Cincinnati Innovates awarded $25,000 to Jocelyn Cates for Venue Agent, an event-venue booking website application.
Venue Agent was chosen from among 301 online entries. More than 16,000 votes were cast for the HYPE! Community Choice Award. The competition was open to anyone with an idea or an invention who has a connection to the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky MSA. Prizes totaled $80,000.
Venue Agent helps brides and event planners find and book venues for weddings. The same tool helps venues to promote off-peak and off-season discounts.
"Many brides don't know that booking on a Thursday or Friday could save them 50 percent on their venue - and many venues have a tough time selling off-season dates. VenueAgent is like the Hotels.com of event venues," Cates says.
"The purpose of Cincinnati Innovates is to identify high potential entrepreneurs and technologies and connect them with more than 50 local resources for entrepreneurs," says Elizabeth Edwards, founder of Metro Innovation, a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship.
The competition was produced by Metro Innovation, with the Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm, CincyTech, the Northern Kentucky eZone, and 22 area sponsors.
"This year we really saw more winners than we had awards to give out," says attorney James Zimmerman, a partner at Taft. "From biotechnology and the Internet to consumer products, medical devices and green technology, the range of innovation has been amazing."
Bob Coy, president of CincyTech, says the competition helps to spur local entrepreneurial activity, which then spurs economic growth.
"We've been very pleased with the kinds of participants Cincinnati Innovates is attracting," says Coy. "We are looking for strong startups in which to invest, and we've seen many good ideas coming out of this competition."
Source: Jocelyn Cates, Venue Agent, and Bob Coy, CincyTech
Writer: Patrick Mahoney