NEOSA recently completed its quarterly survey of Northeast Ohio’s tech sector, which measures how tech businesses are succeeding and their hiring trends and expectations, and the results are strong.
 
“What we’re seeing right now is not overly aggressive growth, but steady growth,” says NEOSA director Brad Nellis. “What I see are generally positive trends. When we compare results from previous surveys, we’re moving in the right dire... Read more >

Jessica Cantrall and her husband Brian like to make life easy -- especially grocery shopping. So the couple developed Empty Aisle, a web-based grocery shopping platform that makes wandering the aisles unnecessary.
 
“We are constantly looking at the world and thinking of ways to make it better,” says Cantrall. “People need a way to find food quickly and easily. They want to find what they want and get out the door.”
 
Empty Aisle a... Read more >

Global Cleveland will host a job coaching event on Saturday, June 23 to help people find a job in Northeast Ohio. Job coaches will be available by appointment to review resumes, provide job search resources or simply serve as a personal connection to Cleveland.
 
“It’s always been a part of our program,” says Global Cleveland president Larry Miller. “We have HR professionals who help newcomers with their job search. But this is the first time w... Read more >

Team NEO and Cleveland State Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs announced on June 6 that they have formed a strategic alliance that will create a powerhouse for attracting and retaining businesses to Northeast Ohio. The idea is to enhance the research capabilities of both organizations, which is key in promoting the region to new businesses.

“Team NEO, ever since it was created, has had top flight research,” explains Team NEO CEO Tom Waltermire. &ld... Read more >

The Fund for Our Economic Future approved $5.035 million in grants to go to seven regional economic development organizations to continue their work in developing companies and bringing jobs to the Northeast Ohio.
 
The organizations are: NorTech, JumpStart, BioEnterprise, Team NEO, MAGNET, WorkAdvance and the Agriculture-Bioscience Industry Cluster. The organizations specialize in everything from entrepreneurship and technology to healthcare, manufacturing and biosci... Read more >

Nine northeast Ohio minority companies were recognized on May 22 at the JumpStart offices as inaugural members of the Charter One Launch100 Leadership Circle. The Circle recognizes diverse entrepreneurs committed to turning their business ideas into some of the region’s most impactful minority-owned or led companies. 
 
“It was a really wonderful event,” says Gloria Ware, JumpStart senior advisor. “It was a really good example of companies... Read more >

Elite Women Around the World and COSE hosted Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Thursday, May 31 at the COSE offices. The event featured speakers, panel discussions, professional development sessions and networking, all along the themes of entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, economic development and social impact.
 
Elite Women Around the World also honored four women with the Women of Distinction Award.
 
“This recognition is for women who ha... Read more >

CellBank Technologies offers a way for surgery patients to plan for future surgeries. The startup company allows patients undergoing knee and hip replacement surgeries to store their own stem cells for possible future procedures. CellBank recently received $25,000 from the Innovation Fund.
 
“We offer a way to harvest and store stem cells without requiring a second surgical procedure,” explains Rachel Uram, CellBank founder and president. “There are ... Read more >

Birdhouse Studios’ Nesl won the William McShane Fund Kickstarter project competition, taking home $25,000 and the opportunity to have the Nesl sold in Brookstone stores across the country. Nesl, which is a flexible rubber nine-fingered desk organizer with suction cups to hold it where ever you stick it, beat out two other projects in the finals.
 
“It’s been very exciting,” says Josh Dryden, who created the Nesl with partners and fellow recent ... Read more >

Maria Blatnick owns more than 200 chairs. None of them match. Not to mention various patterns of antique china, vintage picture frames, galvanized washtubs and windows. “It really runs that gamut,” says Blatnick.

Such an eclectic collection led Blatnick to start HodgePodge Vintage Rentals, a source to rent props and accessories for weddings, events and photo shoots.
 
HodgePodge merges Blatnick’s love for unique design with her love for beau... Read more >

Scott Phillips Jr., president of Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland, has been named one of Realtor Magazine’s 30 Under 30. Each year the magazine recognizes 30 young practitioners who are making a mark in the real estate industry through success in real estate sales, business management, leadership, or community service.
 
Tapping into the renewed interest in downtown living, Phillips, 28, has grown a thriving real estate business out of an old factory in ... Read more >

Last summer, Cleveland Institute of Art product design students Josh Dryden, Sam Li and Pete Whitworth were tossing around ideas for a project that they could add to their portfolios. What they came up with also turned into a lesson in business.
 
Using their design knowledge, the three decided to tackle the challenge of desk clutter. After some design sketches, 3-D modeling and prototypes, they came up with The Nesl, a nine-fingered, flexible-rubber desk organizer wi... Read more >

More than 100 people turned out May 16 at the Ohio City Firehouse to celebrate the newest graduates of Bad Girl Ventures’ business plan competition. Babies Travel Too was the recipient of a $25,000 loan from KeyBank.
 
Babies Travel Too was created by Alison Musser, who based the company on her own experiences as a parent. The company provides nightly and weekly rentals of full-size cribs, car seats, strollers and other essential baby gear to people traveling to... Read more >

Goldman Sachs announced last week that it will bring its 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) initiative to Cleveland. The initiative commits $500 million to entrepreneurial education, access to capital and technical assistance services. Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation have pledged $15 million to Cleveland.
 
Cleveland is the seventh city to host a 10KSB. Unlike many organizations in Cleveland that focus on startups, this program is designed for existing sma... Read more >

The Cleveland Entrepreneurs’ Organization is one of the oldest and strongest chapters of the worldwide organization. Comprised of 115 members who are founders of business with at least $1 million in annual gross revenues, the members network, socialize and share their success stories.
 
Now the EO wants to share its collective knowledge with other entrepreneurs through its Accelerator program. Started three years ago, the purpose of the program is to educate and... Read more >

Scott Colosimo loves designing cool motorcycles. When he and his partner Jarrod Streng were laid off from their industrial design jobs in 2009, they decided to chase their dream and created Cleveland CycleWerks. (Fresh Water featured him in this article from 2010)
 
CycleWerks bikes feature 250cc engines, are lightweight, simply designed, inexpensive to maintain and get 100 miles to the gallon. They are quite the opposite of America’s typical love of larger, mor... Read more >

When TOA Technologies began in 2003, founders Yuval Brisker and Irad Carmi had one goal in mind: To eliminate that seemingly endless waiting time for home service calls.
 
“The company founders' reason to start TOA was to use technology to solve the problem of waiting at home for a delivery,” says John Opdycke, vice presidents of worldwide marketing. “The whole company’s purpose is to make sure people arrive on time.”
 
T... Read more >

Life Core Technologies received a $250,000 investment from JumpStart for its Excel disposable cerebral cooling system, a device that reduces chances of death in a medical emergency.

“Excel has a cooling element that cools the brain 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius very quickly after cardiac arrest, stroke, or traumatic brain injury,” explains Life Core CEO Mike Burke. “The cooling allows the brain to use less oxygen and prevent oxygen depletion and swelling.&rdq... Read more >

Shelley Freed, co-founder of Ashton Business Solutions, a consulting group specializing in research-based business strategies, admits that she relies on technology just as much as the next person. But amidst all the emails and text messages, Freed’s goal is to put the human touch back into ABS’s strategic marketing and positioning.
 
“I do a lot of market research and strategic research for companies,” says Freed. “I get to interact with ... Read more >

DXY Solutions is working with historical societies around the country to put historical information, pictures and maps on iOS and Android systems for a complete and informative history while roaming the city.

“We started this about a year and a half ago with Cleveland State and Epstein Design Partners,” explains DXY’s Dan Young. “We use iOS and Android to connect people who are out and about with historical information."
 
Known a... Read more >