| Notes |
Ocean Accelerator got an early boost from Crossroads’ annual Beans & Rice Week, when congregants forgo regular meals in favor of beans and rice, then donate the savings to the church. Traditionally, the money goes mainly to fighting the city’s homelessness and heroin epidemics, but in 2015 the church put $120,000 toward the accelerator, a significant share of the program’s operating expenses. Selected entrepreneurs would embark on five-month residencies, and each startup would receive $25,000 from Ocean Capital. (The amount rose to $35,000 in 2016 and $50,000 in 2017.) Also included were free office space and access to dozens of spiritual and business mentors from the church’s membership rolls, a who’s who of Cincinnati’s—and America’s—corporate elite. |