Scott Colosimo loves designing cool motorcycles. When he and his partner Jarrod Streng were laid off from their industrial design jobs in 2009, they decided to chase their dream and created Cleveland CycleWerks. (Fresh Water featured him in this article from 2010)
 
CycleWerks bikes feature 250cc engines, are lightweight, simply designed, inexpensive to maintain and get 100 miles to the gallon. They are quite the opposite of America’s typical love of larger, more complicated bikes. “America has typically been home to the philosophy that bigger is better,” explains Colosimo. “But the bigger bikes are not great for riding around town. We’ve actually seen a ton of people who want a smaller bike.”
 
Colosimo describes his designs as “retro-futuristic,” combining vintage looks with the new age. “From afar, they look like perfectly restored old bikes,” he says. “Then you get close and see a little bit of a surprise.”
 
After having manufactured the bikes in China for the past few years, Colosimo and Streng are in the process of moving operations to Cleveland. They bought a 100-year-old warehouse on W. 65th Street and are in the “cleanup phase” of transitioning the building into the new CycleWerks digs.
 
Colosimo plans to do things incrementally. “We’re going to have a balance of manufacturing in Cleveland and manufacturing overseas,” he says. “We’re going to start with assembly and then eventually get into manufacturing.”
 
Colosimo is now turning to Cleveland companies for his manufacturing needs. He’s hired a general contractor to source out the work, but they plan to ramp up slowly. “We want to do it slowly because pitfalls can develop doing it all at once,” he says. “We can collaborate a lot easier locally.”
 
Colosimo has hired two part-time warehouse employees, a part-time technical liaison, as well as a part-time designer and an engineer.

 
Source: Scott Colosimo
Writer: Karin Connelly

Brand Muscle CEO Philip Alexander freely admits that he was initially opposed to moving his firm to downtown Cleveland because he didn't want to give up his breezy, 17-minute commute to the office.

Research studies have shown that the most powerful predictor of a firm's location is where the top executives live. For Brand Muscle's leadership, it was convenient to commute from the east-side suburbs to their offices in Beachwood, where the software firm has grown to 150 employees.

But as the firm outgrew its suburban offices and launched a search for a location that would facilitate its expansion, what happened next was not quite according to script. Brand Muscle's younger employees launched a campaign to encourage Alexander and other leaders to consider downtown Cleveland.

"There was quite a bit of lobbying, actually -- many of our employees are younger, and I was surprised by how many of them wanted us to move downtown," says Alexander. "The increased vibrancy of downtown made us take a look."

In November, Brand Muscle expects to move to freshly leased offices at 11000 Superior Avenue in the Nine-Twelve District. Initially, the firm will lease about 40,000 square feet, but it has the option to continuously expand as needed.

Alexander says that Brand Muscle's new downtown location will allow the firm to better attract younger employees, facilitate networking with other software companies, and provide entertainment options when clients are in town.

Brand Muscle sells software that helps businesses customize marketing materials for local audiences in order to optimize their sales and improve revenue growth.


Source: Philip Alexander
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When TOA Technologies began in 2003, founders Yuval Brisker and Irad Carmi had one goal in mind: To eliminate that seemingly endless waiting time for home service calls.
 
“The company founders' reason to start TOA was to use technology to solve the problem of waiting at home for a delivery,” says John Opdycke, vice presidents of worldwide marketing. “The whole company’s purpose is to make sure people arrive on time.”
 
TOA’s ETAdirect Mobility App provides accurate, up-to-the-minute workforce management at the user’s fingertips. The app works on any browser, making it flexible for anybody. “The device is agnostic, no matter what you’re doing,” says Opdycke. “As long as it’s browser based, you can use it.”
 
ETAdirect currently manages more than 60 million appointments annually for many global brands in the satellite/cable/broadband, telecom, insurance, home services and retail industries. The app’s ease of use and accuracy earned it the Best Mobile App award at NEOSA’s Tech Week last month.
 
“It’s nice to win and get recognized for your accomplishments,” says Opdycke. “It’s nice to share with our employees as they work on the advancement of our product.”
 
TOA employs 40 people in its Greater Cleveland headquarters and has more than 320 employees on staff worldwide. They are actively hiring in Cleveland, in particular on the company’s marketing team.

 
Source: John Opdycke
Writer: Karin Connelly

How does an incorrect soda price at a retailer lead to an emerging tech company? Just ask Case student Mark Lorkowski, who came up with the idea for an electronic shelf display system while shopping for a case of Mountain Dew. With Lorktech, he hopes to drink up a portion of the $250 billion flexible electronics market.

Life Core Technologies received a $250,000 investment from JumpStart for its Excel disposable cerebral cooling system, a device that reduces chances of death in a medical emergency.

“Excel has a cooling element that cools the brain 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius very quickly after cardiac arrest, stroke, or traumatic brain injury,” explains Life Core CEO Mike Burke. “The cooling allows the brain to use less oxygen and prevent oxygen depletion and swelling.”
 
The technology was developed by cardiothoracic surgeon Aqeel Sandhu in the late 1990s. “He discovered though his work with animals that cooling the brain can reduce the metabolic rate and several hours later they came back,” explains Burke. “In 2010, the American Heart Association came up with guidelines stating the cooling as soon as possible after cardiac arrest increases the chances of survivability and retained mental capacity."
 
The JumpStart investment will allow Life Core to conduct additional scientific studies. “We are working with a number of organizations to do additional studies,” says Burke. “We are proving the effectiveness.”
 
Burke is proud that the product is manufactured by a local company and assembled by Patriot Packaging, which employs veterans.
 
Life Core currently has five employees. “We will be expecting to grow as we attain commercialization,” says Burke. “We expect to grow internally with two people and also grow externally through distributors in Northeast Ohio.”

 
Source: Mike Burke
Writer: Karin Connelly

Although Vitamix's commercial-grade blenders and mixers eat up a good chunk of change -- around $500 on average -- that hasn't stopped consumers in the U.S. and more than 80 countries abroad from snatching them up at record rates.

They don't call it a "super blender" for nothing -- Vitamix is the iconic company that brought us the smoothie, yet its machines are now used by chefs and health-conscious consumers to make everything from soups to soy milk. In Taiwan and many other countries, sales are up 80 percent over the past three years as the growing middle-class becomes increasingly health-conscious.

Bolstered by demand, the company recently broke ground on a $10-million, 51,000-square-foot expansion to its Northeast Ohio headquarters. This development is on top of a $6-million, 40,000-square-foot expansion in 2010. Overall, sales have doubled in the past three years, the company says.

Vitamix manufactures all of its products at its Olmsted Falls headquarters, and sources parts locally, as well.

"Our product helps people to eat more whole foods and choose a healthier lifestyle all over the world," says Jodi Berg, the great-granddaughter of W.G. Barnard, who founded the company in 1921. "A lot of Western diseases and ailments can be controlled and prevented by the fuel and food we put into our bodies."

"Vitamix allows you to take whole healthy foods and turn them into what Martha Stewart calls 'velvet on your tongue.' Healthy, wholesome and easy to make."


Source: Jodi Berg
Writer: Lee Chilcote

DXY Solutions is working with historical societies around the country to put historical information, pictures and maps on iOS and Android systems for a complete and informative history while roaming the city.

“We started this about a year and a half ago with Cleveland State and Epstein Design Partners,” explains DXY’s Dan Young. “We use iOS and Android to connect people who are out and about with historical information."
 
Known as Curatescapes, the free apps allow for easy access to the troves of historical information collected by these organizations. “We’re one of the first platforms in the world where you can walk down the street and say, Wow. I didn’t know that. Now you not only have historical neighborhoods, you can hear interviews with people and see pictures.”
 
The Cleveland app has been available for about a year with Cleveland Historical. Young is in the process of rolling out similar apps with five historical societies, including Medina and Geauga counties. Outside of Ohio, Young has launched apps for Spokane, Washington Historical and is about to launch apps in New Orleans and Baltimore.
 
“The grand vision is: Say you’re taking a cross-country trip and you want to drive Louis and Clark’s trail,” Young says. “You can actually connect to data from our different historical societies.”
 
Young’s future plans will allow users and organizations to upload their own information to the tours. “In the future we will allow people from the community to upload their own content and comment on their own version of historical places,” says Young. “And historians will go through it and make sure it makes sense.”

 
Source: Dan Young
Writer: Karin Connelly

When the Metroparks were planned in the early 20th century, they were envisioned as a chain of connected reservations encircling (but not in) the city of Cleveland -- hence the name “Emerald Necklace.” But as more residents move to the urban core, the Metroparks knew the time was right to follow them.

Weapons of Mass Creation Fest, an annual gathering of Cleveland creative types now in its third year, is returning like a blockbuster summer sequel to the Gordon Square Arts District from June 8 through 10. Organizers expect over 1,000 attendees to register, adding to the weekend excitement already taking place in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

The conference, which will feature 20 speakers, 20 designers, and 30 bands on two different stages near W. 54th and Detroit, coincides with Gordon Square Arts District Day, a neighborhood-wide celebration on Saturday, June 9.

"One of my goals was to make Cleveland a destination, to make it a creative powerhouse," says Jeff Finley of Go Media, creator of WMC Fest. "When people think of creative places in the U.S., I want them to think of Cleveland."

WMC Fest is helping to achieve that goal by fostering connections among Cleveland's creative community and bringing in speakers and attendees from outside the region. "Some of the speakers from last year are coming back, and that speaks volumes about the attraction we're building here," Finley says.

This year's WMC Fest will incorporate Saigon Plaza as a kind of headquarters for the event, allowing for even more music and a more compact event experience. Finley hopes to expose attendees to the Gordon Square Arts District, which he says is a prime example of a neighborhood that nurtures creativity.

Tickets to the WMC Fest cost only $60, thanks to company sponsorships and fundraising by Go Media, making it one of the most affordable events in town.


Source: Jeff Finley
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Mentor native Erin Huber wasn't exactly sure how she would bring together her passion for water conservation and international development when she finished graduate school. She'd grown up in a blue collar family that spent summer weekends camping near lakes, streams and rivers, and those early experiences nourished her love of fresh water.

After completing her master's degree in Environmental Studies at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, she decided to create her own nonprofit organization to bring together these passions under a single roof.

Drink Local Drink Tap is a new organization that works to educate Clevelanders about the pollution that is created by drinking plastic bottles of water and the need to conserve fresh water locally and internationally. To educate both youth and adults, Huber creates water-themed art installations and provides free environmental education at schools.

Next month, Huber will fly to Uganda, where she and her team members will bore a 70-meter hole to provide fresh drinking water to hundreds of residents in a small village there. Currently, children must walk over a mile to find a water source near the village, and the water isn't clean or safe. Huber and her team members also are filming a documentary entitled Making Waves from Cleveland to Uganda that will be released at next year's Cleveland International Film Festival.

For Huber, the project is about sharing the water wealth of the Great Lakes -- which hold 20 percent of the world's fresh water -- with areas in dire need.

Huber, who describes her group as a "very nonprofit organization," is still raising funds for the project. You can donate to the cause on the organization's website.


Source: Erin Huber
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The population of Northeast Ohio's 12 most populous counties fell by seven percent from 4.1 million in 1970 to 3.8 million in 2010. Yet at the same time, suburban areas added 400 square miles of roads, shopping centers, housing developments and office parks.

That unabated trend towards urban sprawl is not sustainable, argues the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, a new initiative that won a $4.25 million grant from the federal government in 2010 to plan for more sustainable land use patterns across the region. It also wastes resources, harms cities and makes the region less competitive.

So what would a truly vibrant future look like for Northeast Ohio? The NEOSCC hopes to engage young professionals in answering that question at a series of public engagement meetings. The next event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16th at Brothers Lounge in Cleveland.

"A lot of times, decisions are made without involving young people, and we wanted them at the forefront," says Jeff Anderle, Director of Communications with the NEOSCC. "We keep hearing that they want a competitive economy in the region so that there are more job opportunities. They also want walkable communities and more vibrant downtowns throughout the 12-county area."

Anderle stresses that the NEOSCC is not dictating people's choices -- "We want to educate people so that they understand the big picture infrastructure costs and how they affect everyone," he says -- yet the initiative's impact will come down to how communities throughout the region adopt the NEOSCC's recommendations. The group plans to release an initial report on existing conditions in June.


Source: Jeff Anderle
Writer: Lee Chilcote