entrepreneurship : Buzz

President Obama touched on a number of policy initiatives during last night's State of the Union Address ranging from job creation and clean energy to troop drawdowns and gun violence, but it was his shoutout to the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute that caught the attention of the Mahoning Valley and lawmakers who represent the region.

To read the full story click here.

On Facebook, Allan Karl has 642 friends, 128 likes and 405 photos. But you wouldn’t know this if you searched for him by his actual name: Allan Smith.

Smith, a sophomore at Ohio University, switched to using his first and middle name on Facebook to carve out more privacy and make himself harder to find, especially for employers.

As more people like Smith seek more privacy, two Ohio State students have created a new social media site that revolves around providing it.

Dustin Studer, a junior in biomedical engineering, and Suprasanna Mishra, a junior in neuroscience, launched Capstory.com on Oct. 1.

“We wanted to give complete control to the user so they can do whatever they want with their content and not have to worry,” Studer said.

Read the full story here.

We told you about Impulcity lo’ these many months ago, way back in May 2012, under the unapologetically hyperbolic headline, “Impulcity the next Facebook?”

Today, the Louisville-born app went live on the iTunes app store about noon, Louisville time.

Read the full story here.

Cincinnati-based enterprise social network startup Batterii, which describes itself as a co-creation software platform, has closed a $2.5 million seed round let by public-private seed stage investor CincyTech – which contributed $500,000 to the round. Other investors include Batterii CEO Kevin C. Cummins, Los Angeles-based investor Ken Salkin, and undisclosed individuals.

As well as offering enterprise collaboration tools such as real-time chat, activity tracking, tagging search and so on — it describes one of its software tools as “like Pinterest with a purpose”  – Batterii also offers in-person brainstorming sessions as a service to clients.

Read the full story here.

Euclid Avenue was the spark in Cleveland, as a bus rapid-transit system ignited development along the important Downtown artery once lined with so many mansions it was known as Millionaires’ Row.

The rebirth of downtown Cincinnati started with Fountain Square and in Over-the-Rhine, a historic neighborhood filled with stately but crumbling homes.

In Columbus, the Arena District rose on the blighted site of a long-closed prison. This started a wave of development that has spread south, to the river and the land formerly occupied by the failed City Center mall.

Now, after many years and a combined investment of about $10 billion, Ohio’s three largest cities are enjoying downtown booms that have added residents, jobs, economic impact and vibrancy.

Read the full story here.

For more information on the TechColumbus innovation awards, click here.

President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to create a special visa category that allows foreign-born entrepreneurs who launch successful startups to remain in the country.

Read the full story here.

Two studies released Thursday show the Youngstown Business Incubator has a far-reaching economic impact, which it believes will bolster an already strong reputation and attract more startup companies.

Read the full story here.

To its advocates, crowdfunding is a way for capital-starved entrepreneurs to receive financing that neither big investors nor lenders are willing or able to provide. To others, it represents a potential minefield that could help bad businesses get off the ground before they eventually fail, and in some cases could even ensnare unsophisticated investors in outright fraud.

Those fears are partly why the Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed rules allowing crowdfunding that were supposed to take effect this month as part of the JOBS Act (Jump-Start Our Business Start-Ups), signed by President Obama last April. The S.E.C. is wary of loosening investor protections that have been in place since the 1930s.

Read the full story here.

A 2011 scare with melanoma convinced Cindy Perry to finally turn a hobby into a career.

Ms. Perry, an Avon Lake mother of two, last January launched a business from her home selling “pellos” — baby floor pillows she initially designed for her own children. The pellos essentially are 33-inch round pillows with depressed centers that can be used for newborns lying down or for babies learning to sit or crawl.

Now, nearly a year after its debut, Ms. Perry contracts with a local manufacturer — Western Reserve Sewing Co. in Cleveland — to make the pellos, and she said her product is sold at 37 boutiques in 17 states. She already has an intern and is about to take on her first employee.

Ms. Perry is among a growing number of mom entrepreneurs, or “mompreneurs,” who are starting their own business while running a family. These are women who cradle a phone in one hand, a baby in another and make sales calls while packing lunches.

Read the full story here.

Those who relocated from the Mahoning Valley years ago and returned for the holidays might not recognize the city they left.

Today Youngstown is in the midst of an economic renaissance, officials boast, and the Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown State University and the Oh Wow! Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science and Technology demonstrate why.

“We want to introduce people who have left Youngstown to the New Youngstown, the new high-tech Youngstown," said Mike Hripko, director of technology-based economic development at the YSU College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, as he welcomed visitors to the YBI.

Read the full story here.

Ohio rose to 33rd from 38th and Michigan remained at No. 47 in Forbes’ new list of “Best States for Business.” The rankings, at forbes.com/best-states-for-business, compare the states in six categories.

Read the full story here.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are the engines of economic growth. For decades now, cities and communities across the United States have tried to infuse themselves with those two properties by emulating Silicon Valley, a never-ending quest to become the next Silicon Somewhere.

Brad Feld’s terrific new book, Startup Communities, takes us inside the real ecologies of innovation and entrepreneurship. Feld, co-founder of venture capital firm Foundry Group, serves on the boards of numerous high-tech companies. He recently chatted with Cities about his new book.

Read the full story here.

A national study on high-tech jobs released Thursday shows that Ohio is quickly establishing itself as a hub of high-tech job activity. The Buckeye State is home to three of the top 25 cities for tech job growth -- more than any other state.

Read the full story here.

This fall, entrepreneurs and investors from all over the country gathered in downtown Cleveland for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) annual conference. During a "fireside chat," AOL founder and Startup America Chair Steve Case touched on his belief that a "broader entrepreneurial ecosystem" with many hubs of innovation is possible. "Many years ago, you couldn't launch a startup in some areas, and now you can," he said. "Costs are down, and the ability to get talent is up."

The Midwest is working hard to make Case's vision a reality sooner rather than later.

Read the full story here.