Remember when your youthful imagination turned a large cardboard box into a race car or a castle? Mike Welsh does, and now he has started a company that gives kids the stuff they need to create the playhouses of their dreams.

Build a Dream Playhouses is a newly launched producer of corrugated cardboard boxes that can be painted, colored and decorated to make one-of-a-kind playhouses. Welsh, a father and an established entrepreneur, thought of the idea and recruited two recent college grads, Andy Carcioppolo and Sam Cahill, to bring his vision to life. With a degree in business and industrial design, respectively, Carcioppolo and Cahill found they could make use of their talents and stay in Cleveland.

Build a Dream Playhouses was created through a collaboration with Nottingham-Spirk Design Associates, an industrial design firm based in Cleveland, and Smurfit Stone, a paperboard manufacturer in Ravenna.

"We believe that creating jobs in Cleveland, in the State of Ohio and ultimately across the globe is an important part of Build a Dream Playhouses," says Carcioppolo, who serves as COO. "We're thrilled to have an opportunity to do that in our hometown and to be a part of helping our region grow and thrive."

Build a Dream's products, which range from the "Cosmic Cruiser" to the "Pop 'n Play Kitchen," are made from 80 percent recycled materials, and are 100 percent recyclable.

As part of its launch efforts, the Build a Dream Playhouses team will be at the Children's Museum of Cleveland on Saturday, November 20, where kids can color their own cardboard creations.


SOURCE: Cleveland Children's Museum, Build a Dream Playhouse
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

Each year, the Golden 30 awards recognizes 15 established and 15 emerging top-performing companies in Erie, Huron and Lorain counties. This year's winners represent a panoply of Northeast Ohio businesses serving consumers, healthcare professionals, military and manufacturing.

Among the 15 emerging companies who received 2010 Golden 30 awards on November 16 were Synapse Biomedical, Inc., maker of the NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System, which is used in the treatment of chronic respiratory ailments; Military Products Group, manufacturer of lifting and towing components for the military and aerospace industries; and K.M.U. Trucking & Excavating, Inc., which is licensed in 24 cities throughout Ohio and last year had $5 million in sales.

The Golden 30 defines emerging companies as those that have been in business between five and 14 years. Established companies are those in business for 15 or more years.

Established companies recognized by the Golden 30 include Exochem, a 40-year-old company specializing in foundry services and high-quality steel-related products; Jenne Distributors, which distributes business telephony, data, A/V conferencing and security technology products; and North Coast Cancer Care, which was named a Golden 30 winner for the second year in a row.

The Golden 30 Awards are sponsored by Lorain County Community College (LCCC) in cooperation with The Morning Journal and a number of economic development organizations in the region.

You can read about all of the recipients by vising the LCCC website.

SOURCE: LCCC
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

There are far windier places in the US than Ohio, but there may be few better in which to site a commercial-scale wind farm. Thanks to a combination of factors -- not the least of which is recently enacted legislation -- Ohio finally has reached the wind-power tipping point. Even the faintest breeze promises to send Ohio tumbling to the top of the renewable energy heap.

The JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network has added a new funding resource as part of its group of entrepreneurial support organizations. The Wooster Opportunities Fund, developed by the City of Wooster and Wooster Growth Corporation, in collaboration with the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network, will offer loans up to $35,000 for early-stage, high-growth technology companies.

The new loan source is part of an ongoing effort to expand the entrepreneurial community in Wooster, according to Richard Benson, law director for the city and legal counsel for Wooster Growth Corporation. "There are so many new ideas and young companies birthed here, and the fund provides yet another reason for those ideas to turn into big companies right in the City of Wooster."

Entrepreneurs who apply for a loan from the Wooster Opportunities Fund will have at their fingertips additional resources available from the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network, says John Dearborn, president of JumpStart. The JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network is composed of several Ohio Third Frontier entrepreneurial support organizations that together provide specific resources for young companies looking to grow.

An official launch event for the Wooster Opportunities Fund will take place on Thursday, December 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Olde Jaol Restaurant, 215 N. Walnut St., in Wooster.


SOURCE: JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

It's possible that the success of a company can be measured by the amount of work it actually has to put on hold in order to make room for more pressing client projects. Such is the case with Sideways, a Cleveland-based producer of multimedia, multi-touch digital productions for the iPad, iPhone and other mobile devices.

Sideways had recently launched an experimental magazine, called Sideways, which is authored specifically for the iPad. The idea was to create a monthly magazine app that incorporates mobile features, social media and in-app transactions that allow readers to purchase items mentioned in "print."

The company's work with major publishers, however, has recently grown at such a rapid pace that it has decided to put the iPad magazine on hold.

Many publishers are preparing "for the massive shift that the industry is in the midst of experiencing," says Eliza Wing, president and COO of Sideways. While some are waiting until 2012 to jump into the mobile device-publishing waters, Wing says, "others see this as an interesting sea change. The latter are the ones we are targeting and working with."

Sideways' offerings for publishers include Author App, a mobile branding and promotional tool; User-Navigable Maps, which can call up highly detailed location-based information by homing in on where a reader is located; and Multi-Dimensional Object Builder, which makes it possible for readers to carefully examine and explore any object in 3D.

"We grew by thirty percent last year and are up to 20 people," adds Wing. "[We're] always looking for strong mobile developers and a technology manager, and are currently fielding great content producers -- video, writing, images, etc. -- who want to use our technology to build compelling apps."


SOURCE: Eliza Wing
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

A refocused business strategy seems to have helped Datatrak International get back on track. The technology and services company, which helps clients streamline the clinical trials process, enjoyed a cash increase in third quarter 2010 over the previous quarter. Laurence Birch, chairman and CEO of the company, says that the $1.8 million in revenue and $11.4 million backlog are due in part to Datatrak's recent investment in additional resources. These included hiring a vice president of marketing and a vice president of clinical and consulting services.

"Execution of our current business strategy is proving successful, as evidenced by our continued profitability, increasing backlog and positive cash flows," Birch says. "Datatrak's solid third quarter results are a direct indicator of the company's re-emergence in the marketplace."

Revenue for third quarter 2010 increased 17 percent over the same quarter last year. For the three months ending September 30, 2010, Datatrak's income from operations was $53,000 compared to a loss from operations in the third quarter of the prior year. Datatrak also announced that it had no non-operating debt.

Datatrak's portfolio of software products is designed to accelerate the reporting of clinical research data from sites to sites to sponsors and ultimately regulatory authorities. The company is headquartered in Mayfield Heights and has representatives in Bryan, Texas, and Bonn, Germany.


SOURCE: Datatrak International
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

When a Johnny Malloy's sports bar occupied the old Centrum Theatre on Coventry, management "honored" the once-grand movie house by installing an impressive array of video projectors and screens, to show multiple sporting events at once. Johnny Malloy's is now gone, and new occupant Fracas is taking a decidedly different approach.

Owner Phil Romano enlisted the aid of the Cleveland Heights Historical Society and Sherwin Williams to track down the colors the theater sported in the 1920s and '30s, which he describes as salmon pink and grayish green. "Somebody needed to do it right," says Romano, a first-time owner whose cooking resume includes Moxie, Greenbriar, Hyde Park and House of Blues.

Fracas is a gastropub, or as Roman explains, "a restaurant that just happens to have a bar." His menu, which he calls "a finer take on normal comfort and bar foods," will include a duck confit quesadilla, a grouper BLT, short ribs braised in Dogfish Head IPA, and "beer-a-misu," a porter-laced take on the popular Italian dessert.

The expansive bar from the Johnny Malloy's days remains, but all 16 taps now will dispense only local craft crews. Most of the 30 or so options in bottles will be crafts as well. By next spring, Romano plans to be brewing his own on-site.

Fracas will open in early December.


Source: Phil Romano
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

When it opens in early February in a renovated car dealership, LaunchHouse will symbolize a new direction for the City of Shaker Heights and the Chagrin-Lee neighborhood. The 22,000-square-foot building will be a headquarters for start-up companies, providing space for offices, collaboration efforts and conferences.

LaunchHouse has already created quite a buzz in and around Shaker Heights. The business incubator and seed capital investment company has to date incubated 12 companies by providing funding, facilities, operational support and networking events. Todd Goldstein, who along with business partner Dar Caldwell, established the venture in 2008 (originally named Goldstein Caldwell & Associates), made the push for a move from Cleveland to Shaker Heights, where he has been a longtime resident.

The City of Shaker Heights saw this as a chance to establish an entrepreneurial hub in an inner-ring suburb. The city and LaunchHouse formed a five-year public-private partnership in which Shaker Heights granted LaunchHouse the use of the building at 3558 Lee Road.

"I really look at this opportunity as the cornerstone of our economic development," says Tania Menesse, director of economic development for Shaker Heights. In addition to the start-ups that Launch House will be nurturing, Menesse says the facility will cater to home-based businesses in the area that crave local resources.

LaunchHouse plans to add as many as 15 start-ups to its existing portfolio of 12 over the next year. Goldstein envisions the Shaker facility to quickly "create a community of innovation and entrepreneurship."


SOURCE: City of Shaker Heights, Launch House
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

MDG Medical has been a two-country company for the last nine years. But by March 31, 2011, the developer of automated pharmacy technology equipment and software will have completely moved its R&D group from Lod, Israel, to its Aurora location. The company will begin electromechanical assembly at the Aurora facility in 2011 or 2012.

Mark Saffran, president and CEO of MDG, says consolidating the company operations into one facility in Northeast Ohio is in direct response to MDG's goal of improving customer focus, leveraging resources and reducing expenses.

This is of course good news for Northeast Ohio. MDG has already shown a commitment to the region. At the beginning of 2010, MDG moved its corporate headquarters from Beachwood to the Aurora facility, which tripled the company's warehouse and service space and allowed MDG to expand its call center.

The company will be hiring as many as 30 people over the next several months as it looks to fill programmer, hardware engineer and manufacturing slots.

Founded in 2001 in Tel Aviv, MDG has more than 150 customers in five countries, with 95 percent of its business in the United States. The company's flagship product, ServeRx(TM), is a medication management product that increases patient safety while improving medical staff efficiency.


SOURCE: MDG Medical
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

What can we do with what we already have? That simple question drives two movements that are rapidly gaining momentum and reshaping Cleveland: urban farming and deconstruction -- because, for better or worse, land and condemned buildings are plentiful. In the same glass-half-full spirit, some local artists are turning to items that would otherwise have ended up in landfills to change perceptions about "trash," and perhaps spawn a new industry.

As the playful name hints, Pop-Up Gift Shop will open only briefly, from November 18 through December 19, at 2242 Euclid Ave., in Trinity Commons. The store will feature "handmade, reasonably priced, whimsical, interesting gifts crafted with an emphasis on reuse from local artists" -- like jewelry made from copper wire and liquor bottles, oil paintings on old Styrofoam, nightlights with shades made from artificial sweetener packets, and windchimes and ornaments from old bicycle parts, to name just a few.

The idea came when reuse artists Nicole McGee and Trish Supples met Dean Tracy Lind of Trinity Cathedral at the Sustainability Summit. McGee and Supples were looking for ways to promote "upcycling" -- McGee, for example, crafts colorful, decorative flowers out of old floor tiles -- and Lind had a storefront in need of an entrepreneur. Pop-Up was born.

"We were able to find a ton of artists" to participate, says Supples. And not all have tried this before. "Some established artists are taking this as a challenge to try reuse or upcycling."

On her web site, PlentyUnderfoot.com, McGee explains: "My creations are an extension of my view of the world -- that beauty and potential lie dormant all around us. Finding beauty underfoot is only one part of the process. Looking comes first. The waste stream of consumer culture is full of creative potential. Throw away less and create more!"


Source: Trish Supples
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

It's taken several months, but Vicky Poole says she's finally getting a handle on what will grow well in a mall. Herbs, for one thing.

Poole is co-owner of Gardens Under Glass, the innovative urban hydroponic farm, market and experiment under the magnificent glass ceilings of Galleria at Erieview on East 9th Street. The growing began last winter. Poole recently added the Re-Source Center, selling related products from local vendors, some of whom, like A Piece of Cleveland, specialize in the reuse of old materials. The Re-Source Center itself "reuses" a space once occupied by a greeting card and candy store that vacated the Galleria long ago.

But farming remains Poole's focus. "I work on this around the clock," she says, with no hint of complaint. "It's quite a chore to keep track of the bugs and the growing conditions and all the things that go along with growing food."

The effort is worth it, she says, if it helps to promote local farming, nutrition and sustainable practices.

She's exploring the possibility of shifting to a non-profit model, which would suit her long-term vision of building comprehensive farming and sustainability education center around the crops. "The space is very conducive to demonstrations and instructions," she says.

But for now she needs to rely on good old-fashioned sales, and that's where the herbs come in. She's hoping to develop a steady customer base for the basil, tarragon and many others already available, as well as the oils and vinegars featuring her dried pepper seeds that are planned. Lots of people admire, Poole says; not many buy. She's hoping that changes as awareness of the benefits of locally grown produce, and her unique business, spreads.

"There's not one person who comes into this building who doesn't look around and say, 'My God, what a beautiful space,'" Poole says. But too often they focus more on what it once was, a vibrant retail mall, than on what it's becoming and could be. "Let's see what we can turn it into," she adds, "before the demise of another downtown building."


Source: Gardens Under Glass
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

In a spirit reminiscent of progressive outposts like Seattle, Cleveland is becoming a national leader in deconstruction, a movement that treats vacant homes across the region not as an eyesore but a post-natural resource.

Want a crash course on recent and future Downtown development? Check out this brilliant and compelling video commissioned by Downtown Cleveland Alliance that highlights the hundreds of millions of dollars in recent development, including higher education, performing arts, residential and commercial.

Credit goes to Fusion Filmworks, TWIST Creative and Ante Up, which composed the gripping score.

It's not a sports championship, but in some ways it's just as big. Last week a consortium of some of the wealthiest banks and foundations in the world announced that Cleveland would receive major support for innovative developments that will create hundreds of new jobs where they're needed most.

The Integration Initiative, by the New York-based Living Cities philanthropic collaborative, will pump almost $15 million in grants, loans and targeted investments into Cleveland. One of five cities chosen, Cleveland impressed the evaluators with plans to leverage the buying power of institutions in and around University Circle -- which spend some $3 billion annually on goods and services -- into new businesses and jobs. And not just any businesses, but innovative, green operations that provide their workers with more than just paychecks.

Some of the funding will be used to start or relocate businesses in the growing Heath-Tech Corridor between University Circle and Cleveland State. Other funds will expand the Evergreen Cooperatives network of employee-owned businesses, all of which meet the institutions' procurement needs in new ways, and satisfy Living Cities' demand for "game-changing" new strategies.

Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, for example, uses far less water than competitors, allowing the institutions to reduce their carbon footprints. The laundry currently employs 28, and will expand to 50. Ohio Solar Cooperative employs 25 -- already exceeding expectations -- and will hire another 50 over the next three years. The Green City Growers hydroponic greenhouse will employ 45 when it opens on East 55th Street later this year.

All Evergreen businesses allow workers to build equity in the company and share in profits. "An 8-, 9- 10-dollar-an-hour job is not really enough to change someone's life," says Lillian Kuri of the Cleveland Foundation, which coordinated the applications to Living Cities. "The ability for wealth creation is absolutely essential to changing neighborhoods."

Five more co-ops are in the pipeline, Kuri says. Two will launch "soon," the other three over the next one to two years.

Many of the foundations that make up Living Cities will be familiar to NPR listeners: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, to name a few. Member banks include Bank of America, Deutche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. Cleveland Foundation is an affiliate member.



Source: Cleveland Foundation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

The next time you go shopping at the Galleria at Erieview, you may find an innovative product instead of a new sweater. The Manufacturing Mart at the Galleria has been established as a permanent showcase for marketing industrial companies and products and as an accessible venue for buying, selling and networking.

Created by Capital of Know-How, a recently launched, Cleveland-based industrial marketing services company, the Manufacturing Mart at the Galleria will offer permanent and rotating product display options and on-site sales and marketing support starting at $1,500 per month. Reservations for display space are currently being accepted. The mart will be located on the first floor of the Galleria.

Mary Kaye Denning, president of Capital of Know-How, says the time is right to create a new type of economic development venue in Cleveland. "We are providing a platform to reignite a spirit of enterprise and innovation," she says.

The official grand opening of the Manufacturing Mart takes place on December 1, with a blessing by Feng Shui master Pun Yin.


SOURCE: Capital of Know-How
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

There seems to be no stopping Aclara RF Systems from growing and adding jobs in Northeast Ohio. Last year, the Beachwood-based company moved to a larger facility in Solon. So far in 2010, Aclara RF Systems has hired 25 new people to prepare for the release of its Acendant Network, a multipurpose wide-area network (WAN) that manages data between utilities, diverse networks and devices. Aclara's 2011 budget allows for even more hirings next year.

Aclara RF Systems is an arm of a Missouri-based manufacturer of automated meter reading systems and utilities software. Aclara has enjoyed success with its traditional meter-reading equipment, designed and made in Solon, with annual sales of more than $100 million. The company is poised for equal success with the release of the Acendant Network in 2011.

As a result of its successes and its positioning for growth through the Acendant Network, Aclara's number of employees has grown to about 300, nearly double of what it was just two years ago.


SOURCE: Aclara RF Systems
WRITER: Diane DiPiero

When it comes to real estate, Howard Grandon believes in second chances. That's why he's transforming a former illicit nightclub in Detroit Shoreway into market-rate apartments and storefronts, which he hopes will continue to breathe new life into an old neighborhood.

The day after the Cavaliers' exciting upset of the reigning champion Boston Celtics, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert celebrated by announcing a new commitment to his adopted city: He's bringing his Detroit-based Bizdom U program to Cleveland.

Bizdom U is a non-profit "boot camp" for entrepreneurs established by Gilbert in his native Detroit in 2007. Participants receive four to six months of intensive training in marketing, sales, finance and other fundamentals, all at no charge. During the training, the aspiring entrepreneurs develop a plan for a business; the only requirement is that the business must be located downtown.

Participants whose business plans are approved receive up to $100,000 in funding, an ownership stake that grows over time, and continued mentoring.

"Entrepreneurs are the key to invigorating a city because they are the engines that create jobs and significantly contribute to the prosperity of a city and region," Gilbert said in a statement. "Our program searches out people with a burning passion to be entrepreneurs and helps them turn their business dreams into commercial realities in urban areas that need the investment."

The Detroit Bizdom U has helped launch a pre-licensing training center, an electronic medical records company, a limited-edition footwear manufacturer and a marketing firm specializing in college campuses.

The Cleveland Bizdom U will launch in 2011.




Source: Bizdom U
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

How is it possible that hip Tremont has gone all this time without a vintage shop? Whatever the explanation, the oversight has been remedied with the opening of Deering Vintage at 2678 W. 14th St. (formerly Kelly Randall Gallery).

"It just seems like an exciting place to be right now," says owner Cynthia Deering, who owned Suite Lorain, at West 69th and Lorain, for 20 years before selling in March. Development in Detroit Shoreway to the north had resulted in Lorain becoming a little too rough for Deering's comfort.

Open just a few weeks, Deering says she already has repeat customers, especially among young neighborhood residents who appreciate having a green shopping option nearby.

"Business has never been better in my industry," due largely to the recession, Deering notes. "People really want to save money."

Deering Vintage carries men's and women's clothes and accessories, and some home items and furniture.



Source: Cythia Deering
Writer: Frank W. Lewis