Since Aviatra unveiled its
new incubator last November
, CEO Jill Morenz has said that the enhanced space has bolstered the accelerator’s curriculum offerings while providing program participants with a more collaborative environment to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions.
Aviatra, a Covington-based entrepreneurial accelerator, provides women entrepreneurs in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky with resources, mentorship and community to help them advance their businesses.
The incubator, located next to Aviatra’s headquarters at 112 W. Pike St. in Covington, significantly expanded the accelerator’s physical footprint. The building Aviatra grew into once housed Northern Kentucky University’s Collaborative for Economic Engagement, which is set to move into SparkHaus.
The incubator offers below-market-rate office spaces for six women-owned businesses, as well as several co-working spaces, rentable pop-up retail spaces, a versatile event space, and membership in Aviatra’s paid community. So far, the upgrade has been a success.
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“Having businesses call us home has been wonderful for us, for Aviatra, to feel more closely connected with the women who are running their businesses here, and the co-workers and the members,” Morenz said. “I’m hoping that they find it easier to access the resources that we have.”
Allison Schroeder, founder of Pomme Communications, has worked remotely since starting her business around a decade ago. However, as her aspirations grew, Schroeder felt that her business needed a proper space to host meetings with clients. Aviatra’s coworking space provided her with an affordable option to trial an office space.
“It’s been such a game changer,” Schroeder said. “I didn’t realize how much it’s improved team productivity and collaboration and stuff like that. Just having a home base for us to come has been great.”
The space allowed Schroeder to see if upgrading to an actual office space was the right move for her business without requiring a substantial financial commitment.
“It has been a good test-and-learn, so it is indicative that we, you know, probably should grow into a larger space,” she said.
Laurkita Sheffield, founder of Sheffield Financial and Accounting Services, shared with LINK nky that her business has seen improvements thanks to the incubator’s expanded presence, which has given her access to a broader entrepreneurial community.
“I would say definitely the community factor has been a game changer for me and my business,” Sheffield said. “You don’t feel like you’re alone.”
Aviatra offers six-month office space leases within its incubator. Since expanding, each of the spaces has been fully rented out. Aviatra also offers product-based businesses a pop-up retail space within the incubator, allowing them to test their concept before moving into a larger space. Still, getting the word out about the incubator has been one of the most consistent challenges, Morenz said.
“I definitely think just getting the word out about what we’re doing–about the availability of these below-market-rate offices, co-working, and all the services that come with the offices and the coworking,” she said.
From Morenz’s perspective, Aviatra’s incubator occupies a critical position in Greater Cincinnati’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Women entrepreneurs face specific challenges in their journeys, such as access to capital and shouldering the majority of childcare responsibilities, she said.
Aviatra provides women entrepreneurs with physical space and intellectual resources tailored to help them navigate these issues, along with a community committed to supporting them.
“Having that community for support and for learning from each other is what we’re really building,” she said.
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