About « Brandery

About

The who and why, behind the Brandery.

The Brandery is a seed stage consumer marketing venture accelerator, which was ranked as one of the top 10 programs in the United States. We run a three-month-long program in Cincinnati, Ohio that is focused on turning your great idea into a successful, brand-driven start-up. Started in 2010, we annually select 8 – 10 companies for our program, with each receiving $20,000 in seed funding, three months of mentorship, and the opportunity to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program. More details can be found here.

“In a world where the costs to build a company and the technical barriers to enter a market are decreasing rapidly, marketing and brand strategy have become critical to building enterprise value. The Brandery focuses in this area and offers a unique value to their portfolio with access to some of the best brand managers and marketing strategists in the world today.” – Phin Barnes, First Round Capital

Location: Why Cincinnati?

The Brandery is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the Top 5 Consumer Marketing regions in the world. Cincinnati is home to 10 Fortune 500 Headquarters including Procter & Gamble, Kroger, and Macy’s. The region is also the home of leading marketing, branding, design and advertising service companies such as Bridge Worldwide, LPK, and Nielsen. Cincinnati has one of the largest collections of Brand and Consumer Marketing talent in the world.

Our office is at 1411 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45202 in the historic Over-The-Rhine neighborhood

Philosophy: Why Branding

If your start-up is consumer focused, you must be brand focused. That belief is at the core of The Brandery and why we launched our program in Cincinnati, Ohio. We feel that there is an amazing opportunity for consumer start-ups to leverage the fundamentals of brand building. At The Brandery, you will lay the foundation for your brand as you work with market research partners and some of the best agencies in Cincinnati. Through our program, you will uncover meaningful consumer insights that will help you create your startup as a true brand. We do this in a supportive entrepreneurial environment, surrounded by your fellow start-ups and our Brand Marketing Mentors.

Who are the sponsors?

The Brandery is sponsored by CincyTech, P&G Fund, and Haile / US Bank Foundation.

CincyTech is a public-private partnership whose mission is to invest in high-‐growth startup technology companies in Southwest Ohio.
The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation is an independent family foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for residents in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
The P&G Fund
Duke Energy Foundation

Who are the Partners?

The Brandery is fortunate to work with a variety of great partners. Each of the below companies donate their time and services to companies participating in The Brandery. Here is a list of our partners that help make The Brandery a great experience for start-ups:

Brand Identity & Marketing by Ample, LPK, Resource Interactive, Possible Worldwide, Deskey, Fisher Design, Landor, Northlich, Rockfish, and Empower MediaMarketing
Company formation and legal documents by Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Accounting Assistance by Clark Schaefer Hackett and Brixey & Meyer
Market Research by AYTM, Lab42 and GutCheck
Talent Acquisition by Elance
Demo Day Event by Accent on Cincinnati

Who are the Venture Investment Partners?

The Brandery is fortunate to have an amazing group of investors who will be involved throughout our program. They include:

CincyTech	General Mills Ventures
Blue Chip Venture Company	First Round Capital
General Catalyst	Queen City Angels
Softbank Capital	Lerer Ventures
Transmedia Capital	Next View Ventures
River Cities Capital Funds	Fifth Third Private Equity
Polaris Venture Partners	Illinois Ventures