Bounce’s Startup Showcase continues to grow each year: attracting new partners, companies, and guests to participate in the organization’s largest annual event. By 2025, the event had nearly outgrown the largest event space at Bounce – the Signal Tree – and with momentum continuing to build for 2026, it was time to find a new home. The team selected the Hometown Hall at House Three Thirty, a venue in the heart of Akron known for bringing communities together for special occasions and celebrations.
The room was decked out in Bounce’s signature color scheme with orange table settings and blue lights throughout the space. Programs were laid at each seat detailing the speakers, sponsors, and companies that would be featured. Next to the stage, “BOUNCE” was spelled in large, lit-up marquee letters where attendees stopped to admire or used as an impromptu photo op to commemorate the night before and after the main program.
The hall started to come alive shortly after 5 PM as guests arrived and slowly found their way to their seats, stopping along the way to grab a drink and meet up with new or familiar faces while scanning the hall. Bounce’s community once again showed out in a big way with over 150 community members, industry leaders, and other changemakers in the region in attendance. Among these 150 were special guest speakers Joe Luckring, Regional President for PNC Akron and Ray Leach, Co-Founder and President of The O.H.I.O. Fund.
Bounce President & CEO, Jessica Sublett, kicked off the evening by welcoming everyone to the Showcase and giving the audience a brief overview of Bounce’s major milestones in 2026 while dinner was served. She then set the stage for the six startup founders who would present for a chance to win the audience-voted Pitch Competition, which includes a $5,000 prize presented by Smaltz Insurance. Immediately following Jessica’s remarks, the competition was underway as our selected startups pitched their companies to the room.
Bill Ullom was first with PolyKinetix, a recycling company targeting end-of-life tires and plastics waste with zero process emissions.
Aaron Boggs went next with Dianyx Innovations, which is commercializing an intraoral biosensor platform for remote patient monitoring of sleep apnea and other related health issues.
Next up was Jess Prchlik of PaperChase, an AI-enabled lending infrastructure that connects fragmented data, systems, and workflows across the lending life cycle.
Dr. Peter Heifetz presented for Bioverde Tech, which uses engineered microbes to convert low-cost natural gas into high-value sustainable chemicals.
Lindsay Friedman made the case for LTCareNav, an innovative platform dedicated to helping families navigate the world of ageing and long-term care.
Last but not least was Dr. Ibrahim Seven of OneVue, a scalable platform that detects early signs of diabetes, cardiovascular risk, and other systemic diseases through the eye.
While team members gathered voting cards from each table and began to tally the results, Ray Leach gave a presentation on The O.H.I.O. Fund’s momentum and their goal to facilitate major investment into Ohio’s large-and-still-growing innovation economy and usher in Ohio’s fourth economic era with an initiative called Ohio 4.0. Guests were invigorated by the spotlight on opportunities for Ohio’s economic growth and how Bounce is positioned to play a major role in the state’s future.
Following Ray’s remarks, Jessica took the stage once again to announce the winner and present the $5,000 check alongside Smaltz Insurance founder Suzanne Smaltz. Dianyx was the winning company and founder Aaron Boggs joined Jessica and Suzanne on stage to receive the check that will go directly into moving the company forward.
With the main program concluding with the competition’s winner, the evening moved into the networking portion where guests got up from their seats and shared drinks and desserts. The presenting founders were set up on one side of the room to talk to potential investors or interested parties on their product, and the patio was opened for guests to enjoy the beautiful weather and fresh air on an early fall night. There were also several raffle baskets and a silent auction that caught the eye of attendees featuring exclusive packages generously donated by the Akron Zoo, Cleveland Monsters, Stan Hywet, and more.
To close out the night, the raffle winners were announced, and conversations continued on the way to the doors as everyone was buzzing about the event that had just taken place. Some final photos were snapped near the large marquee letters to post online with the new connections made.
While the Startup Showcase is a celebration of entrepreneurship, innovation, and the incredible companies shaping our region, it is also Bounce Innovation Hub’s largest annual fundraiser. This year’s Showcase helped the organization raise nearly $30,000 in critical support, fueling our mission to empower entrepreneurs, foster innovation, and drive meaningful community and economic growth throughout the region.
