Innovation + Job News

Ty Jacobs and three colleagues started FourthFrame eight years ago to supply software talent to its clients and to develop software products for the marketplace.

While Jacobs says FourthFrame has built a solid business doing just that, it's the success of the company's project management division � Simple Genius Apps -- that last month allowed Jacobs to quit his day job to devote full time as division president.

"A few years ago I started doing iPhone development and I developed some game apps," says Jacobs, who runs Simple Genius from his Pataskala home. "But there wasn't a whole lot of money in (iPhone) game apps unless you write Angry Birds, right?"

Then, the iPad was announced -- and it was a game-changer, Jacobs says.

"I knew it was going to be a whole new frontier for software, and so I started trying to think about what kind of niche I wanted to fill in that new space, and ended up settling on project management software because I have lots of project management experience."

The first Simple Genius app � SG Project -- launched in May 2010 and provided task-based project schedule management. Jacobs soon added an application for action item management and another for risk management.

"I was the first to offer a real project management app on the iPad," he says. SG Project Go was recently added for iPhone and iPod users.

Earlier this year, Simple Genius launched SG Project Pro � which combine those apps into a complete suite of tools. Since then, more than 17,000 units of the suite have sold in 65 countries, allowing Jacobs to quit his job as a director of IT business operations for Columbus-based NetJets and devote his full attention to Simple Genius.

In the near term, Jacobs says the company will develop some updates to the existing iPad applications and then begin working on a Mac version for desktops and laptops. In the long-term, Jacobs wants to grow Simple Genius beyond his one employee � himself.

"My vision is a software development company that has 10 to 20 pretty high-end software development jobs."

Source: Ty Jacobs, Simple Genius Apps
Writer: Gene Monteith

After working in Cincinnati television, Bob Igoe took his skills to start his own production company. Ten years later, I and Eye Productions has created video spots for some of the city's most well-known brands and institutions.
 
I and Eye Productions is a full service, high quality video production company. It offers everything from concept through film and production, specializing in advertising production and corporate communications.

"We do everything. The only thing we don't do is buy media," Igoe says.

Among the company's clients are the Montgomery Inn restaurants, the Cyclones, and University. The company recently teamed up with UC Health's branding campaign, which won four Cincinnati Addy awards in 2010.

Before starting the company, Igoe was a producer at 12WKRC-TV'S Creative Services and at former Cincinnati-based Hasbro subsidiary Kenner. He runs the company with partners David Striet and Tony Agliata, who both previously worked for WKRC-TV. I and Eye employs seven full�-time staff, and contracts with a host of local freelancers to develop its videos.

"We do both commercials and longer form videos," Igoe said. "There has been an increased demand for longer form videos � a lot of companies are trying to get out their stories directly to their customers or to other businesses."

In the last three years, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have played a larger role in video communications Igoe adds.

"It's really rare that we go into a project where (the video) is only going to have one use. Whenever we're at the point of purchase we ask our clients to think of all the other places it can be used. It actually makes them look at their entire year, and how they will be viewed on mobile, web and TV," Igoe said.

Source: Bob Igoe, I and Eye Productions
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

Calling the last week of April the "best in the 10-year history of the investor group," Cincinnati-based Queen City Angels announced the successful exits of two portfolio companies.

In an April 25 news release, Queen City Angels (QCA) noted the sale of Blue Ash Therapeutics' technology to Forest Laboratories and Healthcare Waste Solutions' acquisition by Stericycle.

As an investor of both angel capital and Third Frontier funds, Queen City says "QCA received significant returns" on the transactions.

Last year, QCA and its affiliated QCA First Fund III invested in Blue Ash Therapeutics, along with CincyTech, several individual investors and an east coast investment fund. A little over a year later, Blue Ash has now sold its key technology, Azimilide anti-arrhythmia drug, to New York-based Forest Laboratories, providing QCA with a return of almost 10 times its investment. The news release says QCA was the largest local investor and contributed more than $380,000.

Healthcare Waste Solutions has a national presence in the medical waste disposal business with plants in more than 15 metropolitan areas, QCA says. Stericycle, a Lake Forest, Ill.-based company in the same industry, acquired Healthcare Waste for $237 million.

"We firmly believe that Cincinnati is a great place to invest, and this successful outcome further validates our efforts," says Tony Shipley, QCA's chairman, in the release. "Our group has been actively funding startup companies since 2000, and we continued to pursue deals through the recessions of 2001 and 2008 with the belief that the long-term prospects of Cincinnati startups are outstanding. The real credit for these successes goes to the hard working entrepreneurs who are willing to take the risks of creating start-up ventures.

Source: Queen City Angels

JumpStart Ventures has added yet another company to its investment portfolio, committing $250,000 to SPR Therapeutics of Beachwood.

The investment represents JumpStart Ventures' 76th investment in its 54th company.

SPR, a year-old spinoff of NDI Medical, LLC, is commercializing its proprietary neurostimulation therapy for pain relief, JumpStart says. The company's first product, the SMARTPATCH System, will serve the pain market using its Intramuscular Nerve Therapy. The external stimulator delivers an electrical signal to the SMARTPATCH electrode to stimulate the target nerve within the muscle, thereby exercising the muscle to treat the pain.

In the announcement, Michael Lang, the JumpStart Venture Partner working with the company, noted that "Neurostimulation is a growing market being driven primarily by technology advancements that enable improved clinical outcomes. This field is of considerable interest to medical device manufacturers and, since the leadership of SPR Therapeutics is well-versed in neurostimulation, the company is positioned to move quickly down the commercialization path."

SPR Therapeutics has received federal Small Business Innovation Research grants and a $100,000 grant from the Innovation Fund of Lorain County Community College.

Source: JumpStart Ventures

A pilot program launched by the Ohio Third Frontier and the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University represents a new way to help young technology entrepreneurs get their feet on the ground in Ohio.

Modeled after nationally renowned accelerators like Y Combinator and TechStars, Ohio's New Entrepreneur Fund (ONE Fund) will award $20,000 each to 10 entrepreneurial teams as part of the pilot's first round. The funds will support business and living expenses during an 11-week period in which participants receive guidance from mentors, industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurs and investors.

Teams will compete for selection to the program, which begins June 13 and ends Sept. 1. During that time, participants will prepare concepts and business models, which they will ultimately present to investors. ONE Fund participants must reside in Ohio for the duration of the program and any resulting company must be formed in Ohio.

"We're industry agnostic," says Ben Lagemann, risk capital program manager for the Ohio Department of Development. "Information technology is likely to have a strong presence, but this is not specific to any industry or technology base. Really, we're focusing on entrepreneurship, which is a transferrable skill set between technologies, between industries."

The pilot will be coordinated through Fisher's new 10x technology accelerator, an arm of the college's Center for Entrepreneurship. Lagemann says OSU was chosen as a partner because of its proximity to government offices in Columbus, the capabilities of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the expertise of center director Michael Camp.

"Dr. Camp was able to provide a turnkey solution for us in a very, very short period of time. No one else had those resources, capabilities or stature in the state," Lagemann says.

Camp describes the partnership as "a rare connect between a state funding the teams and the university training the teams." He says the ONE Fund pilot represents the kickoff of the 10x accelerator.

Norman Chagnon, executive director of the Third Frontier Commission, says $425,000 has been made available for startup costs and two pilot rounds representing up to 20 teams. Meanwhile, Columbus venture capital firm NCT Ventures has guaranteed that one team graduating from the first round will receive $200,000 in follow-on funding.

Applications for the first round are due April 24. Those interested can apply here.

Sources: Ben Lagemann, ODOD; Norman Chagnon, Third Frontier Commission; Michael Camp, OSU
Writer: Gene Monteith

Your body depends on trillions of little bacteria to help you digest your food and keep your immune system ticking along. Trouble is, stress, illness and diet can reduce the numbers of those bacteria and throw your body out of whack.

Consequently, a whole new industry called probiotics has sprung up to restore the bacterial balance of your body. And Mayfield Heights-based Ganeden Biotech has emerged as a leader.

Formed in 1997, Ganeden sprang from research that identified a new family of bacterial strains with unique properties, says Mike Bush, the company's VP of business development.

In 2001, the company moved its headquarters from La Jolla, Calif., to northeastern Ohio. By 2003, Ganeden had launched a number of over-the-counter products and in 2006 began licensing its bacteria to other firms.

Today, Ganeden's Digestive Advantage and Sustenex products are sold in 55,000 stores around the country, making the firm the largest or second largest seller of over the counter probiotics at any given time, Bush says. Not only will you find Ganeden's products at your neighborhood grocery, but its patented flagship strain -- GanedenBC³⁰ -- is being used in everything from dairy products to oatmeal � even your tea and muffins.

How can bacteria survive the heat required to bake a muffin? Bush says the GanedenBC³⁰ strain is introduced into consumables as spores, which are heat resistant and more stable than cultured bacteria like that in yogurt.

"It germinates once it gets into the human body," Bush explains.

Ganedan recently announced a partnership with the Agostoni Chocolate, of Italy, to market a probiotics chocolate disk.

Meanwhile, the company continues to grow within a market that Bush says could become a $19-billion industry by 2015. He says the company's over-the-counter sales are growing at 30 percent a year and its licensing operations are moving at a 100 percent annual clip.

The company has 30 employees, 25 of whom are located in the Cleveland area. It also operates an R&D facility in Miami, Fla.

Source: Mike Bush, Ganeden Biotech
Writer: Gene Monteith

Christopher Hadad, a chemistry professor at The Ohio State University, is developing a drug that could ease the effects of a frightening world threat: a deadly chemical nerve agent attack.

Such an event is rare, but not just theoretical. One of the most memorable is a 1995 sarin gas release on Japanese subway lines that killed a dozen people and sent more than 6,000 to hospitals. These poisons can be released deliberately or by accident and have the potential to kill and severely injure thousands of unsuspecting people.

Hadad is working on a therapeutic remedy to the effects of certain nerve agents which, left untreated, cause uncontrolled secretions from the mouth, eyes and nose as well as severe muscle spasms that could lead to a quick death. This work, which is its early stages, is in partnership with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

"We are developing a therapeutic for someone who's been exposed to a nasty chemical agent that creates biological aging effects that could lead to death," says Hadad, who has been working on the project for about a year.

Hadad's work relates to common organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents Tabun, VX, VR, Sarin, Soman, Cyclosarin and Paraoxon. There are treatments that can be used for these agents today, but they don't always work because of the short time frame required for effective treatment.

Using the Ohio Supercomputer Center resources in Columbus, Hadad is working on a molecular fix that could make treatment more effective.

"We are using a computational chemistry approach which could lead to rapid development of a good, viable drug that has the best chance of success and efficacy," he said.

Source: Christopher Hadad, Ohio State University
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

A Shaker Heights accelerator has raised $250,000 in pre-seed funds that it will make available this year to 15 startups focused on software and "disruptive technologies."

Shaker LaunchHouse, formed as Goldstein Caldwell & Associates in 2008 to help technology entrepreneurs at the earliest stages move quickly from concept to first client, has made funds available to 12 companies to date, says Todd Goldstein, managing partner. Previous investments were raised by Goldstein and his partners; the most current funds were invested by a variety of private angels, he says.

The accelerator, which takes an equity stake in companies it assists, provides mentors, collaborative office space, educational programs and connections with investors during a process designed to validate an idea in 90 days and land a first client within 180. Investments typically range between $5,000 and $20,000 and average about $10,000, Goldstein says.

"We really formed because my partner (Dar Caldwell) and I, in our 20s, were starting our own business and felt there really were not good resources for entrepreneurs at the earliest stage to help them go from idea to validation, and to provide a community around them," Goldstein says.

While there is no requirement that portfolio companies remain in state, the long-term goal is to strengthen the entrepreneurial environment in Ohio, Goldstein says.

On April 7, LaunchHouse announced an investment in BestHomeHealthCare.com, a provider of web-based services to the extended care and home care industries. Previous portfolio companies include Sunflower Solutions, a Cleveland -based company that now provides low-tech solar power solutions in five developing countries.

Goldstein says his firm changed its name in late 2010 when it formed a partnership with Shaker Heights. Next month LaunchHouse will move into a building renovated by the city. Under a five-year lease agreement, the accelerator will have use of the 23,000-square foot facility rent- and tax-free for the first four years. In return, the city's community investment corporation will take equity in LaunchHouse.

Non-portfolio companies can pay a membership fee to take advantage of LaunchHouse office space, events and educational programs.

Source: Todd Goldstein, Shaker LaunchHouse
Writer: Gene Monteith

ABS Materials, StreamLink Software, and Thermedx may appear to have little in common. One is an advanced materials company. Another provides software to nonprofits. And the other is a biomedical firm.

Yet all three share one trait: They received early stage funds from the Lorain County Community College Innovation Fund.

Founded by the Lorain County Community College (LCCC) Foundation in 2007, the fund today serves a 21-county area in northeast Ohio and has provided $4.3 million to 60 companies in high-tech growth industries.

The fund is supported by the Ohio Third Frontier and partners that include Cleveland State University, the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE), JumpStart, Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM), Stark State College, The University of Akron, The University of Akron Research Foundation, Youngstown State University and the Youngstown Business Incubator.

Tracy Green, director of the LCCC Foundation, which administers the fund, says since 2007, companies assisted by the fund have attracted more than $41 million in follow-on investments and sales and helped to create 100 new jobs.

"The Innovation Fund really serves as the front door of funding for entrepreneurs," Green says. "We see a lot that are just surfacing out of the lab or out of an 'Ah-ha' type of idea. We're the first stop after credit cards, family, friends and second mortgages."

The Innovation Fund makes two types of awards: up to $25,000 to help validate a startup's technology; and up to $100,000 to validate a new company's business model.

One of the hallmarks of the fund is a requirement that recipients help educate a college student about entrepreneurship and running a business.

"Every award we make to a company, they have to agree to provide an educational opportunity or internship to a student," Green says. "So that student is able to walk shoulder to shoulder with an entrepreneur so they understand what it means and what it takes to be involved in a startup."

The Innovation Fund's successful model was recognized in February when the college and its foundation were named as one of 10 community colleges to be part of the American Association of Community College's Virtual Incubator Network. Lorain's role is to help replicate the Innovation Fund among community colleges nationwide as part of President Obama's Startup America Initiative.

Source: Tracy Green, Lorain County Community College Foundation
Writer: Gene Monteith

Pyrograf III and Black Ice are hardly household names among the casually tech-savvy. But in the rarified circles of research scientists and high-tech braintrusts, the products pioneered by Cedarville-based Applied Sciences Inc. are considered integral to the next wave of technological wonders.

Those are just two of several products turned out by ASI, a pioneer in nanofiber technology. Founded in 1984 by defense researchers with funding from the state, the company was producing carbon nanofibers -- in reality, nanotubes -- before the term was actually coined.

Offering low-density, high-strength attributes as well as unique qualities in thermal and electrical conductivity, nanofibers are omnipresent in almost all electronics today. Because of those unique properties, they have a wide range of applications, from medical and industrial products to aerospace uses, energy storage and computer components. And ASI was in on the ground floor.

"When people were making milligram samples of nanofibers in labs, we were already applying an industrial model, assuring quality control and making huge quantities of nanofibers," says the company's director of research and development, Dave Burton.

ASI's Pryograf line is now the gold standard for improving the electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of polymer-based materials. Black Ice, a "thermally hyper-conductive diamond/carbon/carbon composite" incorporates a thin, diamond coating to the fibers that the company has developed with its partner, Nano Graphite Materials Inc.

Well suited for electrical systems that require high heat dissipation, Black Ice is seen as a key component for the next generation of compact, high-power electronics like smartphones and electronic tablets -- it was recently named one of the 100 most technologically significant new products by R&D Magazine.

Meanwhile, the work continues at ASI, with its horizons ever-expanding.

"Initially, there were only a few applications that we targeted for nanofibers, but as time goes by we keep finding more and more uses," adds Burton. "Every month, we get calls from someone else who want to use our products for applications that no one has thought of. It's a constantly growing field."

Source: Dave Burton, Applied Sciences Inc.
Writer: Dave Malaska

When companies like General Electric, Procter & Gamble and Rockwell Automation need high-tech training for their employees, it's not long before Dennis Ulrich's phone rings.

Ulrich is the executive director of the Workforce Development Center at Cincinnati State University, which offers some of the area's largest employers highly specialized training tailored to specific needs.

By focusing on industrial training, HAZMAT courses, executive classes and a wide array of healthcare courses, the center has carved out a niche as an economic driver in southwestern Ohio.

"What makes us unique, I think, is that we offer an immediate return on investment," explains Ulrich. "We consult with our corporate clients, assess their needs and how to offer what it is that they need, but we also determine what their return on investment will be. We try to focus on programs that will have an immediate impact. We want to help them be more competitive in the marketplace."

In the case of General Electric, that meant launching the company's JETS -- jet engine tear-down school -- program. Since its inception, the program has instructed more than 1,100 of GE's engineers on design and maintenance issues with engines built at the company's Cincinnati plant. Now, GE has asked the center to take its program on the road to its other locations. P&G, for which the center instituted a process engineering course, has discussed offering the same instruction to its workers in China and India. Rockwell has shipped its employees to Cincinnati from around the country for Ulrich's programs.

As successes have accumulated, so has the center's clientele. About 80 companies now contract with the center for training, with growth expected to continue as word spreads.

The center also has looked for new territory to enter. As part of its industrial training curriculum, it began offering specialized "green technologies" training, like solar panel installation and weatherization, in recent years. It also was among the area's first to offer training in the booming bio-tech and bio-science fields.

Its latest effort is the Institute for Social Media, launched at the beginning of this year. Offering comprehensive courses dealing with the use of online sites for sales, customer service and recruiting of new employees, it also focuses on other areas, like legal issues.

Source: Dennis Ulrich, Workforce Development Center
Writer: Dave Malaska

Dimple Dough may seem like a funny name for a company, but it really does make sense, according to Shawn Barrieau, Dimple Dough's CEO.

"In 2004, I moved to Cleveland from Seattle with my wife and kids for a new job. With the holidays approaching, we had to think about sending gifts and pictures of the kids to relatives," he recalls. "I thought about how cool it would be if you could put a picture on a gift card. I did some research and ended up forming a company in 2006 to offer software that enables retailers to put photos on gift cards to personalize the experience. In effect, we're putting smiles on cash. Hence the name Dimple Dough."

Dimple Dough has grown considerably since then -- from two to 22 employees.

Working with processing, printing and fulfillment, and ecommerce partners, Dimple Dough now offers a comprehensive cloud-computing card management platform to help retailers and banks manage every aspect of their gift card programs.

"We offer creative features and platforms, including customization, ecommerce, smart phones, corporate cards, eGifts and social media," Barrieau explains.

Clients include American Express, Nike and AMC Entertainment.

Dimple Dough recently tackled the brave new world of virtual gift cards.

"We have a top-tier retail customer that just moved its rewards program from plastic gift cards to electronic gift cards," Barrieau says. "We did all the strategy and implementation for them and will soon be delivering more than six million eGifts to their data base. By helping them go from plastic to virtual gift cards, we're saving them millions of dollars in printing and postage costs. It's also good for the environment."

Dimple Dough receives Ohio Technology Investment Tax Credit assistance through the Ohio Third Frontier initiative, Barrieau notes.

"That has definitely helped us grow."

Source: Shawn Barrieau, Dimple Dough
Writer: Lynne Meyer

The third annual Cincinnati Innovates competition has just started, growing to offer nearly $90,000 in prizes designed to push forward groundbreaking products and services.

"The goal of Cincinnati Innovates is to connect aspiring entrepreneurs -- people with ideas -- to all the great resources our region has to offer: incubators, angel investors, banks, mentors, and experts. The grant awards are just the first step," says Elizabeth Edwards, venture capital investor and founder of Cincinnati Innovates.

The competition opened April 15 and continues through July 15. As in the past two years, it's open to anyone now or originally from a 15-county area of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. The contest is looking for a broad range of innovative products, devices, business processes and more to highlight, fund and support.

This year 12 awards will be given with a $25,000 top cash prize sponsored by CincyTech. For many winners, Cincinnati Innovates is an early step in their path to development, investment and growth. In total, more than $135,000 has been awarded, with winners attracting more than $3 million in additional financing, said competition founder Elizabeth Edwards.

"There have been lots of new patents filed, a lot of new funding. There has been some really great progress for these startups and that was exactly wanted we wanted to see happen," said Edwards.

To enter the contest or get more info, go to the contest website. There you'll enter a short description of your idea and upload pictures, video, or sketches to help explain and showcase it. You can also take a look at past entries and winners. Last year more than 300 people entered and more than 100 attended supporting innovation workshops offered during the competition timeline.

This year those workshops will expand and include: Patents and Trademarks, Startup Financing, Individual Health Insurance, Branding, Concept Development, and Licensing.

There are 25 Cincinnati Innovates sponsors; many are offering cash or in-kind service awards including the $25,000 CincyTech award; $10,000 and $5,000 in-kind Taft Patent Awards applied toward the patent process. There are two $10,000 in-kind branding and marketing awards: the Round Pixel Studio Web Development Award and the LPK Design and Branding Award.

Source: Elizabeth Edwards, founder Cincinnati Innovates
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

This story originally appeared in Soapbox.