When a tragedy happens anywhere in the world, Crisis Mappers are there to communicate what’s going on and what’s needed. Jen Ziemke, assistant professor of international relations at John Carroll University, cofounded Crisis Mappers along with Patrick Meier to organize a network of 4,000 mappers worldwide to assist in that communication.
 
The first International conference on Crisis Mappers was held at John Carroll in 2009 and the 100 attendees created th... Read more >

After Robert Knighton’s grandmother had a stroke, she could only use the right side of her body. It made keeping clean in the hospital difficult. Knight’s wife Nina, a nurse at the VA Medical Center, noticed the same problem with some of her patients.

“The bed-bound patient population can’t get up to wash their hands,” explains Nina. “If a nurse comes in and she’s contaminated and touches the bedrails, the patients have nothing to... Read more >

Andy Halko has entrepreneurship in his genes. The characteristics that make an entrepreneur succeed -- vision, hard work, and a touch of daredevil -- prompted Halko in 2002 to create Insivia, a strategic marketing and sales agency focused on business-to-business.
 
“In high school and all through college I worked for a company doing website development and software solutions,” recalls Halko. After graduating from John Carroll University, Halko stayed with ... Read more >

The Blackstone LaunchPad program opened its doors on the Baldwin-Wallace College and Lorain County Community College campuses on Sept. 6 and 7 and will open at Kent State University later this month and CWRU in January.
 
The Burton D. Morgan Foundation in Hudson and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation announced last November that they had committed $3.2 million to open LaunchPad locations in Northeast Ohio to train area student entrepreneurs.
 
The Laun... Read more >

When Sonali Morris first enrolled her children (ages five and three) in swim classes while living in a Detroit suburb, it was a miserable experience.

"They were crying because they could see me sitting right on the pool deck and the water was very uncomfortable,” says Morris. “I had to go out and hide in the locker room area of the country club. I hated I couldn't see them taking lessons and had no idea what was happening.”
 
But th... Read more >

The LaunchHouse Accelerator kicked off its inaugural program on September 4 with 10 technology startup companies eager to move to the next level. The program is funded through a $200,000 ONEFund grant and a $50,000 grant from Clarion Direct Investment. Each company will receive a $25,000 investment from LaunchHouse to grow their business.
 
“We’re quite excited,” says LaunchHouse CEO Todd Goldstein. “It’s changing the way investments are ... Read more >

TiE Ohio will recognize international entrepreneurs at its awards ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 20. Two Cleveland business executives, Jose Feliciano and Wayne Duigan, will be honored.
 
TiE Ohio is a resource for entrepreneurs to network and find mentors for their businesses. This event recognizes immigrant and American-born entrepreneurs who have taken their businesses to an international level.

“Entrepreneurs have the passion, the dream and they are wi... Read more >

Ingenuity Fest 2012 will take place this weekend, September 14 to 16 at Cleveland Lakefront Docks 30 and 32, in 120,000 square feet of warehouse space. Aside from music and artistic performances, the festival will showcase the work of local inventors working on some fun and interactive projects.
 
“It ranges from DIY aesthetic things to engineers,” says director of programming James Krouse. “We have inventors or people who are beta testing a product ... Read more >

Bad Girl Ventures will host its third business education series that culminates with the chance for female participants to win a $25,000 loan. The nine-week session begins on September 19 at the Lakewood campus of University of Akron.
 
Classes cover everything from legal and accounting to business plans and marketing to improving credit scores to resources available for financing.

“We try to hit on everything on the mind of the small business owner,&rd... Read more >

COSE is looking for a few good startups. The organization’s second annual business pitch competition will be held on Thursday, October 18 at Pickwick and Frolic. Competition finalists will outline their ideas to a panel of experts, including Jeff Hoffman, founder of Priceline.com.
 
“So many small business owners just starting out with a new idea need more than money and someone to talk to,” says Megan Kim, COSE director of education and programs. &l... Read more >

Mario Schulzke has always been fascinated with the spirit and drive behind entrepreneurs. The Plettenberg, Germany native came to America on his own at age 16, went to college and ended up in advertising in Los Angeles.
 
“I always wanted to be an entrepreneur but I couldn’t because of my work permit,” Schulzke recalls. So in 2009, he launched IdeaMensch, a vehicle to celebrate and learn from entrepreneurs. “I’d always admired entrepreneu... Read more >

The St. Ignatius Reaching MAGIS program is designed to help students get on the track for college in Catholic schools.

“We try to identify young boys in sixth through eighth grade who are promising, rising students, and get them involved early,” explains school principal Dan Bradesca.  “These are students from schools throughout the Cleveland area who spend 15 Saturdays in English, test prep and study skills, and computer and graphic arts.”Read more >

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week awarded CWRU a $64.6-million, five-year grant for the continuation of a collaborative effort to bring medical research to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices, improving the health of patients in the region. The federal grant is the largest in Northeast Ohio history.
 
The NIH founded the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) six years ago to accelerate the transition of medical ideas to medical app... Read more >

In 2011, Trevor Shaw was working in sales and marketing for an industrial parts distributor, searching through Google AdWords accounts when his wandering mind struck upon an idea. “I was bored and thinking about the previous weekend and all the fun I had,” Shaw recalls. “So I started thinking.”
 
Shaw’s thinking led to Barkudo, an iPhone app that allows bar managers to input daily drink specials so customers within a five-mile radius can ... Read more >

TOA Technologies, the provider of mobile workforce management solutions, has hired Brian Cook as the company’s CFO. Since its founding in 2003, TOA has steadily grown from a small startup company to the global company with 350 employees around the world and more than 40 in Cleveland.
 
Cook, whose background is in global technology, telecommunications and media companies, will help guide TOA through its projected future growth.

“Brian is a good ma... Read more >

Enforcer eCoaching, a personalized wellness coaching service, has secured $250,00 from JumpStart to expand services across the country. A spin-off out of the Cleveland Clinic, Enforcer eCoaching was founded by Cleveland Clinic chief wellness officer Dr. Michael Roizen, television health guru Dr. Mehmet Oz and entrepreneurs Steven Lindseth and Arthur Benjamin.
 
The eCoaching focuses on smoking cessation, weight loss, hypertension control and diabetes control through p... Read more >

The inaugural Great Lakes Venture Fair will take place at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown October 17-18, on the heels of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual conference. The fair is a collaborative effort  between  JumpStart, Ohio Capital Fund, Ohio Venture Association, TiE Ohio, CincyTech and TechColumbus and will bring together investors and startups from across the Midwest.
 
“It’s a chance for the venture capital communit... Read more >

Phoenix Coffee has introduced a direct trade coffee from Amado Nervo, in the Chiapas area of Mexico, to its menu. By purchasing the coffee directly from the growers, the middleman is eliminated and more money goes directly to the farmers.

“It’s a town of about 1,100 people and coffee is their only crop,” says Christopher Feran, coffee and marketing director for Phoenix. “We’re having a direct impact on the people of Amado Nervo. We like to co... Read more >

Startup Lakewood is looking for new businesses and the organization is willing to help entrepreneurs take their ideas to fruition. The second annual Ideation Challenge showcases the new ideas and new business startups that will add to the diversity of the Lakewood business community. 

“We think there are all sorts of people right here in Lakewood who have ideas for businesses but haven’t taken the steps to launch them,” says Mike Belsito, Lakewood&r... Read more >

Incoming ninth graders at Max Hayes High School took it to the parking lot last week, Thursday, July 26, to race the cars they had crafted as part of the Take it to the Max program. Part summer camp, part school orientation, nearly 60 students participated in two WIRE-Net program sessions to see if a career in manufacturing is the right path. Max Hayes students concentrate on manufacturing in their studies.
 
"The goal of the program is to introduce the students ... Read more >