A boundless spirit of adventure has long beckoned Stephen Recktenwald.
Fueled by his passion for innovation and desire to redefine the limits of nomadic living, Recktenwald's entrepreneurial spirit gave birth to Freedom Fans. Recktenwald's startup aims to "enable adventurers to embrace the freedom of travel while ensuring [that] comfort remains paramount." The company's first product is a skylight for camper vans that integrates a fan along its periphery, masterfully combining both goals to embody the perfect symbiosis of luxury and freedom.
Two factors drive Freedom Fans forward: Recktenwald's design prowess and the guidance he received from the 1819 Innovation Hub's Venture Lab and UC's Center for Entrepreneurship. Innovation takes an extensive skill set, but an entirely different one is required to successfully market and manufacture a new product.
"The Venture Lab provides expert content, mentorship, funding and physical coworking space for UC founders with scalable venture ideas," Josie Dalton, associate director for UC's Center for Entrepreneurship, says. "We work to infuse founders with the resources and support to develop and launch companies that create economic impact for the Greater Cincinnati region and beyond."
Freedom Fans logo. Photo/Freedom Fans
Freedom Fans' experience with the Venture Lab revolved around the Venture Lab NEXT Accelerator and the New Venture Championship. Venture Lab programs offer comprehensive agendas up to three months in length that break down ways for students to navigate the world of startups. Through a curated mentorship network, collaborative peer-to-peer learning and guest speakers, participants gain insights into the art of successfully launching and managing a startup venture.
The second initiative, the Center for Entrepreneurship's New Venture Championship, is a high-stakes pitch competition where cohorts showcase their innovative startup ideas before a panel of industry expert judges for a chance to win part of a prize pool of up to $20,000.
Recktenwald graduated from the Venture Lab NEXT Accelerator with newfound knowledge of running a business plus $5,000 in seed funding. The 2023 New Venture Championship awarded Freedom Fans an additional $10,000, and Recktenwald left UC's Venture Lab confident in his ability to level up the business.
The Venture Lab was, in Recktenwald's opinion, "an invaluable experience" that he'd "highly recommend to any UC student with a startup idea." Some of his favorite moments in the Venture Lab were seminars with experienced entrepreneurs, weekly one-on-ones with similarly minded founders and the feeling that all questions were welcome.
"We are continuing to grow and gain more traction, which has been fun to watch," Recktenwald says. "I'm excited to see what the future holds."
Featured image at top: Recktenwald's converted ambulance during a road trip. Photo/Stephen Recktenwald
