"Location, location, location.” — Harold Samuel, real estate tycoon
Today’s issue:
March 2, 2021
A CHAT WITH AN INNOVATOR
Resquared creates niche real estate tool 
Griffin Morris, Resquared co-founder
Twice a year, Silicon Valley based Y Combinator (YC) funds category-defining ventures and provides them with mentorship. YC's alumni are valued at a combined $300B+ and include Dropbox, AirBnB, Stripe, Brex, and Podium to name a few.
Last month, YC invested in Cincy-based Resquared, a marketing platform for commercial real estate. Cincinnati Future spoke with Griffin Morris who, along with Tyler Carlson, co-founded Resquared.
Tell us about Resquared.
Griffin Morris: We started working on this about a year ago. We saw commercial real estate as a market traditionally underserved in terms of technology. We set out to build software that would help companies that owned shopping centers have an easier time finding local tenants.
How was finding tenants done previously?
Griffin Morris: Generally speaking, if you had a vacancy, you were going to try to find a national tenant to move in. But now national chains are downsizing or not expanding like they used to. Most retail activity has moved to more regional and local partners. That trend has been accelerated by COVID.
What does Resquared do toward that end?
Griffin Morris: To find those local types of tenants, leasers and brokers used to have to go door to door. That can be challenging so people were looking for tools in which to do marketing outreach digitally.
"We saw commercial real estate as a market traditionally underserved in terms of technology."
— Griffin Morris, Resquared CEO & Co-Founder
Our platform makes it really easy for shopping centers to identify the local businesses in their market and reach out to them about retail space. Given restrictions during COVID, this makes a great work-from-home tool for real estate professionals.
We have a database that includes information on every local business across the country. We package that into our software, which is an easy-to-use tool that searches and filters through that data. Then we offer the capability for brokers to reach out digitally. It’s a huge time-saver but also gives access to more leads.
Who helped you along your journey?
Griffin Morris: We’re a member of Cintrifuse, where we got access to services and point of contact. We then applied to get into the Y Combinator.
We went through a series of application and interview processes and they told us that they wanted to invest. In my startup career I've always known Y Combinator to be the most prestigious investment group. It is very difficult to get in, and is known to accept less than 2% of companies that apply.
The network, mentorship, and access to talent we have already received through YC has been a game changer. Share this story!
FEATURED PODCAST With Refinery Ventures
How do you achieve 100x growth? — S2: E5 Whether you're building a startup or an innovation ecosystem, you need to hear insights from Cleveland Foundation's Baiju Shah. The veteran executive, investor, and entrepreneur shares stories about his passion for growth, Cleveland, and the next generation of healthcare. You can find the Fast Frontiers podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or their website.
Share this podcast!
HOT COFFEE! 
At-home COVID-19 test Kroger Health, in collaboration with healthcare tech company Gauss, is launching the first smartphone-enabled at-home COVID rapid antigen test kit available nationwide. Cybersecurity scholarship The University of Cincinnati is establishing a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program with a $4 million award from the National Science Foundation. It is a full scholarship and living stipend program that supports students for up to three years while they complete their degree in cybersecurity. Miami U starts incubator Miami University and the city of Oxford are revitalizing a vacant building located in the College Avenue and Elm Street area as an incubator for start-ups, workforce development, innovation, manufacturing, and more. They’ll start with $1 million from Ohio’s 2021-2022 state capital budget. Accolades Share these stories!
INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT With InvestMidwest
Midwest Venture Showcase — April 27-28, 2021 
With a blend of on-demand and live sessions, the virtual 2021 program is designed to provide you with the latest industry updates and flexibility to view content and company pitches according to your schedule. Co-produced by InvestMidwest and the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium. Register HERE. Share this event!
ON OUR RADAR
Where will your next opportunity come from? 
Cincinnati Future created the Innovation Radar so you have a resource to track and connect to the most innovative companies and people in our region.
Discover local innovative companies and learn about the people behind them. You can also help build our innovation radar by adding companies here. Let's build our innovation ecosystem together!
Here are several helpful links to find local innovation at work: The Innovation Radar is free for all newsletter subscribers. Log in with your email and password Future. Share the Innovation Radar!
KNOW YOUR CITY! 
Have you checked your "Cincy-Q" recently? Here are this week's questions:
Click here for the answers!
AROUND THE REGION With 
We hope you enjoy these headlines from the latest issue of Flyover Future, chronicling innovation throughout the Midwest. If you'd like to subscribe to Flyover Future, click here.
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