Cleveland-area SPR Therapeutics is tackling the chronic pain market with its Smartpatch technology. The Smartpatch external stimulator delivers an electrical signal to an electrode placed in the muscle. The electrical signals stimulate the target nerve within the muscle, thereby exercising the muscle to treat the pain. The Smartpatch system will serve the $150 billion pain market, in particular those suffering shoulder pain from strokes, as well as chronic lower back pain.
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More then $140 billion in gift cards are purchased each year, generating more than $1.8 billion in associated transaction fees. SparkBase, a Cleveland company founded in 2004, is the industry leader in software processing of gift cards, reward and loyalty programs. SparkBase's software makes sure purchases are recognized when a gift card is swiped, measures demographics, and tracks buying habits on rewards cards. This time last year, SparkBase had a handful of customers and seve... Read more >

Pastry chef Courtney Bonning plans to open Bonbon Pastry and Café this summer in the former Athens Bakery shop at W. 26th and Lorain Avenue, further boosting available food offerings in Ohio City.

"We'll be opening a full bakery that will serve fresh, handmade croissants and desserts as well as a European-style café," says Bonning. "You'll be greeted by beautifully prepared items when you walk in the door, all priced below $15."

Bonning worked in Napa Valley, S... Read more >

For decades, Ohio City's Lorain Avenue has been a symbol of beautiful decay. But thanks to the development boom taking place along West 25th Street, more entrepreneurs are beginning to set up shop on Lorain. Among the additions are a gourmet chili restaurant, vintage clothing store, architecture office and yoga studio -- all part of the neighborhood's burgeoning artisan economy.

Sharie Renee finds the beauty in what most people would deem garbage. As founder and CEO of Cosmic Bobbins in the St. Clair-Superior District, she takes old paper materials -- such as magazines or brochures -- and transforms them into fashionable accessories.

Cosmic Bobbins puts an emphasis on social awareness. As the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of funeral directors, Renee would contemplate on the meaning of life and the importance of giving back.

"Whe... Read more >

Clevelanders are having a love affair with locally grown, seasonal food -- and that romance is playing out at numerous farmers markets around town. These days, it's possible to shop at a different neighborhood farmers market practically every day of the week, a far cry from when just a handful existed. What's more: Cleveland-area farmers markets will reap approximately $2.5 million this year, great news for small entrepreneurs and the local economy.

Cleveland is an entrepreneurial hotspot right now, and big business in Cleveland wants to make sure local women-owned outfits have equal footing. Springboard Enterprises has joined forces with Ohio-based powerhouses KeyBank, Thompson Hine, and Meaden & Moore to provide women with the keys to building big businesses. Build it Big is a business development program for women-owned businesses on the fast track to growth. "It's about educating business owners on how to find equity ... Read more >

State Farm Insurance is looking for bi-lingual agents with an entrepreneurial spirit. So the agency is holding a job fair at Asian Town Center, located in Cleveland's Asiatown neighborhood, on May 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m..

"State Farm has really got a push on the multi-cultural market," says Kevin Perry, senior State Farm field executive in the company's Beachwood office. "As a growing company we noticed we didn't have a lot of agents across diverse backgrounds."Read more >

Cleveland State University's Nance College of Business Administration and Shaker LaunchHouse have teamed up to encourage the regions entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.

The agreement was adopted at a special meeting of the Shaker City Council on March 14, after recommendation by the Shaker Heights Economic Development Department.

One of the first endeavors the two have launched is the 2011 Idea Competition. The contest is open to students at any Ohio college or... Read more >

Shaker LaunchHouse, a pre-seed investment fund and business accelerator, has raised $250,000 in capital funds. A portion of the money will be used to invest an average of $10,000 in 15 software and disruptive technology companies. "Disruptive technology refers to thinking of things that shake up or dramatically change the market," explains Todd Goldstein, managing partner of SLH.

The investments will be made over the next 12 months. Additionally, SLH will provide office s... Read more >

When it comes to manufacturing facilities, the first things to come to mind are not state-of-the-art gyms, free personal trainers and tech-savvy employees. Yet Thogus, a national provider of plastic injection molding services based in Avon Lake, is no ordinary manufacturer.

"The perception of manufacturing facilities is that they're full of smokestacks, dirty and capital-intensive," Matt Hlavin, President of Thogus, told the audience at last week's sold out TEDxCLE confer... Read more >

When Michael Walton bought a hoop house for his city farm, he envisioned an urban barn-raising of sorts. He put out a call for volunteers, and soon had 30 people who offered to help.

Yet by noon on the big day, only 10 were left. The next day, there were five. Two days later, the group had been wheedled down to three hardy souls. And still the hoop house wasn't completed.

Frustrated, Walton and his coworkers began to ask themselves: Is this really the best prod... Read more >

Food trucks are all the rage -- both here and across the U.S. Despite one of the worst recessions in recent history, these plucky start-ups are thriving, adding jobs, injecting cash into the local economy, and putting smiles on the faces of hungry diners. But rather than encourage the proliferation of these economic development engines, food truck operators say the City of Cleveland is making it nearly impossible for them to succeed.

The Punxsutawney Phil of the retail world, pop-up shops spontaneously appear, attract big crowds, and then vanish as quickly as they came. For retailers and artists without a bona fide storefront, pop-up shops provide a lease-free way to test products and build a following. Landlords love them because they plug vacant storefronts while attracting new feet to the street.

Shannon Okey enjoys sharing what she knows about knitting. But she didn't like being told what to do by traditional publishers. So, after publishing 12 books the traditional way, Okey launched Cooperative Press in 2006 with The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design, the first-ever business book targeted to the handknit industry.

"I decided to start my own company and take advantage of some of the things that larger publishers were ignoring or underusing, such as ... Read more >

JumpStart CEO Ray Leach has been named to the board of the National Venture Capital Association. The NVCA serves as the voice of the United States venture capital community and advocates for policies that encourage innovation and reward long-term investment.

While most of the organization's 400 members represent venture capital firms on the East and West coasts, Leach is the only member representing the Midwest. "In order to be successful as a non-profit, we need healthy... Read more >

A soon-to-launch program from Cleveland's Office of Sustainability will provide energy audits and retrofits that will make older homes more energy-efficient. The program, which is funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), is intended to spur the market for green retrofits.

"There's not enough scale or demand yet to support an industry here, but we think there's an opportunity for a public or nonprofit entity to stimulate the marketplace," said P... Read more >