Innovation + Job News

Ohio's green building boom has been good to a Westlake company that has grown on the strength of its expertise in green building strategies.

Humanity's Loom, founded by Laura Steinbrink in 2008, attempts to fill the knowledge gaps between architects, engineers, construction managers and owners who are pursuing LEED-certified building projects, says Steinbrink, the company's president.

Steinbrink says the need for a green construction consulting company became apparent five years ago.

"I was at University Hospitals (in Cleveland) as they were launching their building campaign and it became clear to me that there was a breakdown in (helping) the owner articulate their sustainability goals into a project that made sense," she explains. "The architects and construction managers and owner's reps had a hard time hearing what the owner was saying -- and then rearticulating the value proposition of certain improvements or certain design elements they might make."

Humanity's Loom helps uncover the operational impacts of a building and how they affect project decisions. For example, nearly three-quarters of a building's long-term costs are in its operations. That's a key fact that can illustrate the value of green construction, help demonstrate a return on investment and help the owner operate a business sustainably over the long term, Steinbrink says.

As more green buildings are constructed in Ohio, Steinbrink's company has grown as well -- by 300 percent last year alone, she says.

While things like state mandates for LEED-certified school construction have helped, two other factors have contributed to growth, she says.

"Owners have wised up and realized LEED is not just a plaque on the wall, it's a tool they can use to evaluate the way they run their business. And the second thing is many architects have come to recognize they're good at designing buildings but this LEED process is very time intensive and they are better serving their clients designing rather than documenting LEED."

The company has three full-time employees but expects to add jobs as it grows.

Source: Laura Steinbrink, Humanity's Loom
Writer: Gene Monteith

When sign-ups started out slowly for BioOhio's 2011 Service Provider's Expo, the organization decided to get creative. The result: an online version of the expo, which began March 1, runs through April 28 and which at last count had nearly 60 virtual exhibitors.

Matt Schutte, director of communications for Columbus-based BioOhio -- the Ohio Edison Center charged with accelerating biosciences discovery, innovation and commercialization -- says the expo is a chance for shoppers and browsers in the biosciences to connect with product and service providers from within the state of Ohio.

"This is an outgrowth of a live expo that we held last year in March," Schutte says. "That event went well as a first year. This year, it was not hitting critical mass at the time that we needed to sign some facility agreements."

So, BioOhio partnered with online conferencing expert JuJaMa to build a virtual exhibition site. All exhibitors must be biosciences-based and have an Ohio presence, Schutte says. BioOhio members pay $50 and non-members $80 for the privilege of showcasing their companies.

As exhibitors, companies are able to send meeting requests to other expo participants, can send system generated messages and see the entire content of the site, Schutte says.

Shoppers can only see the exhibitors, but can register at no cost. The online aspects of the event have one big advantage over the live event, Shutte notes -- customers can come from all over the world. Earlier this week, nearly 170 shoppers or browsers were signed in to view online exhibits.

If the online expo goes well, BioOhio may extend the format to other focus areas, Schutte says.

"Maybe we'll extend this to some summits or some geographic or foreign partner sites -- who knows where that goes."

Participants can still register for the expo by going here.

Source: Matt Schutte, BioOhio
Writer: Gene Monteith

Cincinnati will be hosting some of the area's leading experts in life science research and entrepreneurship next month, with an eye toward boosting the Ohio Valley's profile in the field.

The ninth annual OVALS (Ohio Valley Affiliates of Life Sciences) conference will bring scientists and research executives from universities of Cincinnati, Kentucky and Louisville, Ohio University and Marshall University together with entrepreneurs and investors to highlight regional initiatives, its success stories and up-and-coming start-ups.

The two-day conference begins April 14 at Cincinnati's Kingsgate Mariott Hotel.

"The conference is a great opportunity to bring together the right mix of scientists and investors," says Dorothy Air, an OVALS chair, associate vice president for entrepreneurial affairs at the University of Cincinnati and vice president of operations with CincyTech. "Networking is a big part of it, but so is just conversation. Scientists and universities don't always know what's going on elsewhere, and how their work relates to others' work."

Speakers include a keynote address from University of Kentucky President Lee F. Todd Jr., a former engineering professor and entrepreneur, along with experts in regulatory issue, clinical trial issues and ushering ideas from the drawing board to the market.

Some of the group's success stories will also be highlighted. David Scholl, president and CEO of Athens-based Diagnostic Hybrids, will talk about those successes as a blueprint for others to follow.

The conference, OVALS' signature event, is expected to draw more than 100 attendees. Since the first conference  was held in 2002, the group has grown from a small network of research and medical universities to include the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, CincyTech, the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership and Cleveland Clinic's Global Cardiovascular Innovation group. Affiliates work together, sharing information and resources and drawing more than $650 million annually in basic and applied research funding to the Ohio Valley.

Source: Dorothy Air, OVALS
Writer: Dave Malaska

CincyTech's $250,000 investment in a Chicago start-up has drawn the company to Ohio, the second such announced move in the last month.

Samplesaint, which has developed a system that allows consumers to redeem coupons online using their mobile phones, will move to Cincinnati this spring, according to a release from CincyTech. The company's Cincinnati operations will include a research and development lab as well as data analysis operation.

CincyTech says Samplesaint's technology allows coupons to be scanned through a checkout system using any mobile device. The company also has developed a data base that connects with a retailer's point of service system, thus allowing coupons to be identified, redeemed and their expiration dates confirmed.

Samplesaint could not be reached immediately to elaborate on plans, but CEO Lawrence Griffith says in a statement March 14 that Cincinnati was attractive as a consumer marketing center.

"With companies such as Procter, Kroger, Macy's and dunnhumby, it is a hub of expertise about the consumer mindset. Samplesait looks forward to finding its place in that ecosystem."

CincyTech's president, Bob Coy notes in the release that the market for mobile couponing is predicted to rise to more than $6 billion within the next three years and says the rise in mobile phone use positions Samplesaint for growth.

CincyTech is a public-private venture development organization that invests in high-tech startups in the Cincinnati area. Earlier this month it announced that a similar $250,000 investment will bring Chicago-based turboBOTZ to the Cincinnati, also this spring. turboBOTZ and Samplesaint represent CincyTech's 20th and 21st portfolio companies, respectively.

Source: CincyTech

Could Lakewood become a hotbed for entrepreneurial talent? If the new effort Startup Lakewood fulfills its mission, the city will in the near future be home to a fresh new crop of entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas.

Startup Lakewood is a new program formed collaboratively between the City of Lakewood, Lakewood's Chamber of Commerce, LakewoodAlive, and Pillars of Lakewood. The program consists of biweekly brainstorming meetings held in various cafes around Lakewood and led by Mike Belsito, a startup business developer. Startup Lakewood also invites entrepreneurial experts to share insights with would-be entrepreneurs.

The two-hour brainstorming sessions are free and open to all residents of Lakewood.

Startup Lakewood has initiated Startup U, a monthly program at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design to further enlighten Lakewood residents about the ins and outs of startups. The first session takes place April 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and looks at resources in Lakewood and Cleveland that are available to newbie entrepreneurs.


Source: Startup Lakewood
Writer: Diane DiPiero

This story originally appeared in Fresh Water Cleveland.

While the verdict is still out on how powerful the Medical Mart and Convention Center will be to Cleveland's economic growth, the construction that's currently going on is definitely bringing jobs to the area. The Medical Mart reports that more than 200 construction workers are currently on site.

The numbers are impressive for small business enterprise (SBE) companies, with more than 25 SBE subcontractors hired for specific jobs thus far.

Job creation for the construction project is being coordinated by MMPI, the Medical Mart management company; Cuyahoga County; Minority Business Solutions; and Turner Construction Company. Together, these entities have hosted five SBE certification and outreach events, the last of which resulted in 175 interview opportunities for SBE contractors.

There is much work to be done for these employees. Demolition of various buildings is ongoing, with more than 100 trucks hauling away concrete to be recycled each day.


Source: Medical Mart and Convention Center
Writer: Diane DiPiero

This story originally appeared in Fresh Water Cleveland.

Neflix subscribers now have a faster way to add movies to their online queues.

CueThat, the latest creation of Columbus-based Big Kitty Labs, allows someone who comes across a movie title while reading online content to right click over it and instantly add the movie his or her Netflix lineup.

Dan Rockwell, Big Kitty's CEO, says the service was launched three weeks ago and "took off like crazy," accumulating 1,000 users and tracking 3,000 movie adds within the first two weeks.

CueThat will work with almost any browser, Big Kitty says. A plug-in has been developed for Firefox and Chrome and CueThat offers a bookmarklet that can be dragged from CueThat's website to Safari and Internet Explorer browsers.

Rockwell explains the advantage of CueThat is "immediacy."

"It's like a remote control for the TV," Rockwell says. "What that did for the TV is it let the person sit on the couch and change channels."

At present, there is no revenue model for CueThat, Rockwell says. Netflix does not pay Big Kitty for the additional traffic to its site, and no advertising is being sold. But Rockwell says CueThat, like some of Big Kitty's other projects, is foregoing profits now for potential pay-off later.

"It's kind of technology play, people play, in the sense of 'here's some folks that are thinking in this space and where does it go next?," Rockwell explains. "We're working on two other queuing type (projects). And we also have the analytics of what's being queued so we're gathering data. I feel like any time you're gathering data and analyzing people patterns you're sitting on something that could be interesting to a third party."

Next up?

"It's a hard one to do but I think we're going to try to do it -- library books. Where you can right click a book and automatically reserve it at the library."

Source: Dan Rockwell, Big Kitty Labs
Writer: Gene Monteith

Vincent Chou is a rabid video gamer, and it irks him that there's no easy way to find used video games at a reasonable cost. Or to sell a used game for a fair price after the fun has worn off.

So Chou and fellow grad student Pratap Shergill have formed turboBOTZ -- an Internet marketplace that will bring buyers and sellers together to set their own prices.

The company was formed in Chicago but will move to Cincinnati this spring after a recent $250,000 investment by CincyTech, a public-private venture development organization serving southwest Ohio.

Both Chou and Shergill participated in a program offered last fall by The Brandery, a seed-stage consumer marketing startup accelerator in Cincinnati. Chou says the business partners were referred to The Brandery after getting high marks in the business plan competition at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, but failing to meet the criteria for a similar accelerator program in Chicago.

The Brandery, formed last year, helped the pair think about retail strategy and strategic partnerships, according to a CincyTech news release. CincyTech provided $20,000 to support The Brandery's first class of startups and now has made turboBOTZ its 20th portfolio company.

Chou says the $250,000 investment will allow it to operate in its first year. A formal launch of the service is planned within three to four months and the company is currently hiring staff, which Chou expects to total four to five initially.

"We already have one hire from the Cincinnati area," Chou says. "Once we raise a little bit more money, ideally I can see us being a 20- to 30-person shop."

Chou doesn't graduate from Booth until around New Years, he says, meaning some long commutes between now and then. Shergill, however, graduates this summer.

"So he'll be able to spend a little more time in Cincinnati," Chou says.

Source: Vincent Chou, turboBOTZ
Writer: Gene Monteith

Alfred W. French founded The French Oil Mill Machinery Company in 1900 to serve the linseed oil industry. The company's location in Piqua made sense: West central Ohio was a leading flax seed growing region, from which linseed oil is made. And those who processed the oil needed presses from which to extract the commodity.

While linseed oil is rarely found anymore, French is still going strong, thanks to innovative technologies that have branched out over the years to serve industries as diverse as the rubber and aerospace sectors.

Today, French makes screw presses to extract vegetable oil from seeds and nuts, screw presses for synthetic rubber and to separate solids and liquids, and screw presses and fiber presses for removing liquid from wood pulp fiber. The company also manufactures hydraulic presses for molding parts for a number of industries, including the medical and aerospace industries.

Tayte French Lutz, the company's marketing coordinator and a fourth-generation French, says the company is still growing, despite an off year in 2008. French hired 25 people last year, bringing employment in Piqua to 63.

"2008 was tough," she says, "but 2010 was an amazing year. 2011 is already looking to be an incredible year. Our sales for this year forecasted to be about 50 percent more than last year."

A more robust domestic business is also in the forecast.

"In 2010 about 70 percent of our business was exports and 30 percent domestic. For 2011 it's going to be about 50/50."

French has customers in more than 80 countries, and equipment on every continent but Antarctica. The company recently announced it would begin manufacturing operations in China to serve the oil seed and polymer industries there.

While the company tends to fly under most people's radar, French Lutz notes that some of our most common items may have been made with the help of a French machine.

"If you eat a potato chip, it's possible that the oil could have been pressed on a French press. If you're out playing golf, the inside of the golf ball could have been pressed on a French hydraulic press. There's just things in our everyday lives that our equipment could have touched."

Source: Tayte French Lutz, French Oil Mill Machinery Company
Writer: Gene Monteith

A pizza-fueled team of 20-somethings has propelled a small Cleveland technology company to swift success in the competitive world of online restaurant takeout ordering.

Onosys was established in 2005 by three Case Western Reserve University students -- Stan Garber, Oleg Fridman and Alex Yakubovich -- when Rascal House Pizza, a local campus restaurant, asked them to develop an online ordering solution for the eatery.

Researching the restaurant industry, they found it woefully lacking in high-tech online ordering systems. Believing they had found an under-served niche, they developed their own system. Their goal, according to their website, was that it must be "user-friendly, flexible in its functionality, scalable, have a great user interface and be backed by committed and friendly customer support."

With the explosion of online ordering for everything from books to snow tires, their timing couldn't have been better. They networked and established a board, which lead to important guidance, as well as funding from a local angel investor. The company name, ONOSYS, stands for Online Ordering Systems.

Today, with more than 75 national chains as clients, Onosys is a major player in the restaurant online and mobile ordering industry. Clients include Panera Bread, Honeybaked Ham, Papa John's, Houlihan's, Beef O'Brady's and Frisch's Big Boy. "We're really big on pizza restaurants," Garber notes. "We have more pizza chains than any of the competition, and pizza is a regular part of our staff's diet."
 
He attributes the company's successful growth to three things. "We have an easy pricing model, charging a flat monthly rate per restaurant location rather than a percentage of each individual transaction," he explains. "Second, we're constantly investing in refining our technology. We also have youth. We're all in our 20s, and our age demographic does the most online restaurant ordering. That means we're our customers' clients, which gives us important insights."

Garber believes Onosys also has a competitive edge in data aggregation and social media.

"Restaurants don't collect a lot of data on their customers," he explains. "We capture a host of data, which our clients can access through our customer relations management tool. Our new big thing this year," he adds, "is being able to give our restaurants live ROI data on social media promotions they run."

Onosys currently has 12 employees and plans to hire more by year's end.

Source: Stan Garber, Onosys
Writer: Lynne Meyer

Kids love to jump on it. Adults pop it to relieve stress or boredom. "It" is bubble wrap, the plastic stuff with air-filled mini-pillows that's used in boxes and envelopes to cushion and protect the contents.

The folks at Automated Packaging Systems of Streetsboro knew that bubble wrap is popular for packaging. They also knew, however, that storing it is awkward and takes up a lot of space. So they decided to tackle those issues.

The result is the AirPouch FastWrap system, which the company introduced at Pack Expo in Chicago a few months ago.

Automated Packaging Systems' target markets for AirPouch FastWrap are manufacturing companies that ship their products in boxes, as well as mail-order fulfillment operations.

"While we're not the first company to introduce a bubble-wrap-on-demand system, ours is different in three important ways," Rempe says.

The system is unique with its combination of versatility to create cellular cushions or tubes with variable air pressure and a range of sizes, he explains.

"Variable air pressure can be helpful when fragile products require additional protection. The innovative honeycomb pattern on the wrap allows air to flow between individual cells. This provides uniform protection across the entire sheet, which makes it ideal for cross wrapping fragile products."

The system has EZ-Tear perforations every 10 inches on the wrapping and at every individual tube.

"This offers flexibility and speed in packaging," he notes. "It can also produce both cellular wrapping and tubes." Tubes are used for blocking and bracing in-box packaging.

The AirPouch FastWrap system is compact, measuring 20.5 inches long, 8.5 inches wide and14 inches high. It weighs just 35 pounds. "It's truly portable, doesn't require an air line and uses standard 120V electricity," Rempe says.

Source: Chris Rempe, Automated Packaging Systems
Writer: Lynne Meyer

E3 Clean Technologies wants to turn your pee into power.

Gerardine Botte, a professor of biomolecular and chemical engineering at Ohio University, has developed technology to create energy from the ammonia found in human and animal organic waste. She is the founder of Athens-based E3 Clean Technologies and is developing her "SCR GreenBox," the product that will harness the technology for distribution, at the Ohio University Innovation Center.

Kent Shields, CEO of E3, says that the GreenBox has potential in several markets, wastewater treatment, agriculture, the military, electronics manufacturing, and power plant management.

The GreenBox works by using a patented low-energy electrolysis process that converts ammonia and urea in wastewater to hydrogen, nitrogen and pure water, says Shields. The box also produces hydrogen energy.

"This unit works similar to a battery," he says. "We break down ammonia and turn it into clean energy."

A large GreenBox that could be used by a municipal wastewater treatment facility would be about the size of a tractor trailer, says Shields. A smaller unit that might be used in a small manufacturing facility would be about the size of a refrigerator. The company estimates that the device could reduce the operational costs for reducing ammonia from wastewater by 60 percent.

E3 has received early stage funding of $350,000 from TechGROWTH Ohio, a technology funding program backed by the Ohio Third Frontier initiative. Pre-production GreenBox units could be ready by early 2012, says Shields. Within the next three years the company could hire up to 30 engineers and field technicians as it goes to market. He estimates that as many as double that number of jobs could be created through the manufacturing process for the product, for which E3 will contract with local companies.

Source: Kent Shields, E3 Clean Technologies
Writer: Val Prevish

Following last year's successful launch of the renowned Kauffman FastTrac TechVenture Program in Southwest Ohio, two Cincinnati area incubators are bringing back the high-tech business development program.

FastTrac is an intensive, hands-on program geared toward scientists, inventors, engineers and IT developers. Through this program, Southwest Ohio innovators who want to commercialize a new technology, or grow an existing tech business, can get the specialized help they need.

"We frequently receive requests from entrepreneurs for help in developing a business plan. In TechVentures, the participants learn from the facilitators, entrepreneurial guest speakers and each other. Feedback from our business plan competition judges, who are investors and professional advisors, indicated all the companies had developed a viable business plan. We decided to offer the program again because it works," says BIOSTART President Carol Frankenstein.

The program is sponsored by the Hamilton County Business Center (HCBC) and BIOSTART, a life sciences incubator.

Kauffman FastTrac TechVenture is designed to take businesses from idea through development to commercialization. Among topics that will be covered are: Defining the Target Market, Testing Your Business Concept, Planning for Financial Success and Protecting the Business and Your Intellectual Property.

At the program's end entrepreneurs will have a chance to win one of three early-stage funding prizes of $5,000, $3,000 or $1,000 through a business plan competition.

The upcoming 10-week session starts March 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Wednesday at the Hamilton County Business Center in Cincinnati. The program's cost has been slashed from the usual $895 to $399 per person though a State of Ohio Edison Technology Supplemental Grant awarded to HCBC and BIOSTART. There is a further discount for BIOSTART and HCBC clients.

You can submit an application until Friday, March 11, here. 

Source: Carol Frankenstein, BIOSTART
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites

What began several years ago as a monthly brown bag lunch for entrepreneurs and others to hear about business trends and opportunities has grown into the Dayton-based Entrepreneurial Development Network.

"The idea was that we didn't want anybody to slip through the cracks," explains Ray Hagerman, VP-investments for the Dayton Development Coalition, one of the lead partners. "Somebody might come to one of the group members and have a particular need, and they couldn't necessarily help them but perhaps someone else could."

That informal approach has evolved into a network of 10 to 15 groups that provide entrepreneurs with key resources, including education and strategic planning assistance, organizational development services, funding opportunities, mentoring, professional services, incubation space and trade association benefits.

The luncheons continue, but much of the action is network-based and takes place outside those gatherings.

"We don't have our own website, we're not part of a formalized entity that's separately branded in and of itself," Hagerman says." Whenever people come through he door, if they come to the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce or come to whomever it might be, they usually just start there and those folks will shuttle them over to an SBDC (Small Business Development Center) or they'll shuttle them to us, or if we get a lead where we can't help we'll shuttle them to someone else."

While that makes it difficult to track the number of people who have been helped, the process is working, Hagerman says.

"The EDN concept is a really good way of getting in the know in the area of entrepreneurial services that are out there, funding mechanisms that are out there and just the general knowledge base," he says. "And it's also become a good way for entrepreneurs to connect with potential technology generators. Not everybody that's a researcher or an inventor or a technologist wants to be an entrepreneur, but they sure would like to see their something be done with their gadget."

Source: Ray Hagerman, the Dayton Development Coalition
Writer: Gene Monteith

Cincinnati creative companies are ready for Austin's South by Southwest Interactive conference tomorrow through March 15, aiming to connect with thousands of participants and fellow professionals. Considered highly influential, the conference is loaded with events on marketing, Web and all things digital. It saw more than 14,000 participants, and the SXSW Music and Film festivals recorded similar numbers.

Cincinnati companies know this year's Interactive will draw big audiences - perhaps bigger than last year's fest.

"We're going to be doing a lot of grassroots marketing strategies - installations, street teams, spreading the word virally," says Josh Heuser, founder of Ionic Collective, which partners with nightlife venues in the Midwest. (Seen the Hoist energy drink? They handle that.) "I went down in January and made a lot of contacts with local resources."

"It's a really important time for Cincinnati to make an impact down there this year," Heuser adds.

Of the companies, Ionic Collective hosts a March 14 showcase featuring local indie-pop band Bad Veins and national bands. The showcase also features Cincinnati company Wearcast, making its debut at SXSW. As co-founder Jaydev Karande explains: "We let people take any thought, statement, expression and turn it into a cool T-shirt � without needing any design skills. It's as easy as updating your Facebook status or sending out a Tweet."

Wearcast started in June 2010. The company was enticed by SXSW's exposure opportunities, Karande says. "The real feedback we're going to get is going to down there. Good or bad -- it doesn't matter. You get it there."

Connecting with local companies bound for SXSW, Karande and Heuser organized a SXSW pre-party at Mainstay Rock Bar downtown Feb. 25 that included reps from Wearcast, Ionic and companies such as Empower MediaMarketing and Crush Republic.

Sources: Kevin Dugan, Empower MediaMarketing, Josh Heuser, Ionic Collective and Jaydev Karande, Wearcast
Writer: Rich Shivener

This story originally appeared in Soapbox.