Entrepreneurs + Innovators
For the first time since April 2014, Paul McAvinchey is bringing TechPint back to Cleveland for an evening of networking, entrepreneurship and showcases at the Beachland Ballroom. “It will make an impression,” McAvinchey says of TechPint, which will be held this Thursday, January 22nd from 4:30 to 10 pm. “There are a lot of new people in town now, a whole new batch.”
TechPint Winter Jam, described as a pop-up tech conference with pints of beer, will feature all the usual popular events. McAvinchey has secured the entire Beachland space, beginning with a Demo Pit in the bar area. “People kind of tinker with startup products while having a beer,” he explains. reMesh will showcase its app that allows an individual to have a conversation with a group.
Dollop, formerly Prezto, will showcase its gifting app through free beer. “We’re giving a beer to gift to someone else,” says McAvinchey. “Hopefully it will encourage networking, but it’s a way to distribute beer as well.” There is still room in the Demo Pit for tech startups who want to showcase their products. Companies should contact McAvinchey to secure a table.
FlashStarts will host its second annual Pitcher Night with a chance for five entrepreneurs to win $2,000 in a quick pitch on stage in the ballroom. FlashStarts will accept applications through the end of today, Monday, January 19th.
Speakers on Thursday are Laura Bennett, co-founder of Embrace Pet Insurance, and Yuval Brisker, co-founder of TOA Technologies, which was recently acquired by Oracle.
Doors for TechPint Winter Jam open at 4:30 pm. Pitcher Night begins at 5 pm, and Bennett and Brisker will speak at 6 pm. Beer and food will be served at least until 10 p.m. Admission is $20. While almost sold out, there are still tickets available.
TechPint Winter Jam, described as a pop-up tech conference with pints of beer, will feature all the usual popular events. McAvinchey has secured the entire Beachland space, beginning with a Demo Pit in the bar area. “People kind of tinker with startup products while having a beer,” he explains. reMesh will showcase its app that allows an individual to have a conversation with a group.
Dollop, formerly Prezto, will showcase its gifting app through free beer. “We’re giving a beer to gift to someone else,” says McAvinchey. “Hopefully it will encourage networking, but it’s a way to distribute beer as well.” There is still room in the Demo Pit for tech startups who want to showcase their products. Companies should contact McAvinchey to secure a table.
FlashStarts will host its second annual Pitcher Night with a chance for five entrepreneurs to win $2,000 in a quick pitch on stage in the ballroom. FlashStarts will accept applications through the end of today, Monday, January 19th.
Speakers on Thursday are Laura Bennett, co-founder of Embrace Pet Insurance, and Yuval Brisker, co-founder of TOA Technologies, which was recently acquired by Oracle.
Doors for TechPint Winter Jam open at 4:30 pm. Pitcher Night begins at 5 pm, and Bennett and Brisker will speak at 6 pm. Beer and food will be served at least until 10 p.m. Admission is $20. While almost sold out, there are still tickets available.
Today's internships are about more than making coffee and copies. They connect employers with a pipeline of talent, help students obtain real-world skills and attract talent to Cleveland.
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Any beer lover in Cleveland is painfully aware that the growth of the craft brewery industry leaves little time to try all of the available options. Bob and Shelle Campbell solve that problem with the Cleveland Brew Bus – a 22-seat party bus that takes riders on tasting tours of Cleveland’s most popular breweries.
Started in June 2013 by the Campbells, the tasting tour takes riders on a five-hour tour of three local breweries. Each stop features three to four sample sized beers and the opportunity of order food. While on the bus, tour coordinator Leslie Basalla educates and entertains riders with brewery and beer facts.
“Every tour is a little different,” Basalla explains. “We have home brewers, craft brewers and people just along to have fun. We play to the varying levels of knowledge.”
Basalla, who is in the process of buying the business along with boyfriend Brian McCafferty from the Campbells, joined Brew Bus after serving as front of house manager for Market Garden Brewery. Basalla is a certified beer steward through the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
There were about seven breweries on the tour list when Basalla joined the business in 2014, and that list has grown exponentially as Cleveland’s brewery scene has grown. “There are new breweries opening up constantly,” she says. “We’re adding one brewery about every two months. It’s a small community where everyone knows each other.” Recent additions include Platform Beer Co. and Brick and Barrel.
Tours are primarily in Cleveland and the suburbs, but the Brew Bus occasionally will travel to Akron and Lake County for tastings. Private tours are available as well, although Basalla recommends people call at least two months in advance from July through October to book a Saturday night. “Sundays are wide open,” says Basalla. “If you have at least 10 people and you want a tour, I’ll give you a tour any day of the week.”
Tickets for public tours can be purchased on the Cleveland Brew Bus website.
Started in June 2013 by the Campbells, the tasting tour takes riders on a five-hour tour of three local breweries. Each stop features three to four sample sized beers and the opportunity of order food. While on the bus, tour coordinator Leslie Basalla educates and entertains riders with brewery and beer facts.
“Every tour is a little different,” Basalla explains. “We have home brewers, craft brewers and people just along to have fun. We play to the varying levels of knowledge.”
Basalla, who is in the process of buying the business along with boyfriend Brian McCafferty from the Campbells, joined Brew Bus after serving as front of house manager for Market Garden Brewery. Basalla is a certified beer steward through the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
There were about seven breweries on the tour list when Basalla joined the business in 2014, and that list has grown exponentially as Cleveland’s brewery scene has grown. “There are new breweries opening up constantly,” she says. “We’re adding one brewery about every two months. It’s a small community where everyone knows each other.” Recent additions include Platform Beer Co. and Brick and Barrel.
Tours are primarily in Cleveland and the suburbs, but the Brew Bus occasionally will travel to Akron and Lake County for tastings. Private tours are available as well, although Basalla recommends people call at least two months in advance from July through October to book a Saturday night. “Sundays are wide open,” says Basalla. “If you have at least 10 people and you want a tour, I’ll give you a tour any day of the week.”
Tickets for public tours can be purchased on the Cleveland Brew Bus website.
Cleveland's entrepreneurial scene is increasingly vibrant, with new small businesses and technology startups being launched at a fast clip. Here are six companies started in the last year that are poised for rapid growth.
Learn to swing dance, check out cutting-edge local theatre or participate in a conversation about social justice.
The Cleveland Leadership Center, along with Bernie Moreno’s Collection Auto Group, are asking individuals to pitch their best ideas for civic improvement – no matter how wild an idea.
The civic pitch completion, Accelerate 2015: A New Model for Change is designed to solicit ideas that can be one-and-done projects or sustainable, ongoing efforts that make Northeast Ohio a better place.
“We came up with the idea 18 months ago, thinking about the opportunities in Cleveland for the business sector and entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas,” recalls Marianne Crosley, president and CEO of the CLC. “But there really isn’t a way for people with civic visions to pitch. What better way to impact and transform Cleveland than to open things up to the public to pitch their ideas and make a difference in the community?”
Pitches will be accepted in five categories: quality of life; economic development; educating for tomorrow; community change; and transformative arts and culture. “We’re open to anything, from how do you transform a street corner or empty lot to how do you impact youth,” says Crosley. "There’s nothing traditional about this event.”
The only parameters are the presenters must be individuals and the pitches must be civic-minded. No organized groups or businesses will be heard.
Panels of judges will select a winning pitch in each category, and those category winners will pitch to a larger audience. The audience will then vote on an overall winner. The the four finalists each receive $1,500 and the winning pitch receives $3,000. All winners will receive mentorship and an opportunity for community support.
ThomaMoreno is co-chairing the event along with Thomas E. Hopkins, CLC board chair and senior vice president of Sherwin-Williams, to celebrate Collection Auto Group’s 10th anniversary and as a way of saying thanks for their success and growth in Cleveland.
The deadline to apply is Monday, January 12. The competition will be held on Wednesday, February 25. Pitches begin at 4:30pm, followed by the audience judging and reception at 6pm at the Global Center for Health Innovation. Tickets are $35 for the general public, $25 for CLC Partners, and $20 for students.
The civic pitch completion, Accelerate 2015: A New Model for Change is designed to solicit ideas that can be one-and-done projects or sustainable, ongoing efforts that make Northeast Ohio a better place.
“We came up with the idea 18 months ago, thinking about the opportunities in Cleveland for the business sector and entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas,” recalls Marianne Crosley, president and CEO of the CLC. “But there really isn’t a way for people with civic visions to pitch. What better way to impact and transform Cleveland than to open things up to the public to pitch their ideas and make a difference in the community?”
Pitches will be accepted in five categories: quality of life; economic development; educating for tomorrow; community change; and transformative arts and culture. “We’re open to anything, from how do you transform a street corner or empty lot to how do you impact youth,” says Crosley. "There’s nothing traditional about this event.”
The only parameters are the presenters must be individuals and the pitches must be civic-minded. No organized groups or businesses will be heard.
Panels of judges will select a winning pitch in each category, and those category winners will pitch to a larger audience. The audience will then vote on an overall winner. The the four finalists each receive $1,500 and the winning pitch receives $3,000. All winners will receive mentorship and an opportunity for community support.
ThomaMoreno is co-chairing the event along with Thomas E. Hopkins, CLC board chair and senior vice president of Sherwin-Williams, to celebrate Collection Auto Group’s 10th anniversary and as a way of saying thanks for their success and growth in Cleveland.
The deadline to apply is Monday, January 12. The competition will be held on Wednesday, February 25. Pitches begin at 4:30pm, followed by the audience judging and reception at 6pm at the Global Center for Health Innovation. Tickets are $35 for the general public, $25 for CLC Partners, and $20 for students.
New research suggests that innovation districts, whose growth is fueled by anchor institutions, companies and startups working in close proximity to one another, may be growing faster than traditional downtowns.
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Downtown's residential population has doubled over the last 15 years. Now a new report is serving as a guide for Cleveland's growth, with an emphasis on investments -- from mini-parks to signage to massive mixed-use developments -- aiming to better connect residents with downtown.
Downtown is booming with new development, but getting around can sometimes be a challenge. Now key investments are in the works that will make it a much more livable, inviting place.
The millennials and baby boomers driving a resurgence in downtown living are seeking an amenity-rich environment with retail options. Getting to that point won't be easy, but plans are already well underway.