We’re thrilled to introduce the third cohort of startups joining Cintrifuse’s Venture Velocity program—founders tackling big problems across AI, SaaS, climate tech, travel, and real estate. These are the kinds of bold, scalable companies that drive our mission forward: making Cincinnati the best place in the Midwest to grow a high-growth startup.
By investing up to $250K in each of these companies, connecting them to our extensive investor network, and helping sharpen their pitch strategies and customer pipelines, we’re working to turn Cincinnati into the best place in the Midwest to grow a high-growth startup. Past participants have gone on to raise significant capital, secure major civic and private customers, and expand their teams within a year of graduating from our programming.
Meet the companies—and the innovators behind them:
InsightX is an AI-powered analytics platform that delivers real-time insights, financial modeling, and strategic recommendations for SMBs. Their AI Analyst, Vero, helps business leaders make smarter decisions without needing a data team.
Founders:
Ben Wolber, Founder & CEO, has over five years of experience in finance, analytics, and AI. With an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s from the University of Kentucky, he excels at turning complex data into clear, actionable strategies. Outside of work, he’s a pickleball fanatic, gym regular, and loyal UC Bearcats fan.
Hadee Haque, Co-Founder & COO, brings over six years in digital marketing, automation, and analytics. He also holds an MBA from SMU and a bachelor’s from the University of North Texas. A travel lover, amateur photographer, and die-hard Mavs fan, Hadee is passionate about making advanced data accessible to small businesses.
Rocketfuel is a real estate software platform that uses AI to identify off-market sellers most likely to sell. Agents and investors can filter by exact criteria and reveal contact info instantly—no cold calling, no middlemen. It replaces outdated list tools and wholesaler networks with smart, scalable, on-demand deal flow.
Founder:
Jeremy Hill, Founder & CEO, is a self-taught real estate data expert. After leaving the corporate grind in 2019, he launched a wholesale operation that thrived through COVID, learning firsthand that real estate success hinges on reaching the right seller at the right time. With a background in Systems Analysis and Engineering Management from Miami University and experience deploying enterprise platforms across three continents, Jeremy is now fixing the biggest inefficiency in real estate: unlocking seller intent at scale.
Trovio is a SaaS platform that lets creators, experts, and professionals monetize their knowledge by turning it into beautifully organized, interactive guides. Using structured data and large language models, each guide is dynamically generated and personalized at the moment of request—ensuring no two are the same.
Founders:
Andrew Lukas, Co-Founder & CEO, built Trovio on deep experience in personalization from his time at Disney, plus product leadership at The New York Times and WW.
Derrick Showers, Co-Founder & CTO, has led teams at Calm, LinkedIn, Apple, and Disney, specializing in creator tools, mobile platforms, and scalable infrastructure. Together, they’re helping creators deliver hyper-personalized, on-demand expertise to audiences around the world.
Lasoh enables vacation rental operators to capture guest data and create a digital experience that drives more direct sales—turning every guest into a repeat customer and unlocking new revenue streams.
Founder:
Orlie Benjamin is the founder of Lasoh, a marketing technology platform purpose-built for vacation rentals. With a career spanning major companies like NetJets, Victoria’s Secret, and American Airlines—and firsthand experience running her own vacation rental business, The Acres—she brings an unmatched founder-market fit to helping operators grow direct bookings and deepen guest relationships.
Nexus Lab has developed software that helps airlines monitor, report, and manage their emissions, including contrails, to comply with new EU climate regulations. Today, there’s no effective tool for automatically tracking contrails and generating compliant reports—and Nexus Lab fills that gap with an operational-ready solution.
Founders & Team:
- Omar Nuruzade, Co-Founder & CEO, drives business development, partnerships, and product innovation that integrates atmospheric modeling with AI optimization. A recipient of the Azerbaijan Presidential Youth Award, Omar combines backgrounds in Earth & Environmental Sciences and Petroleum Engineering to build climate solutions for aviation.
- Araz Shafiyev, Co-Founder & CTO, leads the technical development of Nexus Lab’s emissions quantification tools. With expertise in geophysics, computational data analysis, and environmental modeling, he’s advancing how airlines measure their climate footprint.
- Gular Ismayilova, Business Development Manager, steers customer acquisition and strategic partnerships, bridging technical insight with go-to-market strategy.
- Sanan Chaharkama, Co-Founder & Researcher, specializes in contrail modeling and trajectory optimization to reduce aviation’s non-CO2 impact.
- Rasul Amirov, Co-Founder & Research Engineer, develops computer vision models for contrail detection and tracking, pushing the frontiers of climate tech in aviation.
These founders aren’t just building companies—they’re building solutions that could fundamentally change their industries. We’re proud to support them with capital, connections, and the ecosystem resources they need to grow faster—and to keep making Cincinnati a launchpad for the next generation of high-growth startups.
These founders aren’t just building companies—they’re building solutions that could fundamentally change their industries. We’re proud to support them with capital, connections, and the ecosystem resources they need to grow faster—and to keep making Cincinnati a launchpad for the next generation of high-growth startups.
Interested in joining our next cohort?
If you’re an early-stage, venture-backable startup with a big vision and a real problem to solve, Venture Velocity is built for you. Through an intensive cohort model, we provide targeted programming, pitch readiness, deep mentorship, and high-touch support to help you raise your first round and gain traction fast. Apply now to join the next generation of high-growth founders building with Cincinnati, not just in it.