Innovation + Job News

A trio of tech entrepreneurs "from everywhere" are in Cincinnati to perfect a new online social platform that aims to transform large-group communication.

CrowdHall, set for a soft Beta launch within the week, allows a person or organization with a large group of followers to communicate with that group in a more organized way.

It works like this: a person -- like a politician, celebrity or blogger -- who has hundreds or thousands of online followers creates a profile on CrowdHall. Fans can ask questions that get voted on or followed by fellow fans. Questions that have the highest number of votes or interest get pushed to the top and the politician or celebrity can respond.

It sounds pretty simple, and that's the point, says CrowdHall co-founder and CEO Austin Hackett, who left New York's Columbia Medical School to perfect the site through The Brandery incubator here in Cincinnati.

"This is a platform that helps organize large audience communication. It gives people and organizations a real time list of what is on the minds of greatest number of people. It makes the whole two-way conversation more efficient," Hackett says.

The company has been in The Brandery program about four weeks, and co-founders Hatchett and
Jordan Menzel, along with developer Nick Wientge, came from different parts of the country to participate in the Brandery's 16-week program.

CrowdHall will be most valuable for those who have more than 20,000 followers, he adds.

"The current social tools are great for one-way communication. If Justin Bieber wants to deliver a message to millions of followers through Twitter or Facebook, it works. But when people talk back, it gets overwhelming. He can't respond to everyone, and it wouldn't be a good use of time," Hackett says.

Users connect to the site with their Facebook or Twitter accounts so they don't have to create a new profile. The service will debut free, but CrowdHall plans to unveil a paid, premium service in the future.

CrowdHall is an idea with local appeal. The company won the first Startup Pitch Wars at the inaugural Bunbury Music Festival. CincyTech and the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association sponsored the Pitch Wars that pitted 16 local startups against each other in a rapid fire pitch contest. CrowdHall won $1,000 and "a gaudy trophy."

Hackett is enjoying Cincinnati and the Brandery experience, but is unsure if he'll stay in the area once the program is over. He is open to it, however.

"It depends on which city supports us, and the level of partnerships and investment they provide. We are in Cincinnati and we are happy for now," he says.

By Feoshia Henderson Davis
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The demand for natural rubber will exceed supply by 15 to 20 percent within the next five years, says William Ravlin, Ph.D., associate director of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center of The Ohio State University.

“It’s not so much a case of diminishing supply as it is a sharply increased demand for rubber from China and India,” he explains. “The situation in the United States is one of national security, the economy and the growth of major corporations that depend on a sustainable approach to obtaining natural rubber.”

Rubber is used in a wide variety of products made in Ohio, and our traditional manufacturing economy relies upon its continued avaialbility. Slowly but surely, critical research is taking place to identify new sources for this material.

The Program of Excellence in Natural Rubber Alternatives (PENRA) was formally established in 2012 to help address this problem but, according to Dr. Ravlin, the founding members have been collaborating on it for the past five years. The founding members are Ohio State University, Oregon State University, Bridgestone America, Cooper Tire, Ford Motor Company and Veyance Technologies, an Ohio company. The United States Department of Agriculture, the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of Guelph in Canada are also collaborators.

Research scientists involved in PENRA have discovered that the roots of an unlikely candidate – the Russian dandelion – are able to produce rubber that’s comparable to rubber used today. Seeds from USDA expeditions in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have been planted in field plots and greenhouses in Wooster, Ohio.

There are many challenges, however. “Planting a huge amount of seeds only nets a small harvest of good ones, so it’s a time-consuming and ongoing process,” Dr. Ravlin notes. “Large amounts of the root material need to be processed at the front end to produce enough natural rubber for industries to conduct large-scale tests. Plus, the rubber must meet exacting standards. Airplane tires, for example, are made of 100 percent natural rubber.”

PENRA funding sources include a grant from the OSU Ohio Research and Development Center and the Third Frontier program, with additional support from Bridgestone America, Cooper Tire and Veyance Technologies.

“We have 20 senior research scientists, each with several employees, working on this project,” Dr. Ravlin says. “We’ve completed the construction of a pilot processing plant in Wooster, and we’re in the midst of a testing phase that’s progressing very well.”


Source:  William Ravlin, P.h.D., Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

Lightweight yet strong.  Those two characteristics could come in mighty handy for a number of things.

Zyvex Technologies of Columbus knows a lot about making things lighter yet stronger.   It’s the first company to globally commercialize nano-enhanced products from carbon nanotubes. To the layperson, this innovation is part of a materials revolution that is helping to make stuff we use more fuel-efficient.

“A carbon nanotube is a tiny cylinder of carbon, just a few atoms wide and 1/50,000^th the thickness of a human hair,” explains Mike Nemeth, director of commercial and defense applications. “Our product – Arovex – uses carbon nanotubes and carbon fiber together. It acts as a reinforcement for materials you mix it with.” He described Arovex like a fruit rollup.  “It’s a tacky sheet that customers can lay into molds and then make parts.”

Zyvex recently partnered with Pacific Coast Marine (PCM), a leader in marine closures, to develop a set of 30 doors, hatches and other closures for boats. “They’re all 66 percent lighter and eight times stronger than the standard ones,” says Nemeth. PCM recently debuted the items at a marine show with positive results.

“There’s a big demand for making things that are lighter and stronger, which can improve safety and fuel efficiency,” Nemeth notes. He lists the aerospace and automotive industries as examples. “It’s helpful for sporting goods, too. A good example is super lightweight mountain bike wheels. We have a new partnership to provide a bicycle rim specifically for downhill mountain biking.” 

Zyvex uses two Ohio manufacturers, one in Akron and one in Dayton, so its products are all Ohio made and assembled. Zyvex has 40 employees and received Third Frontier funding in 2009.
 
Source:  Mike Nemeth, Zyvex Technologies
Writer:  Lynne Meyer
 

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation is taking significant steps towards making Northeast Ohio a hub for entrepreneurship. The foundation recently awarded $482,000 in grants to various organizations, including the Akron Urban League, BioEnterprise, Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio and others that are dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education throughout the region.
 
“The mission of the foundation is to strengthen the free enterprise system,” explains Deborah Hoover, President and CEO of the foundation. “We provide grants to organizations that support entrepreneurship education and activity among youth, college, students and adults, primarily in Northeast Ohio.”

The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron aims to accomplish just that with their $50,000 grant to support internships in 2012-13 for graduate-level students to assist with assessment, development, and commercialization of novel biomedical technologies. The Hudson-based foundation also renewed their support for Lemonade Day, which targets young people and exposes them to entrepreneurship, granting $20,000 to support the 2013 effort.
 
According to the foundation's website, “Lemonade Day is a free, community-wide program dedicated to teaching children how to start and operate their own business through the simple act of creating and running a lemonade stand."

“This year, more than 1,500 children have participated in the program, creating and operating lemonade stands with the support of a national curriculum design by Prepared4Life, which is based in Houston,” says Hoover, who believes you can never start a career in entrepreneurship too early. “Through Lemonade Day, parents and teachers have become engaged in the larger dialogue around the importance of financial literacy and entrepreneurship education.”
 

Source: Deborah Hoover
Writer: Joe Baur

Dayton’s history of innovation continues with Applied Optimization, an engineering research and development firm. Since 2009, the company has grown revenues by 56%, hiring additional employees and leasing additional space. Their string of successess has allowed them to take on new, exciting projects.
 
Applied Optimization is focused on space sciences and advanced manufacturing. It hearkens back to the city’s Rust Belt lore with a 21^st century feel. Its team of engineers and computer scientists has worked on a variety of aerospace projects, including Boeing LTS, Rolls Royce, Phantom Works as well as government organizations, such as the Missile Defense Agency.
 
Principal Scientist Dr. Anil Chaudhary has been with the downtown R&D organization since he started the company in 1995. He attributes the company’s success to a simple mantra: “Do good work and keep your promises.”
 
Unsurprisingly, working in the city that gave us flight has had a special impact on Chaudhary, who came to the United States to continue his education after receiving his bachelor of technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1977. “Dayton offers unique, first-hand opportunities to interact with scientists who are on the forefront of technological developments,” he explains. “It is an important plus.”

Recently, Chaudhary began work on 3-D printing of metallic parts. "The goal is to be able to produce a small batch of parts economically. This is particularly relevant for aerospace applications where the lot sizes are typically small. The work we do are research programs sponsored by the Air Force, Navy and the Army. We also provide commercial support to the aerospace industry."

Given their progress, Chaudhary predicts continued success “as long as we always remember why the customers gave us work in the first place.”


Source: Dr. Anil Chaudhary
Writer: Joe Baur

Sometimes the most simple, direct way is the best way to use technology to connect with customers.

Text and the City, a startup that recently moved from Cleveland to Northern Kentucky, relies on the the simple text message to create an ongoing connection in small, urban neighborhoods. Text and the City offers to-the-point, local community information, news, weather alerts and coupons through humble SMS.

“I got the idea when I wanted to go to a concert series in Medina, and it was going to rain," says Text and the City founder Shawn Blain, whose background is in advertising and sales. "I thought, 'Wouldn't be great if I could just get a text telling me if it was on, or cancelled?' Or, 'Wouldn't be great if I I could just get reminders in case I forgot about an event I wanted to go to?”

Through Text and the City, users can opt-in to one or two text messages a week that include event reminders, news stories or local emergencies such as severe weather notices. The text feature works in concert with a mobile community website that features an event calendar, mobile coupons, a dining directory, a things to do page and lowest nearby gas prices.

The mobile website is accessible regardless of whether users opt into the text service. The free site launched in June 2011.

Text and the City is currently available in Fairlawn, Strongsville and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Blain moved the company to Northern Kentucky as part of the ongoing UpTech tech-business accelerator.

The company is preparing to target Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati neighborhoods as it revamps based on feedback from pilot communities and the help of NKU's College of Informatics, she says. The company's long-term goal is to be in 8,000 hyperlocal markets.

Text and the City offers small and medium-sized business owners an affordable way to keep in touch with those who want to stay connected.

“When someone opts into a text service, it means they are giving you access, but a lot of businesses don't know how to properly use that access," Blain says. We think we have the right mix and frequency of texts to keep people interested and connected.”

By Feoshia Henderson
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An annual JumpStart survey indicates that tech startup companies that receive assistance from mentors, advisors and investors make a significant contribution to the region’s economy, even in the early stages. The Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs surveyed 121 JumpStart and North Coast Angel Fund companies to measure their economic impact on the region.
 
The report showed these companies had a $220.5 million economic impact in 2011 in Northeast Ohio, creating 776 direct jobs within the companies and 864 indirect jobs, for a total of 1,640 regional jobs.
 
“This is great for an economic region -- showing small growing startups are contributing,” says Cathy Belk, chief relationship officer for JumpStart. Belk emphasizes that the surveyed companies are not even a comprehensive list of all small tech companies in the region. However, many of the companies receive support from multiple organizations in addition to JumpStart and the North Coast Angel Fund.
 
Sixty-three companies included in this 2011 impact analysis also were surveyed in 2010. In one year, those companies increased their aggregated Northeast Ohio employment by 111, payroll by $8.7 million and expenditures by $20.6 million.
 
“All of this shows that Cleveland is one of the best places in the country to start and grow your business,” says Belk.

 
Source: Cathy Belk
Writer: Karin Connelly
 

Cincinnati-based startup ViableSynergy, a health IT commercialization firm, recently joined a new federal initiative aimed at liberating massive amounts of government-stored healthcare data to create new products and services designed to improve healthcare delivery.

The newly-formed Health Data Consortium, spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is an effort to get data housed in various government programs like Medicaid or the Department of Veteran's Affairs into the hands of health innovators. The data, scrubbed of personally identifying information, could be used to create more effective healthcare services and help providers make better care decisions.

"In Medicaid services, you can look at claims data like the distribution of race and the types of claims," explains Sunnie Southern, founder and CEO of ViableSynergy. "You could look at that information across a map and visualize it.

"You could see if more African-Americans have heart attacks in a certain area, or more Caucasians have back surgeries, and make a decision based on that. If there is a high concentration of Asians who have heart attacks in an area, maybe you could put a clinic in that place. You could help reduce health disparities."

As an affiliate of the Health Data Consortium, ViableSynergy will work to communicate the needs of the region to the consortium.

"What does the community need, in the broad sense? What tools and resources do we in the real-world need -- NKU, business incubators or UC -- to liberate these massive data sets that are released? We'll be working as a conduit to answer those questions," Southern says.

Other members of the Consortium include California Health Care Foundation, Consumer Reports, Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Gallup/Healthways.

"(Health and Human Service CTO) Todd Parks, whose brainchild was the open government initiative, really wants to use health data to spur innovation and entrepreneurship," Southern says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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Tremont Electric has released its nPower PEG Energy Charger after releasing a prototype in 2010 and making improvements to the current model. The nPower charger is the first passive kinetic energy charger that can be used to power handheld devices. The device can be placed in a backpack or bag and harvests the user’s energy during walking, running and biking. That energy can then be used to charge smart phones, MP3 players, GPS systems or any other handheld device.
 
“There’s a loop at the top to hang it from a backpacks, it has a much larger battery pack with more available capacity,” says Tremont Electric founder and CEO Aaron LeMieux. “It can power a 3G device 100 percent, and a 4G device 80 percent.”
 
The nPower is manufactured almost completely in Ohio and distributed through a company in Streetsboro. “Anything we can get locally, we use,” says LeMieux.
 
Tremont Electric now has seven employees. LeMieux most recently hired two engineering technicians. He expects the company to continue to gain momentum. “We’re awfully busy these days,” he says. “We expect the next year to be pretty robust.”

 
Source: Aaron LeMieux
Writer: Karin Connelly

Business is bound to boom for Central and Southeast Ohio. Digital media entrepreneurs from Columbus, Middleport and Athens will have access to $20,000 in seed funding as part of Ohio University’s inaugural Innovation Engine at the Innovation Center.
 
“The Innovation Engine is part of a series of new initiatives, including the development of a digital media incubator at the Innovation Center, designed to address the surge of digital media entrepreneurs emerging from Ohio University and throughout the region,” explains Jennifer Simon, director of the Innovation Center.
 
The boot camp is the result of a variety of partnerships with other innovative programs, such as the College of Communication’s Game Research & Immersive Design laboratory (GRIDLab) and TechGROWTH Ohio. Simon also credits successful models across the country, such as Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator and Ohio State’s 10xelerator as inspiration.
 
Innovation Engine’s inaugural class was selected “based on the potential for follow-on investment within six months following the program,” says Simon. Participants will gain access to seminars, networking opportunities and dozens of hours of mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts.
 
Innovation Engine 2012

• Flashcrop, a mobile application designed to make digital flash cards for students by taking pictures of notes, glossaries and study guides and turning those images into note cards.
• Initio Creative aims to be a pioneer in media production by providing solutions for customers based on current markets.
• Lightborne Lore is a digital games and animation company focusing iOS and Android content.
• Brandbeau is a mobile app that allows for real-time analytics for brand ambassador campaigns.
• Affine Technologies offers network consulting and support services, custom software and programming, and computer engineering.
• Parabox is a small game development company selected as an alternate for the program. If any of the other teams are unable to participate, they will replace that team and receive investment funds.

Participating companies agree to stay in the state of Ohio for three years or pay back the $20,000. “We want these companies to succeed. But, we have additional goals – growing jobs and wealth in Ohio.”


Source: Jennifer Simon
Writer: Joe Baur

 
The partnership is the result of a two-year journey.
 
“In 2010, I began to spend time at the Youngstown Business Incubator, exploring options to start a company of my own or join an early stage company,” explains Luketic, who claims he was bitten by the “entrepreneurship bug” during his senior year at Mount Union in Business Administration. YBI provided the networking Luketic needed to get started in a career of entrepreneurship. “I was introduced to Philip Kilpatrick II, an independent insurance agent from Canfield, Ohio who had been working on a prototype for a web application for insurance agents.”

The result was Coverage Review List, proving YBI’s invaluable role to the company’s success.
 
“YBI is an excellent place to launch a company,” proclaims Luketic, adding, “The ability to lean on other tech entrepreneurs in the building is incredibly beneficial.”


Source: Daniel Luketic
Writer: Joe Baur

Big and bold. That’s what the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) is going for with its newest project.
YBI has mounted a campaign to fund the printing and installation of a massive 300-foot, 70-window mural depicting the economic and industrial evolution of Youngstown. The mural was created by six graphic design students who are studying at Youngstown State University.

According to Jim Cossler, CEO of YBI, the purpose is threefold. “We want to make sure our campus is a creative, exciting place for all our employees to come to work,” he says. “Second, a lot of people don’t realize we’re a four-building campus. The mural spanning our building will help people understand how much we’ve grown. Finally, Youngstown State University is not only our neighbor, but a very important partner, so we look to engage students in as many ways as possible."

The students have titled the mural “Metamorphosis” because it represents the transformation of Youngstown from a manufacturing city to one with a broader economic base. In order to get the mural printed and installed, YBI needed to raise $7,350, which they did during a 30-day online fundraising campaign.

“A total of 121 different individuals funded the project, and we met our goal,” Cossler notes.  “It’s a complex printing process, and we anticipate installation of the mural in either late July or early August.”

Speaking of innovatve technologies ... Thanks to a special see-though fabric and printing technology that is being used, individuals who are working inside of the YBI offices will still be able to see outside their windows once the mural is hung.

Source:  Jim Cossler, Youngstown Business Incubator
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

Thanks to crowdfunding, entrepreneurs have a new tool in their arsenal for raising startup capital. Columbus-based Fundable.com is a crowdfunding platform that focuses exclusively on startup companies.

“We’re the first crowdfunding platform to support rewards and equity-based funding [specifically for startups],” explains founder and CEO Wil Schroter. “We help startups raise capital by connecting them to a large network of potential backers who pledge money toward their project.”

Startups must complete rigorous requirements to be selected for the site. “They have to create a profile, including a pitch video, explain their goals and state the target amount they’re seeking. Fundraisers run from 30-60 days, and they must meet or exceed the stated goal or no funds are collected from the backers."

Schroter explains that, “As of right now, you can’t actually publicly offer equity to non-accredited investors.” The reason is because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to provide guidelines for the new JOBS act.

Instead, backers receive gifts. “We’re focused on value for value.  If you’re asking people for money, you have to provide something in return that’s of value, which could be a product. Many backers appreciate the rewards but are also motivated by their connection to the start-up concept or to the entrepreneurs themselves."

Shroter points to a recent success story. “Training Mask, LLC, had a small, fast goal of $10,000 that it needed to ramp up production for its second-generation of a training mask that simulates working out at high altitudes. The money was raised in 72 hours, and backers will get a discounted new mask and a special t-shirt. The company now has the money it needs to move forward."

"There’s really no way to raise that kind of money in 30 days,” says Shroter. “We have a huge, interested audience.”

Fundable.com began operations on May 22, has 22 employees and 20 startups posted.


Source:  Wil Shroter, Fundable.com
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

While working in marketing and product development for various area start-ups, John Atkinson found himself most often on the road. He found it hard to keep up with the day's news as a result.

"I traveled all the time, and never could keep up with news," says Atkinson, also a partner in QI Healthcare. "I didn't want to drag newspapers around.

"Trying to read four-point font (on a phone) while driving was insane. My business partner Roy Georgia had been in tech for years, and we said, 'There has to be a way to solve this problem.' "

That was the beginning of BuzzVoice, a mobile application that pulls from 1,700 news sources, converting text-based news you choose into audio.

"We've created a real-time news engine that scours these sources based on your preferences," Atkinson says, calling it the Pandora Internet Radio of news.

"It automatically collects stories from the web's top news sites and blogs, and transforms them into audio. You can listen to them while you get things done," says Atkinson, of Mason. "It's a safe way to get news; and it's just a fun product."

Through BuzzVoice, you can chose the publications you're most interested in; they're organized into 59 categories, ranging from technology to gossip.

Launched nearly four years ago, the BuzzVoice app costs $3.99. It's available for most smart phones including Android and iPhone, Ipod Touch, and MP3 players. There's also a desktop application.

Living up to its name, BuzzVoice has generated plenty of buzz. It's been featured in top technology and innovation publications including Mashable, MacWorld, Forbes and Fast Company. It's also been a featured app in the Apple, Amazon and Verizon app stores.

The growing prevalence of smart phones (they make up 50 percent of all new phones sold), and emergence of voice activated apps like the iPhones ubiquitous Siri makes apps like BuzzVoice a more natural choice, Atkinson says.

"We're definitely at a tipping point," he says. "There is a lot going on in the mobile space; voice is the killer app for mobile."

By Feoshia Henderson
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Fueled by a US EPA grant, University of Cincinnati faculty and students are leading an effort to transform cooking grease into biodiesel on a regional scale.

This project is a collaboration among UC, the Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and Bluegrass Biodiesel of Falmouth, Ky. The partners will test three methods to extract oil from the grease, including one the University is planning to patent.

Longer term plans are that this oil could be used in a biodiesel mixture to power diesel equipment and vehicles.

Grease hauling is an industry vital to restaurants, which pay haulers to dispose of used cooking grease. But the grease has to disposed of, usually in landfills.

"MSD receives grease from haulers," says project leader Mingming Lu, UC associate professor of Environmental Engineering. "The grease -- a mix of solid and liquid -- are from restaurant grease traps. MSD also has grease from the waste water it receives. The two kinds of grease are mixed, skimmed and condensed. This is called trap grease. It's stored in a pond and then sent to a landfill."

The EPA awarded the biodiesel effort an $87,000 grant during the the 8th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in May. The project was chosen from among 300 presented by college and university innovators across the country.

Up to seven UC students will be involved in the effort, Lu says. It's set to start in September and should last two years. It will include pilot demonstrations and a 100-gallon pilot treatment facility in collaboration with MSD.

"This is technology verification. We will try several technologies and see which one is the most effective for MSD," Lu says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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