Brothers Jarred and Brandon Smith were avid hockey players in college, and like most athletes, they used sports drinks to supplement their energy needs.  
 
However, as a college senior, Jarred eventually began to experience acid reflux as a result of the elevated acid content in traditional sports drinks. So the brothers, graduates of Miami and Brown universities, sought to create a healthier sports drink without all that sugary acid.
 
Along with p... Read more >

Some might say that the opening of a waxing studio in the former home of the Speak in Tongues music club signals a seismic shift in the Ohio City neighborhood it calls home. To owner Danielle Fuller, it simply fills a need for those looking to get pretty.
 
On Tuesday, July 8, Fuller opened the doors to Bloom & Clover Wax Studio at 4309 Lorain Avenue, the former home of the infamous rock club Speak in Tongues, which closed in 2001. It has remained vacant... Read more >

There has been a flood of new businesses that tout the city through an assortment of Cleveland-themed apparel and products or by integrating the city name right into the company’s branding. Many point to the recent recession as the dawn of this entrepreneurial movement, which coincided with a newfound pride of place.

V.L. Finley is a nature lover. After seeing the success of games like Temple Run and Candy Crush, the filmmaker decided to try his own hand at developing a game that would combine his love for wildlife with his movie background. The result is Bird Fishing, a downloadable app for Android phones where the player is a bird of prey attempting to catch fish.
 
“The objective of the game is to catch fish and survive for the next level,” expla... Read more >

On Wednesday, June 25, Cleveland will become the 43rd U.S. city to join the 1 Million Cups campaign, a national effort to engage, educate and connect entrepreneurs both locally and nationally -- and eventually internationally. The program, funded by the Kauffman Foundation, is based on the idea that entrepreneurs network and move their ideas forward over one million cups of coffee.

“It’s just about creating a community put together by entreprene... Read more >

Jodi Rae Santosuosso grew up in the restaurant business, working in her parents' Italian restaurant. She later moved to California for 10 years, where she grew enamored of the healthy living movement and got into cold-pressed juices. When she returned to Cleveland to join the revitalization of her hometown, she discovered that there weren’t many juice bars in the city, so she decided to launch her own.

If all goes as planned, Daily Press, a juice bar and ve... Read more >

Ethan M. Holmes learned how to make applesauce from his grandfather at a young age. By the time he was 15, he had mastered the recipe and decided to go into business with it. “I looked at the market and saw an opportunity,” says Holmes. “I looked at other applesauces and they were all made with corn syrup and artificial flavoring.”
 
Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce makes an all-natural product in plain and cinnamon varieties. “My goa... Read more >

Developer Rich Cicerchi of Cicerchi Development Company was scouting for an investment opportunity downtown when he met Matt Howells, owner of the Park Building and the Southworth Building. The two developers stayed in touch, and Cicerchi later purchased the vacant Southworth building from Howells. Now he plans to convert it to 18 high-end apartments that will add to downtown's rental housing boom.

Cicerchi's interest in downtown goes back to w... Read more >

Three organizations -- LaunchHouse, Civic Commons Ideastream and Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) -- have come together as the lead partners in supporting entrepreneurs with ideas to improve their communities.

SEA Change, a Social Enterprise Accelerator, provides up to $50,000 in funding, coaching and connections to eligible candidates trying to make a difference in Cleveland neighborhoods. “We’re funding people who ... Read more >

Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) and Ernst & Young named Thomas W. Harvey High School junior Brandon McClain "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" during its annual ceremony. McClain is CEO of B Kind Cards, which features his original photography of Cleveland landmarks. He received $1,000 and the chance to compete in the national Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) competition in November at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
&nbs... Read more >

An annual economic impact study conducted by Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs shows that companies that received support from 16 of the area’s business accelerators, incubators and other organizations generated $424 million for Ohio.
 
Of the 245 companies surveyed, 236 companies are in Northeast Ohio, generating $306.2 million in the region. These numbers reflect good news for the startup commu... Read more >

Startup accelerator Bizdom is looking for its ninth group of tech companies to join its three-month summer/fall session. Bizdom’s accelerator program mentors and provides companies with up to $125,000 to launch and grow their tech-based businesses in Cleveland.

"We're looking for amazing founders -- founders with passion, uncommon ideas and the technical, design and leadership skills to build a business," says Bizdom Cleveland leader Paul Allen. "... Read more >

Area schools are offering entrepreneurship education to high school, middle school and even elementary school students. Aside from the extra cash, entrepreneurship teaches skills that will last a lifetime, including self confidence, time management, problem solving and creative thinking.