At Entrepreneurs’ Center (EC), we recently hosted an Angel Capital Association (ACA) webinar focused on a critical topic for early-stage investors: Due Diligence.
There’s no shortage of articles and frameworks out there explaining what due diligence is, why it matters, and how to do it well. I’ll leave you to explore those resources on your own. Instead, I want to share three key takeaways from this session that stuck with me—practical insights you might not find in a checklist.
Know the Customer (Even If You’re Not One)
As an investor, chances are you’re not the target customer for most of the startups you evaluate. That makes it harder to truly understand the value of what the company is offering. Here are a few ways to bridge that gap:
- Research the problem, not just the solution. Are the company’s assumptions about the problem real? Can you independently verify that this issue exists and matters in the market?
- Listen to customer voices. If you can make reference calls, do it. Learn how real customers describe the problem, how they use the product, and how important it is to their operations or lives.
- Understand the buying journey. How do customers in this space evaluate solutions and make decisions? What drives their urgency—or lack of it?
How the Company Sells Matters
Not all sales models are created equal—and they dramatically impact the path to revenue. Is this a one-call close, a year-long enterprise sale, or a multi-stakeholder partnership model?
You need to understand:
- What the sales process looks like
- How long it typically takes
- Who is responsible for selling now, and who will be as the company scales
A compelling product isn’t enough; a scalable, realistic go-to-market plan is a must for long-term success.
Deal Terms Go Beyond Valuation
It is easy to have a single-minded focus on valuation, but the fine print matters just as much. Key terms can significantly affect your return down the line. Pay close attention to:
- Option pool size and structure: understand the percentage of company equity set aside for future hires, which affects ownership and potential dilution.
- Investor rights and protections: make sure you know expectations and triggers that give investors access to information, influence over key decisions, and safeguards against dilution.
- Governance controls: make sure you’re comfortable with how decisions are made in the company and what authority investors or board members have in those decisions.
- Liquidity preferences: know where you will be positioned in the order and amount investors are paid back in the event of a company sale or liquidation.
One of my favorite takeaways from the session was this: “Due diligence is not about eliminating all risk—it’s about understanding the risks you’re taking.”
Early-stage investing will always involve uncertainty. Your job during diligence isn’t to find every answer. It’s to surface the known knowns, identify the known unknowns, and assess whether the founding team has the skills and judgment to navigate what lies ahead and handle the inevitable unknown unknowns.
Startup founders take risks to build something from nothing. Investors take on risk, too, but a good due diligence approach can mitigate some of these risks through thoughtful evaluation and partnership.
Want to dig deeper into early-stage investing? Click here to explore ACA’s full library of resources.
Interested in connecting with our regional angel network, EC Angels? Let’s talk.
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A Letter from our President & Board Chair
At the Entrepreneurs’ Center, everything we do is driven by one goal: delivering real impact to the clients and communities we serve. Over the years, we’ve celebrated major milestones—but none more meaningful than the one we’re proud to share today.
Between 2017 and 2024, EC-supported businesses surpassed $1 billion in cumulative economic impact, measured through revenue generated, investment capital attracted, and grant funding secured.
That kind of impact doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of relentless work to make the Dayton Region one of the very best places to build a business—through bold programming, expanded access to capital, and a community that’s more connected than ever.
For high-growth, high-tech startups, we continue to lead the region’s Ohio Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Services Provider program. Today, we support more than 100 tech companies whose innovations are fueling job creation, attracting capital, and reshaping Dayton’s economic future. In 2025, our successes were recognized with a program extension through mid-2027.
At the same time, we remain equally committed to the small businesses that sustain and energize our communities. Through the Miami Valley Small Business Development Center, we served more than 500 Main Street entrepreneurs in 2024, offering education, one-on-one advising, and support to access the funding they need to grow. We also deepened our role as a convener, hosting Dayton Startup Week and welcoming over 400 attendees and 80 speakers to share, learn, and connect.
2024 was also a breakout year for the Arcade Innovation Hub, our flagship innovation space. Now home to more than 160 member companies, The Hub Powered by PNC Bank has become the region’s most dynamic gathering place for entrepreneurs, educators, and creatives. This partnership between the University of Dayton’s Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Entrepreneurs’ Center is a powerful example of what’s possible when institutions work together to spark innovation.
From our earliest days as a startup incubator to today’s billion-dollar milestone, we’ve remained grounded in one mission: to build progress and prosperity through entrepreneurship. The future we envisioned is now happening—and we’re just getting started.
We’re deeply grateful to our public and private partners, our community collaborators, and especially the hundreds of small business owners and startup founders who trust us to walk alongside them. This impact is yours, too.
We believe the next billion is already on its way.
Scott Koorndyk, President
Dr. David Kirschman, Board Chair
Water technology innovators often face additional challenges, including high initial capital costs, long adoption timelines, complex regulatory environments, and limited access to commercialization support tailored to the sector.
The SBIR/STTR Accelerator addresses these barriers and aims to support startup fundraising efforts by helping participants:
- Understand and navigate the federal funding landscape
- Develop compelling value propositions and commercialization strategies
- Identify market opportunities and competitive advantages
- Strengthen business planning and investor readiness
- Build actionable plans for pursuing SBIR/STTR funding
A Letter from our President & Board Chair
As we reflect on another year of bold ideas, resilient founders, and transformative growth, it’s our pleasure to present the 2025 Annual Impact Report for Entrepreneurs’ Center—the Region’s venture development leader.
In 2025, our team remained focused on our mission: to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial businesses across the Dayton region at every stage—from a good idea to a scaling business to a business attracting capital. Through targeted programming, expert mentorship, access to capital, and deep partnerships across the ecosystem, we continued to build a thriving environment where entrepreneurs can turn visionary ideas into economic engines for our community.
In 2024, we reported that our impact exceeded $1B since 2017. That momentum is not just continuing—it’s accelerating. In 2025 alone, EC-supported businesses generated more than $266M in economic impact, signaling a pace of growth that is compounding year-over-year.
These outcomes are more than numbers—they represent real stories of innovation, perseverance, and community reinvestment right here in Dayton. From high-growth technology startups to main-street businesses and neighborhood innovators, the entrepreneurs we serve are strengthening our regional economy and positioning Dayton as a hub for opportunity and progress.
None of this would be possible without the unwavering support of our Board of Directors, our funders, investors, corporate partners, academic collaborators, and dedicated team. Your belief in the power of entrepreneurship fuels our impact across the Miami Valley and beyond.
We invite you to explore the full 2025 Annual Impact Report to see the depth of our programs, the success stories of the founders we are privileged to work with, and the forward momentum we’re building together.
Thank you for your continued partnership as we continue to power progress and prosperity in the Dayton Region.
Scott Koorndyk, President
Dr. David Kirschman, Board Chair
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