Startup accelerators come in all shapes and sizes, with different looks, focuses and levels of influence. Most likely, however, people have never come across a faith-based accelerator. That is, until now.
OCEAN is an exciting accelerator located in the Oakley part of Cincinnati. As an accelerator, it works with chosen startups and sends them through a program that helps “accelerate” their growth. Their mission is to “Increase Gods presence in the marketplace by building into entrepreneurs.” OCEAN was kick started by Crossroads Church, the fastest growing church in the United States. Crossroads features a large atrium where the community can get free coffee and Wi-Fi seven days a week. Aspiring entrepreneurs would often occupy this area. Eventually, these entrepreneurs got together and formed a network of entrepreneurs discussing what faith has to do with starting a business. This group would be called Unpolished. Unpolished has grown into a significant speaking conference for Christian entrepreneurs, further expanding the nationwide community of faith-based entrepreneurs. Three of these entrepreneurs worked together and realized there was a niche to be filled – a faith-based startup accelerator. Thus, OCEAN was born in 2014. Unpolished has grown into a significant speaking conference for Christian entrepreneurs, further expanding the nationwide community of faith-based entrepreneurs.
OCEAN focuses on tech-oriented startups. Though OCEAN is located in Cincinnati, their companies relocate from outside of Cincinnati, as many are located across the country, and some even across the world. OCEAN seeks to grow their startups, not just financially, but also spiritually and personally. Financially, OCEAN provides startups with $50,000 in seed money. However, OCEAN recognizes that the money and the culture of a company should go hand in hand to unlock growth. This can be seen in the founders’ testimonials. They enjoyed their previous startup work, as they raised capital, started teams and won over early customers. However, a lot of this success was at the expense of their personal and spiritual health.
OCEAN integrates this philosophy into their five-month long program for startups. They equip their startups to move toward the habits of a high development company. In OCEAN’s view, high development comes by utilizing two crucial aspects: An inviting work environment and interesting, valuable work. In OCEAN’s view, having a breathable environment where employees feel comfortable to innovate and bounce ideas off of each other helps maximize the potential for company growth. Combine this with active, interesting and value-creating work, and a company gives itself the ability to grow rapidly. OCEAN’s success is easily seen in the numbers. In their two previous classes, there were 19 alumni, 50% of the companies remained in Cincinnati, $4.5 Million in capital was raised, and 50 jobs were created. OCEAN’s Demo Day, when their startups present to the world, had a 2,500 live audience, and had a digital audience of 15,000.
Another interesting aspect of OCEAN is the role of business mentors. These mentors are leaders in the Cincinnati business community from all different shapes and sizes, and kinds of business who also have a connection to faith. Since these mentors are well versed in how to make businesses successful, they give significant guidance about direction, strategy and connecting with customers to OCEAN’s startups.
OCEAN has established itself as an important and unique piece of the Cincinnati and nationwide startup community. By focusing just as much on their startups’ financial growth as their personal and spiritual growth, they’re helping build companies with new perspectives, and helping entrepreneurs grow their companies culturally and financially.
