Cleveland : Innovation + Job News

Ryan O’Donnell has created a way to add a personal touch to online gifting. The founder and CEO of Sociagram has created an online cloud-based platform to create customized personal video messages. O’Donnell recognized that people enjoy sending e-cards and adding other personal touches when they send online gifts.

O’Donnell started Let’s Gift It in 2011, an online group gifting site, but quickly recognized the market wasn’t there. “What we learned is we were in a startup graveyard,” he says. “There was low perceived value and a high level of complexity to integrate it.”
 
But the idea behind Let’s Gift It led to Sociagram in 2012. “Since 1996, the only option was printing out a gift message on a packing slip that gets sent out with the product,” explains O’Donnell. “We realized we need more than that. With Sociagram, grandma and grandpa live in another state, they can click a button and sing happy birthday to their grandson. Dad can then record the grandson opening their gift.”
 
Retailers can also incorporate Sociagram into their gift options. Sociagram clients include 1-800-Bakery, Ashland Addison Florist Company and Mak·a·boo Personalized Gifts.
 
Sociagram recently received a $250,000 investment from JumpStart to further develop its platform. “They’ve been great partners,” says O’Donnell. “They’ve helped us think it through.” O’Donnell just moved Sociagram’s offices to Cleveland from New York. “Cleveland has been a very receptive place for us,” he says. He’s currently working out of the FlashStarts offices.
 
The company currently employs two software developers and two marketing and sales people, as well as an intern. O’Donnell plans to hire an additional four people as the company grows.

 
Source: Ryan O’Donnell
Writer: Karin Connelly

Chris Armenio and Art Geigel like having everything they need right at their fingertips. Pairing smart phones with tinkering on a hobbyist level, the two came up with iOTOS, a way to control everything from the garage door opener to the coffee maker through smart phones and tablets.
 
Armenio and Geigel developed iOTOS through the LaunchHouse Accelerator Program last year. Based on a technology known as “the Internet of things,” the tech wirelessly connects consumers and businesses to the things they use every day. The Internet of things market is expected to hit $14.4 trillion in the next 10 years.
 
“It started as an easy way to control hobby projects through a website or email for the hardware hackers,” explains Armenio of their NiOS wireless hub. “As we started looking out there, we found more and more diversified companies were looking to fit this stuff with their commercial products.”
 
The technology and iOTOS’ offerings are growing in popularity as the concept and demand takes off. The company was named “Most Promising Startup” at 2013 NEOSA Tech Week’s Best in Tech awards last week.
 
So far, the company has sold its technology to garage door opener retrofit packagers.  iOTOS recently announced pre-sales of its NioGarage, a retrofit WiFi garage door system. “We’re in pretty advanced talks with a few Northeast Ohio companies,” says Geigel.
 
iOTOS has four full-time employees, including Armenio and Geigel, two salespeople and three part-time employees. The company recently brought on Jim McGreevy as vice president of business development.

 
Sources: Chris Armenio and Art Geigel
Writer: Karin Connelly

NEOSA Tech Week brought 1,600 attendees to events around Cleveland last week, tripling its numbers since it first started three years ago. “It’s really inspiring to see the region recognizing the value and importance of the IT industry in Cleveland,” says NEOSA director Brad Nellis.

From the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, which had 34 local participants in a worldwide event of 9,000, to the much-anticipated Best of Tech Awards, to educational events and job fairs, Tech Week highlighted both the emerging technology companies and the more established and growing businesses in the region.
 
“We saw a lot of new companies we hadn’t seen before and that was kind of cool,” says Nellis. In particular he cites iOTOS as a standout winner in the new Best of Tech category Most Promising Startup. “These guys showed a high degree of promise. iOTOS holds the opportunity to be something big coming out of Northeast Ohio.”
 
UrbanCode, which announced Monday that it has been acquired by IBM, won Best Software Product. “UrbanCode really stands out in the market,” says Nellis. “It was cool that we give them an award on Thursday, and on Monday they announce they’ve been acquired. We’ve been following them for a couple of years and they’re a company that’s growing like wildfire. They’ll probably double in size again this year.”
 
Hyland Software won Tech Company of the Year, Vox Mobile won Best IT Services Company, and DecisionDesk won Best Emerging Company. Nellis points out that all of the finalists are impressive companies as well, having emerged out of 60 nominations in five categories. Six CIO of the Year were named in various categories by Crain’s Cleveland Business.
 

Source: Brad Nellis
Writer: Karin Connelly

Researchers at CWRU have developed a material that can morph from stiff to soft, making its gradient properties potentially useful in medical implants. The research was conducted by professors Stuart Rowan, Justin Fox and Jeffrey Capadona of the macromolecular science and engineering, chemistry and biomedical engineering departments, and Paul Marasco of the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
 
The inspiration for the new material came from studying the properties of squid beaks. “Squid beaks are a stiff material, but they have to attach to very soft tissue,” explains Rowan. “They don’t have any bones per se. Imagine a piece of steel attached to a piece of plastic and you started bending or putting stressors on it. Things would start to tear, and that’s obviously not very good for the squid.”
 
Capadona, Marasco and Rowan came up with the idea after reading a research paper published in 2008 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Rowan and his team looked at how the squid’s beak transitions from hard to soft material. “How the squid solves the problem is with a gradient design that goes from hard to soft when wet,” explains Rowan. “We created a material with a similar kind of structure. We tried to mimic the architecture and properties.”
 
The nanocomposite material the researchers developed changes properties when wet -- going from a rigid material to a soft material. It potentially will prove useful in medical devices such as diabetic glucose sensors, prosthetic limbs and central vein ports. The researchers are now working with the Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs to develop uses for the material.
 
The research was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemistry Society.
 
Rowan and Capadona previously had studied the properties of the sea cucumber, developing a self-healing polymer that is useful in coating. Rowan enjoys taking his cues from natural phenomena.
 
“As a materials person, I can learn a lot from seeing how nature has evolved to tackle the challenges that we see in our world, too,” Rowan says. “Nature makes a wonderful variety of very cool materials. The key is in understanding how nature does that.”

 
Source: Stuart Rowan
Writer: Karin Connelly

The Beachwood Junior Achievement Company program, which hosted the Green Dream Showcase for the past five years, will bring Entrovation to the Beachwood Community Center (25325 Fairmount Blvd.) on Friday, April 19 from noon to 7 p.m.

Twenty high school seniors from Beachwood, Mayfield, Brush and Solon high schools spent the school year planning Entrovation -- a combination of entrepreneurship and innovation -- which will showcase 170 area companies including 10 student companies.
 
“Some people think this is a little high school event, but it’s not,” says Greg Perry, Beachwood High School marketing and Junior Achievement teacher. “People will walk away saying, ‘I can’t believe students did this.’”
 
Kevin Eisler, a Brush High School senior is one of the students who has been planning Entrovation. “Entrovation showcases how small business and big established businesses are being innovative in their own field,” explains Eisler. “It’s cool to see where all our hard work is going to. It’s almost like we’re entrepreneurs ourselves, working together to make this happen.”
 
Esme Eppell, a Beachwood High School senior, says the whole experience has encouraged her own entrepreneurial spirit. “The guest speakers who have come in have been really inspirational,” she says. “They’re all normal people who had ideas for a business and became hugely successful.”
 
Organizers are expecting more than 5,000 attendees at Entrovation. In addition to the exhibitors, six food trucks and the Game Craze truck will be on location. The Burton D. Morgan Foundation is sponsoring an Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year competition. Using smart phones attendees can vote for their favorite entrepreneurs. Prizes range from $3,000 for first place to $500 for third place.
 
Many exhibitors will have merchandise for sale and a raffle offers a chance to win gift s and services from local companies. Leikin Motor Companies is offering the chance to win a convertible Mercedes-Benz for a weekend.
 
The group has raised nearly $100,000 so far. Proceeds from the event will be used to build a model for an innovative classroom, based on their visits to places like LaunchHouse and Bizdom. They also plan to make a donation to PediaWorks, which develops and manufactures medical devices for children.

 
Sources: Greg Perry, Kevin Eisler, Esme Eppell
Writer: Karin Connelly

In the penthouse of the historic Palace Theatre, Charles Stack is hoping to foster a few new tech companies -- 10 to be exact -- in Cleveland’s newest business accelerator, FlashStarts.

Stack started FlashStarts in October 2012 and will hold his inaugural startup class this summer. “Come in with a half-baked idea and we finish baking it, slap some cash for equity, and start it in three months,” he explains.
 
Teams of two or more can apply to be one of the 10, but Stack is also looking for 10 interns and even potential entrepreneurs who don’t have an idea yet, but want to help build on somebody else’s idea. “Even if you don’t have teammates or an idea, you can apply and we’ll put you with a team and you will get equity with that team,” he says. “There are a lot of smart people out there who may not have a teammate.”
 
Stack is against the “cookie-cutter approach” to starting new businesses. Instead, he helps each company with their unique needs. “As soon as you apply, if we like the concept we begin the process of launching the company,” he says. Stack immediately gives the teams individual challenges, like researching the patents or market size.
 
“The key to making that business successful is getting the team familiar with us and us familiar with them,” Stack says. “It’s really not the same for every business. Different opportunities require different tools.”
 
Stack is raising $1.1 million to invest in the companies. Teams will receive up to a $20,000 investment -- $11,000 plus $3,000 for each team member. FlashStarts in turn gets eight percent equity in the company. Teams can potentially receive up to $200,000 in follow-on funding upon completion of the program.
 
Stack already has identified six potential candidate teams. He is accepting applications until May 10. Stack also is looking for mentors and advisors. FlashStarts has partnered with DecisionDesk to facilitate the application process and recently brought in Jennifer Neundorfer as managing partner.
 

Source: Charles Stack
Writer: Karin Connelly

Global Cleveland recently launched its Asian Initiative, a program to attract and retain Asian talent to the region. “Asians are now the fastest growing and most educated population in the U.S.,” says Meran Rogers, Global Cleveland’s director of community affairs, adding that Cleveland has seen a 49-percent increase in Asians between 2000 and 2010.

Those numbers prompted Global Cleveland to reach out to various groups in the Asian community to identify focus areas of the initiative. The group hosted 30 Asian community leaders in March at a launch meeting. “We identified three main strategies for the overall Global Cleveland mission,” says Rogers. “To attract and retain Asian newcomers who will support the growth and talent needs of businesses and industries; assist Asian newcomers and young professionals in establishing roots; and foster an inclusive and welcoming community for Asians.”
 
Rogers points out that while Global Cleveland is spearheading the initiative, it’s really about supporting the goals of an already-strong Asian presence in Cleveland. “It was really important to work with all of the leaders and find out what they want to do and then help them do it,” says Rogers. Global Cleveland is working closely with groups like MotivAsians for Cleveland and Asian Services in Action (Asia, Inc.) to attain these goals.
 
Part of the program includes promoting the job fairs in IT, biomedical research and healthcare, as well as educating employers on the importance of hiring international talent. “Over half the population is foreign-born, so a lot of growth has to do with immigration,” says Rogers. “We’re really promoting the job fairs to the Asian community.”
 
Rogers says they also plan to be involved in plans to better connect AsiaTown. “Cleveland is known for AsiaTown and there are plans for improvement, to find ways to connect the different areas because they are very cut up,” she says. “Retention is dependent on how connected people feel.”

 
Source: Meran Rogers
Writer: Karin Connelly

When Jeremy Flack and his former business partner ran a steel company in 2004, a difference in style caused the business to close six years later, with the partners going their separate ways. When Flack founded Flack Steel in 2010, he knew he would do things his own way.

“I had a lot of ideas, and I saw a lot of opportunities with the last business I was with,” says Flack. “In this business I’ve been able to free up ideas and capital to pursue our own model.”
 
Flack Steel distributes various steel products across North America. The steel is used to build anything from shelving to rail cars. As an added service Flack, who has a financial background, provides market analysis and steel purchasing counsel to his customers, holding space on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
 
“Offering derivatives-based pricing strategies for customers allows us to more closely mirror how they buy their raw materials to how they go to market with their products,” explains Flack. “Most steel companies do not engage in this yet because they have a general lack of knowledge of the commodities futures industry and seem to be reluctant to educate themselves.” Furthermore, Flack Steel doesn’t own equipment, allowing the company to develop unbiased supply chains.
 
Flack’s model works. The Warehouse District-based company has grown from one employee to 28, and sells 180,000 tons of steel a year to OEM customers.
 
While many people in Northeast Ohio would argue that the steel industry is a thing of the past, Flack is quick to say that's not so. “As long as there is society, there is going to be a steel business,” he says. “There’s as much steel made in the United States today as there has ever been.”
 
The difference is steel is made a lot faster with fewer people. That’s why Flack goes above and beyond in his company. “By dealing in futures and options for steel, we’re rather cutting-edge,” he says. “We’re kind of shaking it up, kind of maverick. We’ve got a new take on building a business.”

Flack attributes his rapid growth to having the right relationships, hiring the right people and staying ahead of the curve.

“We have consistent earnings and a flexible cost model, which has helped us to attract banking capital,” he explains. “We are progressive thinkers, use open architecture software, and encourage risk taking and innovation in our workforce. We are progressive in an industry that is rooted in tradition. Unless you do something differently you have a long road ahead.”

Flack moved here 18 years ago and has no intention of going any place else. “This is a good place to be,” he says. “I’m a Cleveland native now. My business relationships are here, this is where I know people. This is the Silicon Valley of the steel industry.”

 
Source: Jeremy Flack
Writer: Karin Connelly

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

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

Data management is a huge and critical function for hospitals and healthcare providers. Patient, clinical, financial, insurance, legal and employment records contain massive amounts of essential and confidential information, all of which must be accurately stored and easily accessed.
 
Healthcare organizations have made significant investments in their technology infrastructures. MediQuant, which develops active archiving software for hospitals, has expanded to respond to this increased technology demand.  
 
“Instead of keeping old systems up and running just to access data or trying to convert data from an old system to a new healthcare information system, our data solutions can save time, prevent potential revenue loss and provide significant cost savings compared to alternative methods,” explains Tony Paparella, president. 
 
Due to its rapid growth, MediQuant recently moved to larger new corporate headquarters in Brecksville. Paparella attributes the company’s growth to an increase in the number of system conversions, healthcare market trends, regulations, and pressure on healthcare providers to control costs.
 
The company has three products for healthcare data solutions – DataArk, FirstComply and AccuRules.
 
DataArk houses data from old, retired systems while still allowing for real-time access to the data by end-users,” Paparella explains. “This is done at a fraction of the cost it would take to keep the old system up and running just to access this data.
 
MediQuant was first to develop the concept of an active archive for hospitals and healthcare organizations, he says. “With DataArk, users can still actively process accounts receivables, post payments, and issue bills while decommissioning an old system.”
 
MediQuant’s other two products, FirstComply and AccuRules, help healthcare providers avoid insurance denials and also verify medical necessity before a procedure is completed, preventing a potential loss in revenue.
 
The company currently has 40 employees and plans to hire new team members in its technical and project management departments by the end of the year.
 
Source:  Tony Paparella, MediQuant
Writers:  Lynne Meyer
 

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

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