Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney Joins Flywheel for Demo Day

Flywheel Demo Day is April 18 at MadTree Brewing in Oakley! Networking begins at 4:30pm. Program starts at 5:15 pm, featuring Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney as the Keynote Speaker.

This week, Flywheel Interim Program Manager, Miyah Byrd, checked in with Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney as she reviewed the companies in the Elevate Equity cohort.

Vice Mayor: Looks like you have some really compelling startups in your current cohort. I’m excited to give the keynote.

Miyah: Yes, they are very innovative and dedicated to their mission. We have four women founders and every business is BIPOC led. 

Vice Mayor: I can’t wait to see that. Diversity is more than a word. It’s a strength for our City, and these startups reflect that.

Miyah: Absolutely!  Two startups are tech enabled. One is improving career success for women in tech careers and the other is creating a contactless policing option to make routine traffic stops safer for citizens and police. 

Vice Mayor: That will be interesting to see. 

Miyah: Another is helping companies provide the infrastructure needed to successfully hire returning workers into their workplaces. The fourth is creating a model for communities to build successful broad based coalitions to address systemic racism and racial inequities. 

Vice Mayor:  I get so inspired when entrepreneurs are solving problems for people who look like them or share their lived experience.   

Miyah: You’re an entrepreneur yourself as the owner of the Cincinnati Herald. You can probably relate to their journey. 

Vice Mayor: I’m looking forward to seeing them all. I hope people join me at Demo Day. What’s happening here has the potential to improve the lives of so many people in Cincinnati and beyond. Many thanks to Flywheel for helping these companies become successful startups.