floor area for more productive uses instead.

With its innovative technology, Sensory Robotics is shaping the future of manufacturing while improving workers’ safety and productivity today.