Innovation + Job News

Peter Greco and his cofounders, Rush Bartlett and Arthur Chlebowski, have just moved their startup company, LyoGo, to Columbus from Indiana.

LyoGo, which was one of the winners of last year’s 10xelerator program at the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University, has created a drug delivery system that makes it possible for patients to give themselves their own injectable medications. This technology cuts out trips to a physician’s office and thereby shrinks healthcare costs..

LyoGo's technology accommodates drugs that remain unstable in solution form and must either be refrigerated or lyophilized (freeze-dried) to be stored. The existing process for such drugs leaves room for error in the mixing and injection process. LyoGo streamlines and simplifies the process, leading to greater ease and safety in the self-medication process. The company name LyoGo was derived from a shortened version of the phrase, “Lyophilized products to Go."

Greco says that a major draw of Columbus is the Battelle Memorial Institute, the world’s largest, independent R&D organization. “Battelle will provide services to refine the LyoGo device,” which was made possible through a million-dollar investment from an investor who was present at the 2011 10X accelerator program, at which LyoGo was one of the ten funded teams.

Greco and his team are excited about the possibility of eventually seeing their device on the market. Greco says “LyoGo is gathering test data which the pharmaceutical companies can use to assess the compatibility of our device with their drugs. We expect to be working soon with a pharmaceutical company to pair their drug with our device so that it may improve patients’ lives.”


Source: Peter Greco
Writer: Catherine Podojil

If you had 10 minutes to pitch your business to a dream audience of potential investors, where would you begin?       

The 10 startups featured in this month’s 10-xelerator Winter 2012 Showcase recently pondered this exact question. Their paths to the dream pitch began 12 weeks ago when they entered the intensive 10-xelerator program of the Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University.

Recently, they took the stage for the 10x Winter 2012 Showcase, sponsored by OSU's Center for Entrepreneurship. Mike Lisavich, Program Manager for the 10-xelerator, describes the event as "the culmination of all of their efforts."

Startup teams enter the 10-xelerator at different stages of development. Some have little more than an idea, while others have already built a functioning beta website or found their first investors. The selected companies spend the early weeks sharpening their real-world applications, followed by months spent with potential clients and collaborators to learn their target markets.

Teams are mentored by and attend workshops with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors throughout their time in the program.  A wider circle of potential investors were in attendance at the final 10x Showcase.

“The ability to have that group of people in attendance is not something that comes together very often, and the buzz and energy in the room makes for something very special,” says Lisavich. "The Showcase affords new 10x teams the opportunity to connect with an array of investors and community members."

“The great part about the diversity of investors in the audience is that each of them has their own space where they like to invest," adds Lisavich. "I think there was at least one company within the ten that sparked each investor’s interest.”

The 10x Winter 2012 team portfolio includes One Exchange Street, an online exchange for bankruptcy claim buyers and sellers; MorphCARD, a mobile application for storing and redeeming gift card values; and Rooftop Down, a property management organizational application.


Source: Mike Lisavich, 10-xelerator
Writer: Kitty McConnell

LineStream Technologies, a Cleveland developer of control software for automated products, secured series B financing by U.S. Venture Partners. USVP will team up with series A investor Early Stage Partners to move the company forward.
 
“The funding we just raised allows us to find more customers,” says Dave Neundorfer, LineStream president. "It is a huge boost for us. This funding will drastically accelerate growth for our company and meet customer demand.”
 
LineStream Technologies was formed in 2008 as a spinoff out of research done by Cleveland State University’s Zhiqiang Gao, director of the Center for Advanced Control Technology, and focuses on commercializing and simplifying control software.
 
LineStream products increase efficiency, are easy to implement and therefore improve the performance of automated systems in everything from washing machines to medical robotics. Last year LineStream licensed its software to Texas Instruments for use in a chip platform in motor and motion controls.
 
Neundorfer says the funding will not only help serve its growing customer base, it will also allow the company to attract the right talent. “With this funding we can build a team and hire technical talent,” he says. “We’re attracting technical talent who are self-starters, adaptable, work hard and are willing to align themselves around the common goal.”

 
Source: Dave Neundorfer
Writer: Karin Connelly

Linkage Ventures and CincyTech have formed a unique strategic partnership to create and co-invest in startup companies whose technologies can help people as they age.

Cincinnati-based CincyTech is a public-private seed-stage investor that has invested since 2007 in 35 startup companies in IT and bioscience. Linkage Ventures is a newly created venture arm of Linkage, a Mason-based nonprofit organization whose members are senior living providers throughout the US. Linkage has hired investment banker and former technology company executive John Hopper as managing director of Linkage Ventures.

CincyTech and Linkage are partnering in order to identify, evaluate and invest in early-stage technologies that startups can take to market to benefit the aging population either directly or through care-giving organizations.

“This partnership is about promoting whole-person wellness and providing solutions that help people age successfully wherever they chose to do it,” says Scott Collins, president and CEO of Linkage Ventures.

The deal is unique in that it closely aligns the sources of “deal flow” – entrepreneurs with aging-related technology – with sources of capital that can help them grow and go to market. Linkage has 600 member communities in 39 states who are frequently approached about concepts and products that can help their 134,000 residents and 16,000 employees. With that deal flow and funds available through Linkage Ventures and CincyTech, the path for great solutions becomes easier to navigate.

Linkage also provides a rare opportunity to identify the needs of people as they age. “Our communities have built and earned a trust with this population that allows us to talk directly to them about their needs and desires,” Collins says.

This reach and relationship-building provides the ability to conduct truly transparent market research, says Mike Venerable, CincyTech’s managing director of digital, software and health tech.

“We can quickly validate the economics of a product or idea through their population,” he says.

Adds Collins: “It’s not just the investment. We’ve got the domain expertise internally, and we can do quick beta testing that marries well with the CincyTech network and expertise.”

By Sarah Blazak for CincyTech

A new health IT startup accelerator is taking applications for a 12-week business development program that includes $20,000 in startup funds.

The Innov8 For Health Startup accelerator is an outgrowth of Cincinnati's Innov8 For Health initiative aimed at creating jobs, attracting and retaining talent and improving health outcomes through innovation.

"This goes back to the Innov8 for health theme. We want to identify people who have ideas and support and incentivize them down the path of innovation," says initiative founder Sunnie Southern, also founder of ViableSynergy.

The accelerator will take applications until April 30. It's open to any early-stage startups grounded in health IT. Companies outside of Cincinnati must move to the city during the program. It starts June 11 with eight companies.

"The focus is on providing better health care at a lower cost. The range of solutions can be everything from making it easier to select high-quality healthcare providers to making doctor and patient interaction more efficient," Southern says.

Each company selected will receive $20,000; in return, the accelerator will own six percent of the company. Startups will also work with mentors and tackle business development aspects including sales and marketing, branding, technology and operations and navigating government regulations.

Innov8 For Health partners include GE Aviation, C-Cap, Queen City Angels and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

The Greater Cincinnati area is particularly suited for healthcare IT innovation, because many health providers here are further along in adopting paperless records and sharing secure, electronic patient information, Southern says.

"We have one of the most mature health information exchanges in the country, Health Bridge. It's really a cornerstone of what makes Cincinnati different; we have this deep expertise in sharing and exchanging data," she says.


Source: Sunnie Southern
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Arthur Heuer spends a lot of his time studying how to make stainless steel harder and improve its resistance to corrosion. His research is possible thanks to the equipment at the Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials (SCSAM) on the CWRU campus.
 
The center has 20 electron microscopes and other instruments for microstructural characterization of materials and surface and near-surface chemical analysis. Basically, SCSAM is home to a lot of expensive equipment that allows industrial and academic users to conduct surface analysis, structural analysis and optic microscopy.
 
Industrial companies come from around the world to use the $20 million worth of equipment at SCSAM. “We don’t know of any place that has the diversity of instruments and staff that we have,” says Heuer, who is the center’s director. “I modestly claim it’s the best such facility on the planet.”
 
In a typical year, SCSAM sees 300 users who pay a service contract to use the equipment. Many industrial clients come on a weekly basis. “Our industrial clients like us because we are one-stop shopping,” says Heuer. Academic users pay a lesser rate to use the facility.
 
The fees cover the operational costs. The service fees are far less than investing in the equipment, even for companies that come to SCSAM on a regular basis. “We break even,” says Heuer. “The university doesn’t need to subsidize us.” Seven full time engineers maintain the equipment and train users.
 

Source: Arthur Heuer
Writer: Karin Connelly

iGuiders, a Beachwood software company that guides online shoppers through their buying experiences, is the winner of the 2012 The International Entrepreneurs (TiE) Ohio business plan competition. Founded in 2008 by Jodi Marchewitz, iGuiders is a decision-making application that personalizes the search process to help users find exactly what they’re looking for.
 
Thirty-six Ohio startups entered the competition for a prize package comprised of $2,500 cash and services including incubator space, advisory services, legal and accounting support. iGuiders will now go on to Toronto in April to compete in the global competition.
 
iGuiders was selected as the winner from a panel of five judges representing investment funds and early stage advisors. Judge Todd Federman, executive director of the North Coast Angel Fund, was impressed with iGuiders concept and success in the market. “It’s always a challenging decision when a small group of judges come together,” says Federman. “iGuiders has a demonstrated a lot of traction. They’ve taken a lot of risk and positioned themselves well to grow.”
 
Federman was also impressed with iGuiders COO Chaz Napoli’s vision. “Chaz has a polished a very clear view of what they’re trying to do as a company,” he says.
 
Real Time Imaging Technologies, which miniaturizes medical fluoroscopes for dental use, took second place as an emerging company  in the competition. The company will also receive $2,500 and  have access to mentoring and other services.

 
Source: Todd Federman
Writer: Karin Connelly

Jennifer Simon, Director of the Innovation Center at Ohio University, has been spending a lot of time cheering on the Bobcats lately. Yet the weekend of April 19th-21st, she'll be switching her loyalties to a different set of teams with winning potential as she cheers on the inaugural Startup Weekend Athens, a new initiative to help grow businesses.

"People come up with fantastic ideas, but when it comes to whether or not there's a customer, that's a different question," explains Simon, whose 56-hour event is part of a network of Startup Weekend events. "We'll spend the weekend on customer validation, developing a beta version of the product and testing it."

The intense, often sleep-deprived Startup Weekends are geared towards budding entrepreneurs who have a business or product idea and want help developing it quickly. Over 56 hours, would-be company founders pitch ideas, form teams, develop business plans with the help of mentoring from successful entrepreneurs, and compete for hefty cash prizes of up to $2,500 in a final competition.

Only 10 entrepreneurs will have the chance to develop their ideas. The event kicks off with 60 second pitches followed by audience voting to pick the top 10. Those entrepreneurs who are not selected can join other teams and work on building relationships with other individuals with complementary skills.

In addition to meeting other like-minded innovators, participants will be able to network with successful company founders, venture capitalists and angel investors. Startup Weekend is open to both students and professionals, and Simon says she expects some registrants to travel from outside of the area.

"This is the first time OU has done this, and it's an opportunity for us to develop deal flow," says Simon. "There is a lot more entrepreneurial activity in Athens and the surrounding area, in part thanks to additional resources from Ohio Third Frontier developed a few years ago. The pipeline has really opened up."

The Innovation Center is a 36,500 square foot incubator space. Currently, the Center is about 95 percent full. The Center for Entrepreneurship is also housed on campus, and provides a range of business clients with technical assistance. Finally, TechGROWTH Ohio, an organization funded by Ohio Third Frontier and located at OU, helps to catalyze startup businesses throughout Southeast Ohio.


Source: Jennifer Simon
Writer: Lee Chilcote

There's a reason why Ohio Supercomputer Center's new $4.1 million,  HP Intel Xeon, processor based system has been dubbed the Oakley Cluster. Like the legendary Ohio-born sharpshooter and social advocate Annie Oakley, it's fast as hell, doesn't miss a shot and is improving the lives of Ohioans.

Just ask Ashok Krishnamurthy, Executive Director of the OSC, a facility that is funded by the Ohio Board of Regents and has been in existence since 1987. "We have more than 2,000 academic users across the state, and they're discovering new materials and developing advanced energy applications," he says. "To be competitive, we must provide the highest performance system, and this represents a new level of capability."

OSC's new supercomputer can achieve 88 teraflops, which is tech speak for 88 trillion calculations per second. Yes, in case you're wondering, that's lightning fast.

OSC's new system will help to achieve its mission of assisting academic and business users. Large companies such as Proctor and Gamble and Rolls Royce use OSC as a "second level system when they have needs beyond what their systems can support," says Krishnamurthy. OSC helps small and midsize companies develop and test prototypes virtually rather than investing in actual models, while academics use the system to complete their cutting-edge research.

"We give them access to software and expertise," says Krishnamurthy. "Once they understand the value of what this can do, it changes how they do business."

As one example, Krishnamurthy cites an Ohio company that is developing an LED projector small enough to fit inside a phone. How do they convince various manufacturers that their device can handle the projector's heat without testing every single one? That's where OSC's computer modeling comes in.

"You can simulate how the heat is dissipated," he says. "It's an easy, low-cost way to show potential customers how your design can be incorporated into their products."

OSC has also helped to develop courses for students at community colleges and four-year colleges and universities, as well as professionals who are seeking continuing education. "OSC is in a fairly unique position," says Krishnamurthy. "It is the most consistently state-funded center of its kind in the country."


Source: Ashok Krishnamurthy
Writer: Lee Chilcote

In a globally competitive era when valuable, high tech jobs can go anywhere, a good pitch can mean the difference between losing and landing a company. Thankfully, when the Ohio Department of Development recently offered Northeast Ohio manufacturing giant Parker Hannifin $2.3 million to build a new polymer research center in Ravenna, the pitch was well-received.

Ohio beat out sites in Texas, North Carolina and Wisconsin to win a $17 million-plus research center that will be built in the City of Ravenna by Parker.

The Ohio Department of Development offered a grant totaling $2,320,087 from the Ohio Third Frontier program. For its part, Parker made a commitment to create and locate its new Parflex Advanced Polymer Research and Manufacturing Innovation Center in the City of Ravenna. Parker also plans to invest more than $15 million of its own money in the facility. The University of Akron and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation are collaborators in the new center.

“The Parflex Center will create 34 jobs and retain 281 positions in this high-tech field and develop the type of innovative technology that continues to make Ohio a leader in advanced materials,” said Christiane Schmenk, Executive Director of the Ohio Department of Development, in a news release.

She added that “by encouraging collaboration with the University of Akron and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio Third Frontier is fostering an environment that enables high-tech companies like Parker Hannifin to locate and grow in Ohio.”

For its part, Parker Hannifin welcomes the arrangement. “We’re thrilled to have the support of Ohio Third Frontier Commission,” says Chris Farage, Vice President of Communications and External Affairs. “This is a great example of public-private partnership working to create jobs for Ohio citizens.”
 
Parflex polymer tubing is used in the medical sector and other industries. Parker Hannifin, which is the global leader in motion and control technology, says the new facility will consolidate its polymer and research development activities from nine facilities in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe into a single location. The center is expected be one of the leading advanced polymer labs in the world.


Source:  Chris Farage, Katie Sabatino
Writer: Lynne Meyer

Richard Wagner must have seen great potential for growth when he launched his startup, Prevedere Inc., in 2010. The name he chose translates from the Italian as “to foresee,” appropriate for a fledgling company that specializes in helping medium to large-scale businesses predict their economic climate.

Today, Prevedere’s patent-pending business forecasting software allows companies to analyze external economic data and market factors which could impact their operations. The application allows corporate strategists to compare industry-specific data, geographic factors and global trends with internal data, allowing for more informed decisions.

In March, TechColumbus announced plans to invest $300,000 from its pre-seed fund in Prevedere. The organization's pre-seed, convertible debt-investments are made in the most promising incubation stage companies in the Central Ohio region. Those that are successful have the potential for future investment.

“Prevedere is an excellent addition to our investment portfolio,” says Tim Haynes, Interim President and CEO of TechColumbus. “Business intelligence and forecasting harness the power of today’s computing, and Prevedere provides software to easily and quickly make sense of time-sensitive and intensive data that influences critical decisions that impact success and bottom line results.”

“TechColumbus was the first resource I reached out to,” says Wagner. “The Pre-Seed funds are a great starting point to fund startup activity such as starting to hire our employees and marketing our products and services.”

In addition to the support of TechColumbus, Wagner says that he has benefited from working in proximity to the Central Ohio tech development community. He also cites the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center and the Technology Commercialization Office at the Ohio State University as resources. Finally, he credits Columbus angel investor Mike Figliuolo from thoughtLEADERS for introducing him to the OSU's monthly morning pitch event, Wake Up Start Up.

Wagner says that Prevedere will apply TechColumbus’s $300,000 investment to marketing initiatives and to refining the implementation of the software application to meet the needs of larger businesses.


Source: Richard Wagner, Tim Haynes
Writer: Kitty McConnell

As local artists with a common love of vintage art tools, friends Jamye Jamison, Elizabeth Emery and Wendy Partridge decided there was a need for some uniquely Cleveland promotional goods. So they formed CLE Collectiv, which produces a line of handmade note cards that celebrate all things Cleveland.
 
The trio creates the cards at Zygote Press using handset, vintage metal and wood type printing materials on 1950s-era Vandercook proofing presses. The cards are two-color and they can print up to 350 cards in one print run. All the paper is sourced from off-cuts that would otherwise be thrown away. Cards are folded and assembled by hand.
 
“We kind of started it as a little bit of a hobby,” says Jamison. “Just because we felt there was a void of interesting letterpress cards about Cleveland."
 
Current designs include “CLE - the place to be,” “CLE - full city, half price,” “I (heart) Cleveland” and “Cleveland - gentrify this!” Due out in June are “West Side Market - makin' bacon since 1912”
and “Cleveland - it grows on you.”
 
“We’ve been trying to come up with funny, quirky sayings about Cleveland, whether positive or poking sly fun at the city,” says Jamison.
 
The different cards feature vintage images found at Zygote, such as the Terminal Tower from around the time it was built, or a Tremont steel mill.
 
The cards are $5 each, three for $14 or 5 for $20. They are available at CLE Clothing Co., duoHOME, Heights Arts, Room Service, and Zygote Press. They can also be found on the CLE Collectiv Etsy page.


Source: Jamye Jamison
Writer: Karin Connelly

Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center in Evendale has teamed with AK Steel to provide a new advanced manufacturing training program for the company's workers.

The 400-hour Electronic Repairman Training program is one of the latest the Workforce Development Center has developed in response to local employer demand. The center has developed programs for Procter & Gamble and GE, among other major Cincinnati area employers.

AK Steel is headquartered in West Chester with major operations in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville. The company is a worldwide manufacturer of steel products for the automotive, infrastructure, manufacturing, construction and electrical power markets.

This is the Workforce Development Center's first partnership with AK Steel. The training program is about three weeks in, will last 15 months and train approximately 16 workers, says Larry Cherveny, the center's Industrial Maintenance and Green Technologies business manager.

Steeped in math, controls and electricity, the program is designed to train workers in modern manufacturing. Course titles include: motor controls, industrial electronics, industrial controls and instrumentation, motion control and AC & DC drives.

The Workforce Development Center offers a variety of certifications and programs for working students as well as modifies and creates programs for employers, Cherveny says.

"Companies come and ask us to develop these very specific programs, and we're able to customize them to fit what the need is. We see it sort of as a challenge. For instance, we weren't doing the DC drives training before, and through some donations, we were about to get about $7,000 worth of training equipment," Cherveny says.

The center works to meet company and worker demand in a fast-changing economic atmosphere. Courses are held at the Evendale Center as well as on company campuses. The center has even taken training programs across the country and to Mexico, Cherveny says.

"We are flexible and change quickly," he says. "As they come to us with new needs, that tells us the direction that we need to look into."

By Feoshia Henderson
Follow Feoshia on Twitter

The U.S. health-care industry is in great need of cost efficiencies and quality of care improvements, and a new company in Cincinnati is poised to help. 

In 2010, as a country, we spent more than $2.6 trillion on health care but still ranked lower than most countries in terms of quality of care. 

Also, new federal legislation will create incentives for hospitals and health-care facilities to meet quality standards and effectively punish those that don’t. 

CincyTech’s newest portfolio company, QI Healthcare, is helping hospitals meet and exceed these quality benchmarks. 

The company was created from technology developed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center by Dr. Frederick Ryckman, professor of surgery and senior vice president for Medical Operations at Cincinnati Children’s; Paul Yelton, senior application developer; and Candace Overly, project administrator, Perioperative Services. 

What Cincinnati Children’s developed is called the Surgical Outcomes Collection System (SOCS). It’s a software application for use in hospitals and health-care facilities that aggregates data from a hospital’s various systems, including its Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system, to conduct institution-wide analyses of cases where quality of care could be improved. 

“The real power of this software is in the ability to analyze every significant patient case,” says Ryckman. “Before SOCS we spent countless hours manually gathering data. SOCS improves the process through automation and enhanced analytics – and it frees up clinical resources to focus on quality improvement.”

Leading QI’s efforts is experienced entrepreneur and health-tech executive John Atkinson. Before being named CEO of QI, Atkinson held leadership roles at WebMD, Mede America and SourceMedical. He is also co-founder of a successful mobile startup, BuzzVoice, a streaming audio news service for smartphones.

CincyTech and Cincinnati Children’s Tomorrow Fund each invested $200,000. This round of funding will go toward sales, marketing and product development, which includes securing a handful of beta test sites for the SOCS software that has been in use at Cincinnati Children’s for more than a year. 

By Sarah Blazak for CincyTech

MedWish International, a Cleveland company that recycles medical supplies and equipment discarded by local hospitals, medical device companies and individuals by redistributing them to developing nations in desperate need of such items, won the $100,000 technology upgrade grand prize in Toshiba’s Helping the Helpers Technology Makeover.

MedWish beat out 150 U.S. non-profit charities by submitting a two-minute video to Toshiba for Good Facebook page, explaining how they would benefit from a technology makeover. Finalists and the winner were decided by a nationwide vote of Facebook users who watched the videos.

“All of the Helping the Helpers contest finalists were worthy organizations that we felt were deserving of the technology makeover,” says Bill Melo, vice president of marketing, services and solutions, Toshiba America Business Solutions. “MedWish’s video excelled at meeting the criteria we established for the contest, but it was our 10,000-plus fans on Facebook who ultimately decided on MedWish as the grand prize winner.”
 
MedWish will receive Toshiba products and services that include new color multifunction copiers, desktop computers, laptops, televisions, camcorders, telephone systems and energy-saving LED light bulbs. Also included is the Encompass fleet optimization program -- an analysis that will help uncover hidden cost savings throughout the workplace.
 
“Honestly, this prize will allow MedWish to focus more on our work of saving lives and conserving our environment, and less on unjamming printers and dealing with ancient computers,” says Matthew Fieldman, MedWish director of development. “Even the little details can make a big difference; like now we can show our orientation video, which is seen by over 2,000 volunteers annually, on an HD television instead of a TV from the 1980s.”

MedWish recruited its network of the 5,300 people on its email list, including over 3,500 past volunteers, to vote for them and ultimately win the contest.


Source: Matthew Feldman, Bill Melo
Writer: Karin Connelly