Venture Velocity Program
A dynamic, cohort-based program for early-stage founders to unlock essential skills, strategies, and insider insights for crushing your first venture capital fundraise. Set yourself—and your startup—up for rapid growth and funding success with a program built to accelerate your journey.
Venture Velocity Program
Venture Velocity is more than just funding—it’s a launchpad. A space where ambitious founders get the capital, support, and network they need to grow faster, raise smarter, and build companies that last.
Venture Velocity is more than just funding—it’s a launchpad. A space where ambitious founders get the capital, support, and network they need to grow faster, raise smarter, and build companies that last.
Venture Velocity isn’t just another startup accelerator; we’re an ecosystem of founders, mentors, and resources. Our program offers startups more than funding – we provide tailored support, long-term mentorship, and direct access to a network of successful founders and venture partners. Our cohort members are set up for sustainable success and impactful growth in the competitive startup ecosystem.
We invest up to $250K and help you raise at least $400K by connecting you with active angels, early-stage VCs, and investors who believe in bold founders.
Our network is filled with founders who’ve scaled, raised, exited, and learned the hard lessons—so you don’t have to. You’ll get hands-on guidance from people who know what it takes.
Your pitch is your story—and we’ll help you tell it better. From full design support to slide-by-slide critiques, we’ll help you craft the best pitch deck for your business. Investors will see your vision—and believe in it.
Join a tight-knit cohort of early-stage founders who are in the trenches with you. Share wins, workshop challenges, and build alongside others who move fast and think big.
Founders: Brandon Tudor & Pete Celano
Founders: Camille Awator & Rolandd Nyamoga
Marketplace for specialized beautician services bringing discoverability to independent providers. They combine a Pinterest user experience with the functionality of an Upwork platform.
Founders: Connor Patton, Evan Fix & Macallan Hoeweler
Founder: Nicole Dyehouse
Founder: Sid Dutta
Privaclave is solving challenges enterprises have in implementing data-centric security in the modern-day cyber threats landscape by going beyond conventional targeted scanning of datastores, and security solutions to provide automated, non-invasive protection for enterprise data at the field level.
Our curriculum is built to get early-stage founders pitch-ready, investor-confident, and razor-focused on growth. Led by experienced founders, investors, and subject matter experts, each session is designed to give you the tools, tactics, and feedback you need to raise capital and scale smart.
Get inside the mind of a VC. We’ll demystify how venture capital works, what investors look for, and how you can align your vision with their incentives.
Learn how to craft a deck that gets attention and earns meetings. We’ll walk you through structure, storytelling, and design—then work with you 1:1 to refine it into the best pitch deck for your business.
Build what people actually want. Learn how to test assumptions, validate demand, and use customer discovery to shape a scalable solution.
Cut through the jargon. We’ll help you understand key term sheet clauses—so you can negotiate with confidence and protect your cap table.
Fundraising starts with the right targets. You’ll build a personalized, strategic investor list tailored to your industry, stage, and goals.
Learn how to quantify the opportunity. We’ll guide you through TAM/SAM/SOM frameworks and help you articulate your market in a way investors trust.
Time is your most valuable resource—don’t waste it. Learn how to run a structured, efficient raise from outreach to close.
Reps matter. You’ll pitch to real investors in mock sessions and get live, candid feedback—so you’re ready when the stakes are high.
The startup should demonstrate a clear potential for scalability and market impact. This includes having a viable business model, a defined target market, and evidence of initial traction or customer interest.
Founders must be fully committed to participating in the 8-week program in-person at Union hall, including attending all sessions, actively engaging with mentors and peers, and implementing feedback to refine their business strategies.
The startup should offer a unique solution or product that addresses a significant market need or problem. Applicants should be able to clearly articulate what sets their venture apart from competitors.
Cohort program for early-stage founders looking to prepare for their first successful venture capital raise.
Application deadline: May 9 2025
Program Duration: June 23 – August 18, 2025
Available spots: 5
8-week cohort program for early-stage founders looking to prepare for their first successful venture capital raise.
Application deadline: November 2025
Program Duration: January – March, 2026
Available spots: 5
Click on the logos to get to know the companies making moves in Cincinnati and beyond.
Venture Velocity is an 8-week cohort program based in Cincinnati, designed to help early stage companies with venture scalability learn how to secure investment capital.
Founders of early-stage technology startups who are near an MVP or already testing with customers. Ideal candidates should be seeking their first formal venture capital raise and ready to scale their business. We welcome companies that may be bootstrapped or have received funding from grants or pitch competitions.
Participants in the Venture Velocity Program benefit from up to $250K in funding, one-on-one mentorship from successful founders, pitch coaching, fundraising support, and access to a broad network of investors and industry leaders. The program offers a hands-on, community-driven approach, ensuring long-term relationship-building and deep engagement with the startup ecosystem.
Venture Velocity helps founders refine their pitch decks, develop comprehensive fundraising strategies, and connect with venture capital investors. Our hands-on approach includes personalized mentorship and guidance from experienced founders who have successfully raised capital and scaled businesses. Participants also gain access to investor networks to secure future funding rounds.
Beyond the core program components, participants have access to various resources, including:
These resources help participants optimize their operations and accelerate their growth.
Yes, the Venture Velocity Program is held in-person in Cincinnati. Our cohort-based model emphasizes the value of community building and deep engagement, which is best facilitated through face-to-face interactions. Participants are expected to attend on-site meetings, workshops, and mentor sessions.
There’s no shortcut to building a startup, and the same is true for effectively fundraising. We require that you dedicate Tuesdays and Thursdays to being at Union Hall. The time will be spent on a mixture of programming and individual work, including some time for personal business attention.
Cintrifuse will run the Venture Velocity Program multiple times per year. This highly selective program will target 5 companies per cohort.
You support is changing the lives of our founders and of all that are touched by their businesses. Interested in supporting what we do? Get in touch below!
Join the Venture Velocity waitlist to be notified when applications for our next cohort open.
We help our Strategic Corporate Partners enhance their performance by using Startups as tools for Open Innovation. Strategic Venture and Connect Services leverage the tremendous network of our Syndicate Fund of Funds and its portfolio of cutting-edge Startups to enhance the innovation capacity of our Corporate Partners through collaboration and an external influx of knowledge and innovation.
If you are interested in unlocking the power of our network, please complete the following form, and we will be in touch within two business days.
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