Earlier this year, Hotcards CEO John Gadd moved the local printing and marketing company's headquarters to the former Futon Factory at 2400 Superior Ave., expanding from 14,000 to 22,000 square feet and giving the company the opportunity to do a ground-up renovation of new offices.

"We were able to do it from scratch, the way that we wanted, in order to reflect the culture we're trying to build," says Gadd, who has injected new life into Hotcards since h... Read more >

Michael Seifert and Jake Fader have had a lifelong love of music. Seifert grew up in his father’s recording studio on E. 61st Street. “It was all I wanted to do growing up,” Seifert says of hanging out in the studio. “Jake is the opposite," Seifert says. "He had more formal training.” Fader has studied guitar since he was 14 and has performed around the world in various bands.
 
Both have experience in commercial production work... Read more >

Starting a successful food-based business takes more than a great idea and the ability to cook. Like any entrepreneurial venture, food startups require planning, money and a willingness to be flexible. But those who do dive in have found there's plenty of guidance, support and collaboration in the local food startup community.

A grassroots urban placemaking movement that started in Portland has made its way to Cleveland, and a few weeks ago, residents from three Cleveland neighborhoods came together to remove blight with community-led art.

City Repair, which started in Portland as a guerilla movement to add splashes of color to city streets, is so new here that the City of Cleveland denied a permit request at the last minute, forcing organizers to scramble to adapt their project. The original i... Read more >

As a graphic designer, Brian Andrew Jasinski wanted a creative outlet to express himself outside of his work at Epstein Design Partners. So he started Grey Cardigan, which features a whimsical collection of Jasinski’s fine art prints and stationery.
 
Grey Cardigan debuted in summer 2009 at the annual Made in the 216 event. “Grey Cardigan was my need to return to my roots as a fine artist and illustrator,” says Jasinski, who earned his BFA at the Cle... Read more >

It's no easy feat to win unanimous approval from the City of Cleveland's Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) for a variance to open a new bar in Ohio City. With parking scarce in the densely built neighborhood, such a prized variance typically is required for opening any kind of new establishment.

Yet Jukebox, a new bar set to open in the Hingetown area of that neighborhood early next year, earned that approval from BOZA this week, and owner Alex Budin is set to begin ... Read more >

When Terry Frick opened Frickaccio’s at the West Side Market in 2004, she began with the widely popular pizza bagels, a market staple for countless fans. The snacks even made an appearance on the Food Network when Jeff Mauro, aka The Sandwich King, stopped by Frickaccio’s last year to sample them.
 
Business went well, and soon Frick expanded into pizza dough balls. Frick offers more than 10 different flavors. She caters to the dietary needs of her custome... Read more >

A veteran urban developer has broken ground on a three-unit, single-family development on Columbus Road in the Flats. Phase I of the project is sold out, and the owner is planning three additional high-end, custom-built homes on an adjacent parcel.

David Sharkey of Progressive Urban Real Estate, who is both the sales agent and a developer of the Columbus Hill project, says the development is unlike anything else currently on the market. The homes mesh with the topography ... Read more >

Beaumont School recently broke ground on a $9.5 million addition that will include a STEM education building, student commons, administrative offices and new school entrance that fronts North Park Boulevard.

The 25,000-square-foot building will house eight science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classrooms that replace a dated science wing. The expanded labs will allow for more hands-on learning that can be integrated into the entire curriculum.

“A... Read more >

Creative reuse centers are popping up all across the nation, including Cleveland. These craft-astic places are filled with useful materials that otherwise would end up in a landfill. Adored by artists, teachers and other crafty folks, they also create green jobs, reduce waste and offer affordable supplies for projects.

Micro-lending organization Bad Girl Ventures (BGV) wants Cleveland to connect with the next generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners. That hopefully beautiful friendship will begin on Thursday, October 3, when BGV Cleveland hosts its kickoff event introducing the 10 finalists of its fall business plan competition.

The 10 women will present themselves at Battery Park Wine Bar, pitching their ideas to an audience before embarking on BGV's nine-week course t... Read more >

The Hildebrandt Artist Collective is set to open studio and gallery space in the historic Hildebrandt building, a gigantic warehouse located on Walton Avenue on Cleveland's near west side, sometime next month.

The group joins existing tenants Rust Belt Welding, Soulcraft Woodshop and Wake Robin Fermented Foods in the sprawling complex, which was built a century ago as a meat packing company but has evolved into a hub for local food and art.

Fiber artist Katie... Read more >

Cleveland's economic leaders have worked hard to parade the city as a hub for innovation. A chance to further show off Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurial acumen is a driving force behind Shaker Heights accelerator LaunchHouse's sponsorship of Cleveland Entrepreneurship Week (Cleveland EW), an upcoming four­-day celebration of business success.

The event, scheduled for November 4-­8, was created to give entrepreneurs and investors the knowledge and resour... Read more >

"Failure" is a tough word, particularly for entrepreneurial types throwing so much of their lives into a venture that might go belly up within a few months. However, Paul McAvinchey, creator of TechPint, believes valuable lessons can be learned from disappointment.

Such is the theme of this fall's TechPint conference, a casual gathering for entrepreneurs and investors in Internet technology. Coordinator McAvinchey expects more than 250 of the region's mo... Read more >

The large number of open jobs in the startup community indicates these companies are doing well and growing. But working for a young startup has unique challenges. Recruiters and employers discuss some of the critical qualities required for those looking for a good fit with a startup.

Cleveland Cyclewerks (CCW), a startup that manufactures and sells its own motorcycles, is set to open the first Cyclewerks-exclusive dealership at its warehouse in the Gordon Square Arts District. The owners will host a party on Saturday, October 5th with food trucks, kegs of free beer and tours of the shop, which sells accessories and also repairs bikes.

"A year ago, this place was a mess," says general manager Jon Dale. "We cleaned it out, pressure washed... Read more >

The entrepreneurs behind Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt, who opened their first location in the old Grog Shop space on Coventry Road less than a year ago, will open their second location in Ohio City this fall.

Adrian and Cosmin Bota, Romanian-born brothers who grew up in Parma, have also signed a letter of intent on a retail space at West 117th and Clifton.

The Ohio City location is a slender, 1,100-square-foot storefront that's sandwiched between Crop and Bonbon... Read more >

Core and shell renovations of the 150,000-square-foot Victory Center, a $26 million project located along the Health-Tech Corridor, are almost complete. Tenant build-outs will follow, and although none have signed leases yet, developer Scott Garson says that will change as his team finishes the common spaces and shows the property to more prospective tenants.

"Everybody thinks it's wonderful, great… The trick is getting the first one in," he says. &qu... Read more >

JumpStart’s Burton D. Morgan Foundation Mentoring Program offers young companies a little additional insight into running a successful business. Each participating startup is assigned between one and four mentors.

“It really depends on the stage the company is at and what their needs are,” says Anthony Hughes, director of the program. “No one mentor is going to have all the skill sets needed as these companies take their ideas to fruition.”Read more >