Entrepreneurship : Innovation + Job News

El Futuro de Cleveland, a collaboration between Global Cleveland, Esperanza, Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE), and Cleveland Leadership Center’s (i)Cleveland hopes to retain local Latino talent in Northeast Ohio by offering paid internships to college students.
 
“The mission is to support the rich diversity of the Greater Cleveland Latino community and ensure it grows and thrives,” says Global Cleveland’s Elizabeth Hijar. There are 62,000 Latinos in Cuyahoga County, and that population grew by 30 percent since 2000. “The Latino community is a bright spot in Cleveland and is growing."
 
Part of the Global Cleveland Latino initiative, El Futuro de Cleveland is working with Cleveland State, CWRU, Baldwin Wallace and Kent State, in addition to reaching out to schools in Boston and Chicago. “The focus is on young people to help ensure there are opportunities to make them stay in Cleveland, attract them and make sure there’s a pipeline,” says Hijar. “We want to focus on these students and really try to help them get a first start in their careers, whether they are from Cleveland or outside of Cleveland, and think about living here on a long-term basis.”
 
Nineteen employers already have signed up to provide paid internships through the program. The employers are required to enroll their interns in the (i)Cleveland summer leadership and mentoring program.

 
Source: Elizabeth Hijar
Writer: Karin Connelly

NEOSA Tech Week returns for the third year, April 15-21 at various locations. “This year we reached out to a lot of community organizations around Northeast Ohio, like Team NEO, JumpStart and the Regional IT Engagement (RITE) Board,” says NEOSA director Brad Nellis. “We have expanded content, including Information Security Summit’s Spring Summit and NASA’s International Space Apps Challenge.”

The week-long event will also include pitch nights hosted by JumpStart and the Society for Information Management, networking events and Global Cleveland’s IT virtual job fair. The highlights of the week are the Best in Tech Awards and Crain’s CIO of the Year award.

Finalists for Tech Company of the Year include Explorys, Hyland Software, OnShift, TOA Technologies and Vox Mobile. “It’s a great group every year,” says Nellis of the Best in Tech nominees. “But there are some really cool up-and-coming companies in there this year.”

Other categories include Best Emerging Company, Best Software Product, Best IT Services Company and Best Mobile App. “Best app is a little risky with that category because we’re trying to pick apps that have a great shot,” says Nellis. A new category this year is Most Promising Startup. “We want to capture those really early stage companies that are getting early recognition.” Most promising startup finalists include InStore Finance, iOTOS and Public Insight Corporation.

There are a few new companies in the mix too, says Nellis, such as Blue Chip Consulting, Level Seven Group, OEConnection and Relational Solutions.

NEOSA received more than 60 nominations across all categories. About 1,300 people are expected to attend this year, up from 500 in 2011 and 900 in 2012.

The weekend culminates with NEOSA and Tri-C hosting the NASA Space Apps Challenge, an event involving 75 cities around the world. Volunteers spend the weekend coding to find new software solutions to improve life on earth and in space. The event ends with interactive judging of the teams’ solutions and awards.

The full schedule of events and locations is available on the 2013 Tech Week website.


Source: Brad Nellis
Writer: Karin Connelly

Yes, blockbuster video game releases get all the buzz and rake in a lot of money, but the tried-and-true board game still has a following. And it's even made a mini resurgence in the past decade.

Some of the best-selling modern board games, including Ticket to Ride and Dominion, feature compelling back-stories, are fast-paced and require strategic thinking.

Just in time for summer, a Cincinnati board game developer with a track record of success is working to get his latest game, Family Vacation, on retail shelves. Philip duBarry, with the backing of Jolly Roger Games, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game's production.

Children and adults alike can play Family Vacation, a game where each player takes their family to various cities and attractions across the United States and racks up or loses happiness points through travel experiences (including chances for bonus points). The player with the most points at the end of the vacation earns the title of "Vacation Master." You can see a video will a complete explanation of the game here.

"Family Vacation is a lighter, more casual sort of game," duBarry says. "It takes about an hour to play." DuBarry previously designed Revolution! by Steve Jackson Games, Kingdom of Solomon by Minion Games and Courtier by AEG.

So far, the Kickstarter campaign has raised about one-fourth of its $12,000 goal.

When he's not creating games, duBarry is a children's pastor at Addyston Baptist Church. He has a B. A. in elementary education from Middle Tennessee State University, and has lived in the Cincinnati area for the past 13 years.

He began designing games as a hobby in 2007, when he created Revolution! and sold a few dozen on the Internet.

"Then Phil Reed of Steve Jackson Games bought one and asked if I'd thought of publishing the game," he says. It was the end of a hobby and the start of a side job.

"I've thought about starting my own company, but really my favorite part of this is designing and making games, so that is what I'm sticking to," duBarry says.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Laurel School junior Anamika Veeramani took first place at TiE Ohio’s inaugural TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Business Plan Competition on March 13 for her online science journal for high school students, En Kephalos Science Journal. Veeramani first beat out her fellow Laurel students in a competition before advancing to the regional competition. She won $1,000 and will compete in the TiE Global competition at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia in June.

Competitors were asked to create a business plan for a company that could be started for less than $1,000. The plans were reviewed by a panel of judges based on concept, business model, market analysis, financial analysis and overall presentation.
 
Veeramani created En Kephalos Science Journal -- which is Greek for “In the Mind” -- during her freshman year as an outlet for students to go more in-depth in their science research. “I had done research since seventh grade,” she says. “I would do really well at science fairs, but there was nothing beyond that and no opportunities to publish in journals.”
 
Veeramani wanted to provide a vehicle for high school students to share their findings. “I chose the name En Kephalos because I wanted to stress the fact that while age and experience are closely tied, age and knowledge or ability don’t necessarily correlate,” she explains. “You don’t need to be an undergrad or postgrad to be able to conduct meaningful, publishable research.”
 
En Kephalos has three boards, made up of high school and college undergrads and a board of science professionals. “Our model is different because the majority of the staff is made up of peers,” Veeramani says.
 
Contributors come from mostly the Midwest and the East coast, but Veeramani says she has contributors from around the country and Canada. One of her staff lives in England.
 
TiE Ohio sponsored the competition in partnership with the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and the Veale Foundation. Second and third place winners came from Magnificat and University School.

 
Source: Anamika Veeramani
Writer: Karin Connelly

As the owner of a small consulting firm, James Gasparatos knows all too well the struggles of running a small business, including promoting the company and finding the right talent among other things. The challenges gave Gasparatos the idea to start Gigfinity, an interactive website designed to help small and mid-size Cleveland businesses connect with customers, promote their companies and find local talent. The site also allows job seekers to peruse and apply for jobs with Gigfinity businesses.

“Gigfinity is a social commerce site focused on marketing and hiring for small businesses,” explains Gasparatos. “My business partner, Eric McGarvey, and I were running our own small consulting companies when we had this idea a few years ago. We saw a gap where there were a lot of opportunities here for both small businesses and for job seekers. We connect them.”
 
Small businesses can post their profiles on Gigfinity -- free of charge -- detailing their services, job openings and even work samples. The businesses only pay a fee if they fill a job or get customers from their listings on Gigfinity.
 
“We only want them to pay if there’s something of value for them,” says Gasparatos. “Here, people who are looking at your profile most likely need your service.” Additionally, Gigfinity is offering small businesses a free credit for signing up on the site. Simply put in offer code “G1000” to get the free credit when signing up.
 
Service seekers can search the database for companies that fulfill their needs. And job seekers, or “gig seekers” can search for open positions or post their resumes and profiles.
 
It’s all about keeping it local and supporting the little guy, says Gasparatos. The site, which officially launched in the beginning of 2013, already has more than 60 small business listings and around 10 open jobs.
 
Gasparatos plans to team up with local high school and colleges in the area to attract and retain new talent to the growing small businesses. “Nothing brings everyone together as a region like small businesses and jobs,” he says.
 

Source: James Gasparatos
Writer: Karin Connelly

On April 12, Platform 53 is hosting a “jelly” for those interested in coworking. A “jelly” is a temporary coworking event that Platform 53 plans to host every two weeks.
 
Adam Dean launched Platform 53 in January 2012 at Northern Kentucky University’s Startup Weekend—but under the name 3C-Coworks. At the time, Dean was an intern at Bad Girl Ventures, and he saw a need for a coworking space in Covington. He partnered with Stacy Kessler, an ex-P&Ger whose background is in consumer understanding and strategy, and the name was eventually changed.
 
The name references the railroad and the impact it had on the area. The “53” refers to 1853, which is the year the Covington train station at Eighth and Russell was built. Platform 53 also symbolizes the role the group wants to play in the community, by being a platform upon which people can build their businesses.
 
“I was used to a traditional office setting and office resources, but then I started working at home and out of coffee shops, and I realized I needed something different,” Kessler says.
 
About 30 percent of the private workforce in the United States works independently, Dean says. “We want to create a network of opportunity in the area and be a hub for independent workers.”
 
Dean and Kessler have a vision for Platform 53’s physical workspace, which they’re hoping to secure by the end of April. They want to have an open work environment with a combination of phone booth rooms, meeting rooms and conference rooms, plus flexible desk options or dedicated office space for those that wish to have their own offices.
 
“We want to make people feel at home, and have a platform to celebrate successes and make announcements,” Dean says.
 
Platform 53 is for entrepreneurs, small businesses, independent workers and those with flexible work arrangements who want to run and grow their businesses and connect with others.
 
“To me, coworking is about ‘accelerated serendipity,’” Dean says. “You might not know what you need, but you’ll eventually see the opportunity by being around others.”
 
Currently, Dean and Kessler have had about 75 people show interest in Platform 53. And the group isn’t just tech-focused. “The magic happens when you bring together people from different walks of life,” Kessler says.
 
They’re looking for different skill sets but shared values among members.
 
“We want to be part of the startup corridor,” says Kessler. “The Brandery and Cintrifuse are in Over-the-Rhine, and UpTech and Platform 53 are here in Covington—we’re like bookends that connect the region.”
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Many personal interactions that start online are based simply on trust—buying and selling on Craigslist, picking up discarded items from Freecyle, attending a brand new Meetup or even going out on a date.

But what if you could find out a bit more about someone before going out on that first date? Or maybe you'd like to alleviate a buyer's concerns before selling them your old Xbox. A Cincinnati couple started an online profile verification service that allows users to verify and share their identities, photos and background checks with other users.

Co-founders Michael and BreeAnna Bergman are set to launch their service, REPP, in public beta in April. The idea came from the newlyweds' own life. BreeAnna unsuccessfully tried to do a little detective work on her soon-to-be husband before their first date.

They met speed dating, and before their first night out, she had wanted to learn more about Michael. BreeAnna says she couldn't be sure if she had found the right Michael Bergman on social media, and when she tried to run a background check (not uncommon nowadays) more than 100 Michael Bergman's popped up. "It was hopeless," she says.

Luckily, she didn't let her fruitless search deter her. A few months into their relationship, she told Michael about what she had done. He was a little shocked at first but understood. Then came the business idea.

"I found out that every girl does this," Michael says with a chuckle. "There are lots of situations where we meet up with total strangers, and we try to do our due diligence. REPP will give the end result right away."

REPP is a 2012 graduate of The Brandery. Michael has a background in marketing and law, and BreeAnna has a marketing background.

The REPP process starts by providing a name, birthdate and address. The user is asked questions relevant to his or her life that are based on information culled from databases to verify identity. REPP also runs a background check, and the user can provide notes on anything that comes up in it.

Through REPP, users can also connect social media accounts,which gives another level of identity verification. Once a profile is created, anyone can be invited to view it. Users control what they can and cannot view, as well and when they can view the profile. The profile will also have a public link, and viewers can request access. The profile's owner keeps control over who sees what.

Michael sees REPP as the next step in creating higher quality virtual connections.

"It can be used in dating, networking, the peer-to-peer area, or to get to know someone better in a professional capacity," he says. "It's a way to set yourself apart, and it's an easy way for people to get to know each other better."

By Feoshia H. Davis
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When Tom Nolan was at South by Southwest (SXSW) last year, he was moved by the startup companies on the stage during the business accelerator. “It was inspiring to see the companies go and pitch their hearts out with something they’ve been working on for months and years,” Nolan says. “I remember sitting in the audience and I had the idea for Plotter and I thought, ‘I’m going to go home and work on it.'"

Plotter is Nolan’s social mapping app -- just launched for iPhone on March 1. Plotter allows users to not only perform typical mapping functions, but also lets users interact and view friends’ maps or plot multiple destinations.
 
Nolan quit his job last September to develop Plotter and hasn’t stopped since. “We kind of hit the ground running in October and November,” he says. “We logged thousands of hours in a short amount of time.”
 
Nolan and his three partners, Chad Milburn, Tim Zeller and Chris Jungjohann, applied in November to compete in the SXSW accelerator in the social division. In December they got word that Plotter had beat out more than 500 companies for the chance to pitch their app at the conference last week.
 
The Plotter team made it through the first round, giving a two-minute pitch to judges and investors and made it into the final three in their category. They went on to give a five-minute pitch and a 10-minute Q & A before they were declared the winner.
 
The next step is to roll out Plotter for Android. Nolan also wants to target the auto industry. “We’re talking to car manufacturers to bring Plotter in dashboards of cars,” he says. “We want to become the first mapping app in cars. The in-dash systems are so outdated.”
 
Nolan says he plans to keep Plotter in Cleveland and expand the team as soon as possible. “It’s been kind of a whirlwind,” he says. “We need to figure out the next steps and what direction to go in.”

 
Source: Tom Nolan
Writer: Karin Connelly

UpTech’s first year has been a big one. The six-month super accelerator attracted 57 ideas, and eight of those ideas were selected to become companies in its inaugural class—all eight of those companies graduated. Three of those companies received $90,000 in grant money; to date, those companies have received $230,000 in follow-on funding.
 
By 2017, UpTech has promised to bring 50 startups to Northern Kentucky, says Amanda Greenwell, UpTech’s program manager. The business accelerator has also promised to create jobs and provide money and support services to area businesses and its companies.
 
“Our goal is to create a culture of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in Northern Kentucky,” says Greenwell.
 
UpTech wants to continue building on its successes and contribute to a culture that understands startups. “We want to create an ecosystem in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati that creates a place for graduates of NKU's College of Informatics. We want to be a catalyst for that.”
 
UpTech is a new business informatics accelerator that was launched last year by several community investors, including Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, Northern Kentucky ezone, Northern Kentucky University and Vision 2015.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Two years ago, Matt Benton and his partner Jeremy Amos had an idea for adding social media to the college search process. So they quit their jobs doing investment work at KeyBank to develop College with Friends, a free mobile app that allows users to build a list of schools and see where their friends are going.

“It’s a way of saying, 'Hey, I want to go to Ohio State; who else wants to go there?'" says Benton. "The main idea is seeing who your future classmates might be."

It also gives colleges an alternate way of contacting students who are interested in their schools, as opposed to blindly marketing through the mail.
 
“At Key, time and again we heard parents complaining about kids going to college,” recalls Benton. “In addition to financing, they were getting all this mail, and kids wanted to know where everyone else is going. We wanted to create a time and a place for the college search and solve a lot of these problems.”
 
The app contains all the academic information prospective students need about the schools, and shows what friends are looking at those schools. Benton and Amos launched the app in January after talking to schools about their marketing process.
 
“We spent a ton of time with colleges,” says Benton. “The number-one thing they do is mailings through buying zip code data. We create the ability for colleges to come in and connect directly with the kids interested in going to that college.” Benton and Amos also talked to high school students about what they’d like to see in College with Friends.
 
Benton and Amos plan to add a news feed to the app, in which students can share their campus visits.
 
Right now the two work with a development firm for the technical aspects of the app while they focus on the design side. Benton says they plan to move the technical side in-house, as well as hire a “pretty sizeable” sales force.

 
Source: Matt Benton
Writer: Karin Connelly

NorTech celebrated seven Northeast Ohio companies last week at its 13th annual NorTech Innovation Awards. The companies were recognized for developing new technologies that contribute to the economic success of the region.
 
“Innovation is critical in sustaining U.S. competitiveness, especially in this constantly changing global marketplace,” says NorTech CEO Rebecca Bagley. “We want to really highlight these innovations. Our goal is to create jobs, attract capital and generate a long-term economic impact in the region.”
 
The awards were given out in six categories: advanced energy; advanced materials; biosciences; flexible electronics; instrumentation, controls and electronics; and water technologies.
 
Local companies honored include Quasar Energy Group, which paired with Forest City Enterprises to build an anaerobic digestion facility on a brownfield in Collinwood. The facility, known as Collinwood BioEnergy, takes organic waste and turns it into electricity for Cleveland Public Power.
 
The system generates 1.3 megawatts of electricity per day and saves 42,000 wet tons of trash from landfills each year. Quasar has created more than 60 Ohio jobs with this technology.
 
Cardioinsight, formed by a CWRU professor and two engineering students, was honored for its development of a lightweight vest that aids in the diagnosis and treatment of electrical disorders in the heart. Cardioinsight paired with Nottingham Spirk to design and develop the vest.
 
“It’s a great partnership,” says Bagley. “They have a prototype that works and is also comfortable for the patient.”
 
Cleveland HeartLab, a spinoff from the Cleveland Clinic, developed clinical tests for myeloperoxidase, which is a plaque in the blood that indicates patients’ risks for heart attacks. Cleveland HeartLab has created more than 100 jobs since its start in 2010 and revenue has grown by 100 percent each year.
 
Other companies honored were NASA Glen Research Center, Akron Surface Technologies, Codonics and SNS Nano Fiber Technology.

 
Source: Rebecca Bagley
Writer: Karin Connelly

TEDx, an independently organized intellectual conference licensed by the global TED event, will be hosted by Xavier University at the Cintas Center on April 17. Last year's premiere was met with great success, and this year's event will include a multitude of speakers.

TEDx was started to mimic the larger TED’s format with multiple speakers, demonstrators and performers who seek to share “ideas worth spreading.” Nicholas Turon took on the lead role in organizing this year’s event with Xavier students who study the full spectrum of academic disciplines.

“I love TED and everything it stands for,” says Turon, who studies music education. “This is something we can be proud of. We’ve helped create an environment you don’t normally get in classes.”

Organized entirely by Xavier students, they view TEDx as an important legacy to leave for future students.

“There’s only so much you can do to change a university in four years,” says Sam Seigle, who is the head of speakers and sponsors for the event. “This is our special opportunity to make a lasting tradition. We hope it will grow more prestigious every year.”

Due to budgeting constraints, the event will have a smaller capacity than last year's. While 2012 reached its registration limit of 400 attendees within a week, this year, there will only be 200 available seats. Turon says the scaled-down event will offer participants a more intimate experience with speakers.

The organizers are eager to make TEDx a continual success, which relies on spreading the word to promoters and interested audiences. Registration for tickets to the event is available here.

By Sean Peters

Housed in an historic Portsmouth shoe factory dating back to 1890, Yost Engineering is doing cutting-edge work on sensors to provide a solution to movement and orientation challenges.
 
The company’s new YEI 3-Space Sensor took three years to complete. “It’s an inertial sensor,” explains Francesca Hartop, ceo. “This means it can be attached to a person or object to provide precise information on that person’s or object’s motion and acceleration, as well as any impact experienced.”

Hartop notes that, while some highly accurate sensors exist, they’re very expensive. And, she points out, affordable versions are not very accurate.  “We wanted to combine high accuracy with low cost to provide the benefits of inertial sensors to a broader range of products and industries. Usually, you have to balance cost versus quality. With our YEI 3-Space Sensor, however, there’s no longer that trade off.”

The sensor has several applications. “Because it measures the motion and acceleration of objects, it’s used to control the navigation of autonomous vehicles, robots or marine vehicles,” she explains. The device is also used in sports analysis to study how the movement of an athlete or equipment affects performance.

Yost is also working with partners in physical medicine and rehabilitation and related patient support services that would like to use the sensors for applications such as tremor analysis in Parkinson’s patients and monitoring joint angles in recovering knee-replacement patients.
 
In addition, the YEI 3-Space Sensor is currently being tested by the Department of Defense (DOD) in several situations in which navigation needs can’t be feasibly or consistently accomplished by GPS, Hartop explains. “This includes tracking people and objects, as well as aiding in automated mapping, a technique in which a person or robot quickly runs through an area and the sensor data provides a full map without anyone having to draw or measure it out.” It’s anticipated that the DOD testing will be completed this year.
 
The company, which has received Third Frontier funding, has 28 staff members.
 

Source:  Francesca Hartop, Yost Engineering
Writer:  Lynne Meyer
 

JumpStart recently invested $250,000 in Casentric, a Shaker Heights developer of a cloud-based software-as-a-service application to help insurance companies resolve property and injury claims quickly and fairly. CaseXpert streamlines the information needed to resolve a claim by integrating liability, injury and medical reports into one, making the adjuster’s job easier and un-biased.

“This tool helps insurance companies resolve their cases more accurately and faster,” explains Jim Kaiser, Casentric CEO. “CaseXpert helps adjusters evaluate claims in a balanced way that is fair to the customer, but represents the companies’ interests as well.”
 
Before CaseXpert, adjusters often were left to rely on their own experience to determine claims. “Claims were determined through their own expertise,” says Kaiser. “Adjusters had to grapple with claims.”
 
Casentric launched the first version of CaseXpert in September, and relied on user feedback before releasing its second version early this year. “We heard adjusters get bombarded with a lot of information, and it’s hard for them to get their arms around,” says Kaiser. “We made sure the information is easy to use. The users said, ‘It makes me more confident in figuring out what’s going on with the case.'”
 
Kaiser says Casentric plans to use the JumpStart investment to roll out additional components to CaseXpert and generate sales. The next component will be a negotiation tool. “Adjusters spend a good part of the day negotiating,” says Kaiser. “Our virtual dashboard tells users how it’s going, are we miles apart and does this look like it’s going the right way.”
 
Casentric currently outsources three positions. Kaiser says he hopes to hire some permanent staff members with the JumpStart investment.

 
Source: Jim Kaiser
Writer: Karin Connelly

Students and faculty have launched their first mobile app suites out of the new UC App Lab on MainStreet.

The University of Cincinnati opened the App Lab, a campus mobile application development center, a little over a month ago. It's a physical space where students, faculty, staff and alumni can develop apps for smartphones and tablets. It's located with ResNet and MobileCats wireless store on MainStreet, and is the only space of its type in the region.

The first two app suites are geared toward the campus community. One is for current students, while the other is for alumni.

Through Blackboard Mobile Learn, current students can access a UC campus map, check grades, track shuttles, access university sports and campus news and events. The app is free for current UC students. The Alumni app accesses campus news and networking events. It allows alumni to donate to the college, volunteer at the college, and connect with other alumni via their social networks, among other features.

This is the just the start for the App Lab, which is working with local businesses and organizations to create new mobile apps.

"We are moving pretty fast," says Nelson Vincent, vice president of UC Information Technologies. "We're working on a second release of the alumni app, and working with some startup companies to see if they are a good fit."

The App Lab is a way to cultivate the region's mobile app development talent. It's a growing part of web commerce and everyday life for millions of smartphone users. In 2012, the average person used some form of mobile 127 minutes a day, Vincent says.

"It's a real generational shift," he says. "Who doesn't have a smartphone today with apps on it? And folks who do this work in Cincinnati are in very short supply."

As the app development program matures, UC is considering partnering with private businesses for mentorship and co-op opportunities.

"This is a really exciting time," says Vincent. "A community of people are coming together to make this happen, and we think this is going to take off."

By Feoshia H. Davis
Follow Feoshia on Twitter