Stories
cleveland's biomed cluster highlighted in bloomberg
Writing for Bloomberg Businessweek, Harold Sirkin states that "Industry clusters have been around for a very long time, serving as a catalyst for economic growth. Think: Detroit in the U.S. auto industry’s heyday, Pittsburgh when steelmaking was king, Silicon Valley for tech, Research Triangle Park, Wall Street, and even Hollywood. They are all examples -- past or present -- of the phenomenon."
He adds that "What makes clusters unique is not just that companies with similar or complementary interests, competencies, and needs congregate around each other. It’s that an entire value chain exists within a cluster: suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, academic institutions, researchers, and workforce training, as well as those who provide relevant support services."
Regarding Cleveland he notes "The Cleveland area is becoming a hub for the biomedical industry."
Read it all here.
He adds that "What makes clusters unique is not just that companies with similar or complementary interests, competencies, and needs congregate around each other. It’s that an entire value chain exists within a cluster: suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, academic institutions, researchers, and workforce training, as well as those who provide relevant support services."
Regarding Cleveland he notes "The Cleveland area is becoming a hub for the biomedical industry."
Read it all here.
Cleveland’s growing urban farming scene has gained national recognition as a creative response to the problems of foreclosure and vacancy. Now the challenge for these homegrown entrepreneurs is to develop business strategies that help turn their startups into year-round businesses.
In this video, Chris Coburn, Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, explains how the organization takes the intellectual assets of the Cleveland Clinic -- be they medical devices, diagnostics, or drugs -- and turns them into commercial products. With names like Cleveland Heart, Explorys, and Juventas Therapeutics, its track record is impressive.
Let's imagine that the Northeast Ohio healthcare innovation community is a football team. That would make business recruiter BioEnterprise the quarterback, "handing off" startup companies to Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, with an aim of scoring funding and resources a company needs to succeed.
Strained metaphors aside, BioEnterprise and Austen are two local groups working as a team to push a regional economic transition from staid manufacturing to the more vibrant realm of healthcare and innovation technology. What exactly do these groups do and how do they do it? How do they work together to achieve their goals? Key members from each organization share their connected strategies.
Providing a guiding hand
BioEnterprise is a Cleveland nonprofit tasked with growing healthcare companies and commercializing bioscience technologies. The early-stage firms BioEnterprise assists are seeking to produce medical devices and biotechnology, or developing drugs for commercial use.
The economic development group was founded in 2002 by the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University as a way to harness area strengths in medical devices and healthcare technology. The nonprofit's foray into a potentially lucrative "innovation economy" is built by guiding new companies, not funding them, says interim president Aram Nerpouni.
Read the rest here...
Strained metaphors aside, BioEnterprise and Austen are two local groups working as a team to push a regional economic transition from staid manufacturing to the more vibrant realm of healthcare and innovation technology. What exactly do these groups do and how do they do it? How do they work together to achieve their goals? Key members from each organization share their connected strategies.
Providing a guiding hand
BioEnterprise is a Cleveland nonprofit tasked with growing healthcare companies and commercializing bioscience technologies. The early-stage firms BioEnterprise assists are seeking to produce medical devices and biotechnology, or developing drugs for commercial use.
The economic development group was founded in 2002 by the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University as a way to harness area strengths in medical devices and healthcare technology. The nonprofit's foray into a potentially lucrative "innovation economy" is built by guiding new companies, not funding them, says interim president Aram Nerpouni.
Read the rest here...
Thanks to Northeast Ohio's collaborative medical startup community, one fueled by forward-looking economic organizations and angel investors, entrepreneurs with viable ideas are making waves. Here are five Cleveland and Akron healthcare companies poised to be the Next Big Thing.
mag for meeting planners points travelers to cleveland
Writing for Meetings Focus, a publication geared to professional meeting planners, Kelsey Farabee writes that "Northeast Ohio is booming. New venues and hotels are sprouting up throughout the region and visitors are pouring in, so planners seeking an energetic, bustling host city should look no further than the seat of Cuyahoga County."
The article, titled "Cure for the Common City," describes at length all the recent development that has taken place over the past few years. Mentioned within are the Medical Mart and convention center, "Cleveland’s burgeoning food scene," and Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.
Also described is the new Museum of Contemporary Art, about which Farabee writes, "Adding to the city’s cultural panache is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, which unveiled an enormous $350 million expansion this month. The new 34,000-square-foot structure has a distinctive mirrored exterior and is 44 percent larger than the museum’s previous location. The four-story building has a startling geometric footprint, rising from a hexagonal base to a square top, with exhibitions and space for public programs on all four floors."
Read the rest right here.
The article, titled "Cure for the Common City," describes at length all the recent development that has taken place over the past few years. Mentioned within are the Medical Mart and convention center, "Cleveland’s burgeoning food scene," and Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.
Also described is the new Museum of Contemporary Art, about which Farabee writes, "Adding to the city’s cultural panache is the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, which unveiled an enormous $350 million expansion this month. The new 34,000-square-foot structure has a distinctive mirrored exterior and is 44 percent larger than the museum’s previous location. The four-story building has a startling geometric footprint, rising from a hexagonal base to a square top, with exhibitions and space for public programs on all four floors."
Read the rest right here.
Whether it is health care, information technology, clean tech or business and consumer products, our region’s increased level of startup activity is attracting funding from venture capital firms both here in Northeast Ohio and beyond. But experts say there's a ways to go before the Silicon Valley comparisons stick.
Vocon, an architecture and design firm in Cleveland, was named one of the top places to work by the NorthCoast 99. Vocon was recognized for its positive work environment and fostering an atmosphere dedicated to creativity, innovation and collaboration for its staff.
The NorthCoast 99 event was created in 1999 by the Employers Resource Council to recognize companies that create good workplaces. The awards ceremony was held on Sept.19 at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility in Westlake.
Vocon, which has added 30 employees and grown to 100 total employees in the last two years, has maintained a healthy growth rate while still focusing on creating an ideal workplace. “We’re growing in the right way,” says Susan Austin, chief human resources officer for Vocon. “We still have that small company feel, but we keep our current staff engaged.”
The company prides itself on a diversity of ages and talents who learn from each other. “We’re non-hierarchical,” says Austin. “It’s not about titles, it’s about contributions. We take inexperienced employees and put them in positions very early where they can shine. When you have the freedom to get work done you work harder.”
Of course, being one of the top places to work, Vocon offers its perks as well. “We work hard, but we play hard too,” says Austin, who adds that the company recently installed a nine-hole putt-putt golf course in the offices.
Source: Susan Austin
Writer: Karin Connelly
The NorthCoast 99 event was created in 1999 by the Employers Resource Council to recognize companies that create good workplaces. The awards ceremony was held on Sept.19 at LaCentre Conference and Banquet Facility in Westlake.
Vocon, which has added 30 employees and grown to 100 total employees in the last two years, has maintained a healthy growth rate while still focusing on creating an ideal workplace. “We’re growing in the right way,” says Susan Austin, chief human resources officer for Vocon. “We still have that small company feel, but we keep our current staff engaged.”
The company prides itself on a diversity of ages and talents who learn from each other. “We’re non-hierarchical,” says Austin. “It’s not about titles, it’s about contributions. We take inexperienced employees and put them in positions very early where they can shine. When you have the freedom to get work done you work harder.”
Of course, being one of the top places to work, Vocon offers its perks as well. “We work hard, but we play hard too,” says Austin, who adds that the company recently installed a nine-hole putt-putt golf course in the offices.
Source: Susan Austin
Writer: Karin Connelly
Freelance designers Eric Bockmuller and Dan Klammer noticed that family and friends were coming to them for help when they wanted to create announcements, invitations and other such items and needed a creative mind.
“We thought, why can’t people publish their own content without going through us,” recalled Bockmuller. “We saw a need for something that was more than 140 characters, but not a blog.”
That thought sparked the idea for Tackk, an online design tool where users can instantly create and share their own content. The online editor provides fonts, color palettes and backgrounds to design the perfect announcement with no design skill needed.
"It’s a super simple format to create and share your content instantly,” says Bockmuller. “They’re simple designs, but they always look beautiful.” Users don’t have to sign in or create an account to use the site.
Tackk launched in early September. “It’s been great,” says Bockmuller. “We’re taking all the data and learning from it.”
Bockmuller has two goals for his new product: “First, Tackk becomes the next verb on the web,” he says. “And we build a great company here in Cleveland. It’s not every day you see something like this happening in Cleveland.”
In addition to Bockmuller and Klammer, there are four other people on the Tackk team: CEO Christopher Celeste, CTO and developer Ryan Niemann, COO Robert Hatta and developer Ryan Pastorelle. Tackk plans on hiring additional staff as they get off the ground.
Source: Eric Bockmuller
Writer: Karin Connelly
“We thought, why can’t people publish their own content without going through us,” recalled Bockmuller. “We saw a need for something that was more than 140 characters, but not a blog.”
That thought sparked the idea for Tackk, an online design tool where users can instantly create and share their own content. The online editor provides fonts, color palettes and backgrounds to design the perfect announcement with no design skill needed.
"It’s a super simple format to create and share your content instantly,” says Bockmuller. “They’re simple designs, but they always look beautiful.” Users don’t have to sign in or create an account to use the site.
Tackk launched in early September. “It’s been great,” says Bockmuller. “We’re taking all the data and learning from it.”
Bockmuller has two goals for his new product: “First, Tackk becomes the next verb on the web,” he says. “And we build a great company here in Cleveland. It’s not every day you see something like this happening in Cleveland.”
In addition to Bockmuller and Klammer, there are four other people on the Tackk team: CEO Christopher Celeste, CTO and developer Ryan Niemann, COO Robert Hatta and developer Ryan Pastorelle. Tackk plans on hiring additional staff as they get off the ground.
Source: Eric Bockmuller
Writer: Karin Connelly
Bizdom, the nonprofit accelerator created by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, recently moved to new, 7,000-square-foot offices in downtown Cleveland to better assist the growing portfolio of startup technology companies in its program.
Bizdom graduated its first class of entrepreneurs in January and has made 13 investments in Cleveland businesses so far. The new office space is designed to provide useable space for entrepreneurs, as well as those who mentor them.
"The goal was to be downtown and near the Quicken Loans family of companies," says Paul Allen of Bizdom. "We have room for approximately 20 businesses and two conference room areas. They can have desk space, network access, printers and meeting breakout rooms. There is also space to play darts, music or foosball."
Bizdom's mission is to "help startup businesses go further faster by helping them at their earliest stages," says Allen. Entrepreneurs accepted into the three-month accelerator program receive a $25,000 investment in exchange for giving up an eight percent equity stake in their company. They also receive free training and mentorship throughout the program. After they graduate, they may receive additional support such as follow-on funding or subsidized office space.
Bizdom is a nonprofit organization, and if a company is sold at a later date (something that has already happened twice at its Detroit office), the proceeds from Bizdom's equity stake will go towards helping other entrepreneurs.
Bizdom's new offices are located at 250 West Huron Road, Suite 203.
Source: Paul Allen
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Bizdom graduated its first class of entrepreneurs in January and has made 13 investments in Cleveland businesses so far. The new office space is designed to provide useable space for entrepreneurs, as well as those who mentor them.
"The goal was to be downtown and near the Quicken Loans family of companies," says Paul Allen of Bizdom. "We have room for approximately 20 businesses and two conference room areas. They can have desk space, network access, printers and meeting breakout rooms. There is also space to play darts, music or foosball."
Bizdom's mission is to "help startup businesses go further faster by helping them at their earliest stages," says Allen. Entrepreneurs accepted into the three-month accelerator program receive a $25,000 investment in exchange for giving up an eight percent equity stake in their company. They also receive free training and mentorship throughout the program. After they graduate, they may receive additional support such as follow-on funding or subsidized office space.
Bizdom is a nonprofit organization, and if a company is sold at a later date (something that has already happened twice at its Detroit office), the proceeds from Bizdom's equity stake will go towards helping other entrepreneurs.
Bizdom's new offices are located at 250 West Huron Road, Suite 203.
Source: Paul Allen
Writer: Lee Chilcote
When it comes to his new takeout restaurant Crust, chef Jeff Fisher is ambivalent about just one thing: calling it a pizza place. With its homemade gnocci, unique sub sandwiches, killer salads and made-from scratch pizzas, it's so much more than that, he says.
Crust, located at 1020 Kenilworth across from Visible Voice Books, aims to capitalize on Tremont's foodie reputation with takeout worthy of its fine dining and bar scene. The pickup counter alone stimulates your tastebuds: With no separation between the kitchen and ordering area, patrons can watch as their foods are being made.
"You're up on stage with us from the minute you walk in the door, watching us work on the orders," says Fisher. "There's a little bit of showmanship going on."
Fisher launched Crust with owner Mike Griffin, who also boasts about the recipes. "It took us three months and four hundred pounds of flour to get the right dough recipe," he says. "Even though it's takeout, everything is from scratch."
Many of the ingredients are sourced locally from the Tremont Farmers Market. Patrons can order pizza by the pie or slice. The big 15-inchers are a nod to the famous New York slice: So large they hang out of the box.
"People have been getting a pizza, taking it across the street to Visible Voice, and having a glass of wine," says Griffin, who originally found the location when his cousin, Visible Voice owner Dave Ferrante, contacted him.
As for how business has been since opening? "So far, so good," notes Griffin.
Source: Jeff Fisher, Mike Griffin
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Crust, located at 1020 Kenilworth across from Visible Voice Books, aims to capitalize on Tremont's foodie reputation with takeout worthy of its fine dining and bar scene. The pickup counter alone stimulates your tastebuds: With no separation between the kitchen and ordering area, patrons can watch as their foods are being made.
"You're up on stage with us from the minute you walk in the door, watching us work on the orders," says Fisher. "There's a little bit of showmanship going on."
Fisher launched Crust with owner Mike Griffin, who also boasts about the recipes. "It took us three months and four hundred pounds of flour to get the right dough recipe," he says. "Even though it's takeout, everything is from scratch."
Many of the ingredients are sourced locally from the Tremont Farmers Market. Patrons can order pizza by the pie or slice. The big 15-inchers are a nod to the famous New York slice: So large they hang out of the box.
"People have been getting a pizza, taking it across the street to Visible Voice, and having a glass of wine," says Griffin, who originally found the location when his cousin, Visible Voice owner Dave Ferrante, contacted him.
As for how business has been since opening? "So far, so good," notes Griffin.
Source: Jeff Fisher, Mike Griffin
Writer: Lee Chilcote
port's lakefront nature preserve snags environmental enhancement award
Underscoring its commitment to environmental stewardship and public access to the lakefront, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has won an international industry award for opening and managing the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve.
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has awarded the Port its 2012 Environmental Enhancement Award for the preserve, an 88-acre site on Lake Erie that opened to the public on a daily basis in February. Since that time, the Preserve has seen some 14,000 visitors from 39 states and 13 countries.
“We are honored and excited to receive this award,” says Port President and CEO Will Friedman. “We have made environmental stewardship along our waterfronts a major organizational priority, and to be recognized by the AAPA for our efforts is rewarding. We hope this award will further raise the profile of the preserve and draw even more people to enjoy nature and bird watching on Cleveland’s Lake Erie shoreline.”
Read the rest of the good news here.
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has awarded the Port its 2012 Environmental Enhancement Award for the preserve, an 88-acre site on Lake Erie that opened to the public on a daily basis in February. Since that time, the Preserve has seen some 14,000 visitors from 39 states and 13 countries.
“We are honored and excited to receive this award,” says Port President and CEO Will Friedman. “We have made environmental stewardship along our waterfronts a major organizational priority, and to be recognized by the AAPA for our efforts is rewarding. We hope this award will further raise the profile of the preserve and draw even more people to enjoy nature and bird watching on Cleveland’s Lake Erie shoreline.”
Read the rest of the good news here.
When Case's think[box] is completed, it will be one of largest university-based invention centers in the world, bigger even than Stanford's d. school, MIT's Fab Lab, or Rice's Design Kitchen. It’s a venture that has the potential to play a major role in spurring innovation in the region, say local educators and entrepreneurs.
A Cleveland company that has its roots downtown but moved to the suburbs 12 years ago has relocated its headquarters back to the place where it all started.
Ohio Business Machines, a company that offers the latest Sharp office technology to customers in Northern Ohio and Southeast Michigan, recently signed a lease on 8,000 square feet at 1111 Superior.
OBM was located in downtown Cleveland for 25 years before it moved out of the city. With billions in new development either planned or underway and renewed vibrancy downtown, the company's executives believed that the time was right.
The company has 42 employees and plans to grow its sales department. OBM, which also has an office in Toledo, is known for its excellent customer service.
Source: Ohio Business Machines
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Ohio Business Machines, a company that offers the latest Sharp office technology to customers in Northern Ohio and Southeast Michigan, recently signed a lease on 8,000 square feet at 1111 Superior.
OBM was located in downtown Cleveland for 25 years before it moved out of the city. With billions in new development either planned or underway and renewed vibrancy downtown, the company's executives believed that the time was right.
The company has 42 employees and plans to grow its sales department. OBM, which also has an office in Toledo, is known for its excellent customer service.
Source: Ohio Business Machines
Writer: Lee Chilcote
w magazine devotes serious ink to moca and its architect
In the article "Build It and They Will Come," Alice Rawsthorn writing for W Magazine proffers a lengthy piece on Cleveland's brand new Museum of Contemporary Art and its world-famous architect, Farshid Moussavi.
"There’s a new kind of theater in Cleveland," Rawsthorn begins. "If you stand outside the city’s just built Museum of Contemporary Art, you can watch its walls change color with the light. When the sun shines directly onto their black mirrored steel, the six walls will look blue -- the brighter the sun, the more vivid the hue -- but if the sky clouds over, they will darken to black, just as they will when the sun moves around the building. And as each of them stands at a different angle, each reflects a different image of what is happening around it."
“It’s as if the building is performing for you,” Farshid Moussavi is quoted as saying. “There are some amazing moments, when the distorted reflections produce a kind of new reality.”
Moving to the interior of the stunning structure, Rawsthorn writes, "While the tone is set by the building’s constantly changing facade, there are playful touches inside, where visitors are invited to observe the daily life of the museum and its staff in a series of impromptu performances: They can peek through glass walls into the art-handling area, delivery bay, and other behind-the-scenes spaces usually hidden from the public. If they walk to the top of the spectacular steel staircase, they can look down into the main gallery to catch an aerial view of the artworks or watch the installation of new shows. But the grand finale is the ceiling of those galleries, which is painted in the same deep blue as those of ancient Egyptian tombs. It resembles the night sky, with the gallery lights shining like stars."
Read the rest of art-y-facts here.
"There’s a new kind of theater in Cleveland," Rawsthorn begins. "If you stand outside the city’s just built Museum of Contemporary Art, you can watch its walls change color with the light. When the sun shines directly onto their black mirrored steel, the six walls will look blue -- the brighter the sun, the more vivid the hue -- but if the sky clouds over, they will darken to black, just as they will when the sun moves around the building. And as each of them stands at a different angle, each reflects a different image of what is happening around it."
“It’s as if the building is performing for you,” Farshid Moussavi is quoted as saying. “There are some amazing moments, when the distorted reflections produce a kind of new reality.”
Moving to the interior of the stunning structure, Rawsthorn writes, "While the tone is set by the building’s constantly changing facade, there are playful touches inside, where visitors are invited to observe the daily life of the museum and its staff in a series of impromptu performances: They can peek through glass walls into the art-handling area, delivery bay, and other behind-the-scenes spaces usually hidden from the public. If they walk to the top of the spectacular steel staircase, they can look down into the main gallery to catch an aerial view of the artworks or watch the installation of new shows. But the grand finale is the ceiling of those galleries, which is painted in the same deep blue as those of ancient Egyptian tombs. It resembles the night sky, with the gallery lights shining like stars."
Read the rest of art-y-facts here.
columbus food writer full of love for cleveland culinary scene
Following a recent trip to Cleveland, where apparently he visited half the restaurants in town, notable Columbus food blogger Jim Ellison of CMH Gourmand filed a glowing dispatch.
"I am at the halfway point in my Palette to Palate Tour of Cleveland with Positively Cleveland. I am touring with writers from LA, Detroit, Baltimore, Toronto and Columbus. Our collective opinion so far, we love Cleveland. Not a big surprise for most of us. What might be a surprise is that in spite of all I am doing, there is so much more to do and see and especially eat, that I am not even scratching the surface of this city."
Later he adds, "In the back of my mind, I can’t avoid the inclination to compare and contrast Columbus with Cleveland. My track record shows that I am a champion of my city of birth but on this trip, even though not completed, I will say that the culinary community of Cleveland kicks that of Columbus in the ass. Cleveland may have a little more in the quantity, I would say a head to head tie for quality, but where the win occurs in the spirit of collaboration and cheerleading among chefs here for each other and a desire to keep raising the bar."
His dizzying schedule included stops at Greenhouse Tavern, Spaces Gallery, Sweet Moses, Muse in the Ritz Carlton, Ohio City Urban Farm, West Side Market, Sokolowski’s, Crop Bistro, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and many more.
Read his missive here.
"I am at the halfway point in my Palette to Palate Tour of Cleveland with Positively Cleveland. I am touring with writers from LA, Detroit, Baltimore, Toronto and Columbus. Our collective opinion so far, we love Cleveland. Not a big surprise for most of us. What might be a surprise is that in spite of all I am doing, there is so much more to do and see and especially eat, that I am not even scratching the surface of this city."
Later he adds, "In the back of my mind, I can’t avoid the inclination to compare and contrast Columbus with Cleveland. My track record shows that I am a champion of my city of birth but on this trip, even though not completed, I will say that the culinary community of Cleveland kicks that of Columbus in the ass. Cleveland may have a little more in the quantity, I would say a head to head tie for quality, but where the win occurs in the spirit of collaboration and cheerleading among chefs here for each other and a desire to keep raising the bar."
His dizzying schedule included stops at Greenhouse Tavern, Spaces Gallery, Sweet Moses, Muse in the Ritz Carlton, Ohio City Urban Farm, West Side Market, Sokolowski’s, Crop Bistro, Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and many more.
Read his missive here.
Several times each week, giant freighters the length of two football fields travel up the crooked Cuyahoga River to deliver raw materials. In this slide show, Fresh Water photographer Bob Perkoski goes along for the ride.
msn travel writer calls cleveland 'america's big comeback story'
Writing for MSN Travel, Ken Hegan, a screenwriter and journalist, calls Cleveland "America's big comeback story."
"Never thought I'd ever say this but I just fell in love with Cleveland, Ohio. Now I kinda want to move there," he writes.
Following a brief and painful history lesson, Hegan gets to the good stuff:
"The city's entering a period of 'unprecedented growth. The river's cleaned up, there's a thriving medical industry, houses are cheap, artists can rent old brick warehouse spaces for the price of a Manhattan coffee, the city's enjoying a culinary boom, plus there's a museum devoted to polka music and a festival celebrating duct tape."
"The city's rebuilding and expanding with billions of dollars in new tourism infrastructure that includes a $26-million Museum of Art, new boutique hotels, a new medical convention center... The city is also looking forward to hosting the Summer National Senior Games (July 2013), and The International Gay Games (2014)."
Hegan closes with a bold assertion:
"If I was an artist in America right now (or anyone who wants to live cheaply in The Next Great American City), I wouldn't pay a fortune to starve in Brooklyn. Instead, I'd live like a king, rent an inexpensive brick Cleveland studio, and turn that into a factory of art."
Read the rest here.
"Never thought I'd ever say this but I just fell in love with Cleveland, Ohio. Now I kinda want to move there," he writes.
Following a brief and painful history lesson, Hegan gets to the good stuff:
"The city's entering a period of 'unprecedented growth. The river's cleaned up, there's a thriving medical industry, houses are cheap, artists can rent old brick warehouse spaces for the price of a Manhattan coffee, the city's enjoying a culinary boom, plus there's a museum devoted to polka music and a festival celebrating duct tape."
"The city's rebuilding and expanding with billions of dollars in new tourism infrastructure that includes a $26-million Museum of Art, new boutique hotels, a new medical convention center... The city is also looking forward to hosting the Summer National Senior Games (July 2013), and The International Gay Games (2014)."
Hegan closes with a bold assertion:
"If I was an artist in America right now (or anyone who wants to live cheaply in The Next Great American City), I wouldn't pay a fortune to starve in Brooklyn. Instead, I'd live like a king, rent an inexpensive brick Cleveland studio, and turn that into a factory of art."
Read the rest here.
On the heels of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual conference, the Great Lakes Venture Fair will host its first event at the Cleveland Marriott on October 17 and 18. The event is a joint effort between the Ohio Capital Fund, Ohio Venture Association, JumpStart, TechColumbus and CincyTech.
“The event builds on the past seven successful years of the Ohio Early Stage Summit,” says Chris Sklarin, event chair and investor manager with Edison Ventures. “Great Lakes Venture Fair will showcase the region’s high potential companies to investors with a focus on successful strategic partnerships -- how it’s done.”
The Great Lakes Venture is designed to highlight the activity in the region, as well as identify the next big things. “It’s important in general for the region because this is the new economy,” says Sklarin. “This is where we find new growth, new ventures. It would be really great for us to have a successful large company to grow out of this.
Keynote speaker for the event will be Jeff Weedman, who took a two-year leave as vice president of global business development of Proctor & Gamble to become CEO of Cintrifuse in Cincinnati. He will talk about the corporate partnerships behind Cintrifuse as well as join a panel discussion about working with strategic investors.
Sklarin’s advice to entrepreneurs planning on attending is straightforward. “Bring your business cards -- there’s a lot of networking,” he says. “Have your elevator pitch down. You want to get out there and meet everyone you can.”
Organizers are expecting as many as 300 attendees.
Source: Chris Sklarin
Writer: Karin Connelly
“The event builds on the past seven successful years of the Ohio Early Stage Summit,” says Chris Sklarin, event chair and investor manager with Edison Ventures. “Great Lakes Venture Fair will showcase the region’s high potential companies to investors with a focus on successful strategic partnerships -- how it’s done.”
The Great Lakes Venture is designed to highlight the activity in the region, as well as identify the next big things. “It’s important in general for the region because this is the new economy,” says Sklarin. “This is where we find new growth, new ventures. It would be really great for us to have a successful large company to grow out of this.
Keynote speaker for the event will be Jeff Weedman, who took a two-year leave as vice president of global business development of Proctor & Gamble to become CEO of Cintrifuse in Cincinnati. He will talk about the corporate partnerships behind Cintrifuse as well as join a panel discussion about working with strategic investors.
Sklarin’s advice to entrepreneurs planning on attending is straightforward. “Bring your business cards -- there’s a lot of networking,” he says. “Have your elevator pitch down. You want to get out there and meet everyone you can.”
Organizers are expecting as many as 300 attendees.
Source: Chris Sklarin
Writer: Karin Connelly
The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is asking voters to vote "Yes" on Issue 108, a levy that would cost property owners roughly $20 a year per $100,000. Fresh Water discusses the importance of the levy and more with Port President and CEO William Friedman.