Stories
More than 100 people turned out May 16 at the Ohio City Firehouse to celebrate the newest graduates of Bad Girl Ventures’ business plan competition. Babies Travel Too was the recipient of a $25,000 loan from KeyBank.
Babies Travel Too was created by Alison Musser, who based the company on her own experiences as a parent. The company provides nightly and weekly rentals of full-size cribs, car seats, strollers and other essential baby gear to people traveling to the Cleveland metropolitan area. The equipment is JPMA-certified and sanitized before every rental.
“Musser not only had a good idea; she was the right person to run the business,” says Rachel Czernin, director of marketing and developments for BGV. “She is smart, dedicated, and has personal experience in this area. She uniquely understands the predicament traveling mothers have and has the business sense to develop her concept and turn this regional business into a national business.”
Three additional companies received $5,000 loans from The Giving Back Gang. Those companies were: Anne Hartnett, creator of Harness Fitness, Inc., Cleveland's first sustainably run group cycling studio and fitness clothing retailer; Karen Malone Wright, creator of TheNotMom.com, a blog for women who are childless; and Kelley Hynds creator of Hyndsight Media, an online video journalism platform that provides short-form video web spots on current social and civic topics.
The event was sponsored by Huntington Bank, Additional support came from The Cleveland Foundation and The Business of Good Foundation. “Catering was provided by past finalist and loan recipient Hungry Bee Catering.
Source: Rachel Czernin
Writer: Karin Connelly
Babies Travel Too was created by Alison Musser, who based the company on her own experiences as a parent. The company provides nightly and weekly rentals of full-size cribs, car seats, strollers and other essential baby gear to people traveling to the Cleveland metropolitan area. The equipment is JPMA-certified and sanitized before every rental.
“Musser not only had a good idea; she was the right person to run the business,” says Rachel Czernin, director of marketing and developments for BGV. “She is smart, dedicated, and has personal experience in this area. She uniquely understands the predicament traveling mothers have and has the business sense to develop her concept and turn this regional business into a national business.”
Three additional companies received $5,000 loans from The Giving Back Gang. Those companies were: Anne Hartnett, creator of Harness Fitness, Inc., Cleveland's first sustainably run group cycling studio and fitness clothing retailer; Karen Malone Wright, creator of TheNotMom.com, a blog for women who are childless; and Kelley Hynds creator of Hyndsight Media, an online video journalism platform that provides short-form video web spots on current social and civic topics.
The event was sponsored by Huntington Bank, Additional support came from The Cleveland Foundation and The Business of Good Foundation. “Catering was provided by past finalist and loan recipient Hungry Bee Catering.
Source: Rachel Czernin
Writer: Karin Connelly
As Yelp Cleveland community manager, native Northeast Ohioan Cara Lageson is a pro-Cleveland powerhouse. When she's not busy penning reviews -- she has logged in about 400 -- she connects "Yelpers" and local businesses by coordinating marketing outreach that extends well beyond the digital realm.
Thanks to game-changing, large-scale architectural efforts largely absent during the recession, Cleveland steadily is catching up to other similarly sized cities in terms of design. Long known as a "brick city," Cleveland's recent and forthcoming high-profile projects are adding progressive new materials to the mix.
2013 cle film fest will be bigger, better, longer, later
It is hard to believe, but this year's Cleveland International Film Festival -- the 36th annual -- once again broke the previous year's attendance figures.
The 11-day film festival, which wrapped up on Sunday, April 1, checked in a record total of 85,018 filmgoers. This is a 9-percent jump from the previous year and a whopping 143-percent increase from 2003. What's more, the festival saw it's largest single-day attendance on Saturday, March 31, with 13,176 coming to see a film.
Changes to next year's festival can only add to those numbers. Organizers will be adding a full day of films -- making it a 12-day festival -- while pushing back the dates. The 2013 film fest will begin almost two weeks later, running Wednesday, April 3 through Sunday, April 14, at Tower City Cinemas.
Here's looking to another record-setting year!
The 11-day film festival, which wrapped up on Sunday, April 1, checked in a record total of 85,018 filmgoers. This is a 9-percent jump from the previous year and a whopping 143-percent increase from 2003. What's more, the festival saw it's largest single-day attendance on Saturday, March 31, with 13,176 coming to see a film.
Changes to next year's festival can only add to those numbers. Organizers will be adding a full day of films -- making it a 12-day festival -- while pushing back the dates. The 2013 film fest will begin almost two weeks later, running Wednesday, April 3 through Sunday, April 14, at Tower City Cinemas.
Here's looking to another record-setting year!
Although the environmental health of the Cuyahoga River has dramatically improved in recent decades, ugly mats of hazardous floating debris and litter still accumulate in the bends of the famously crooked river.
If a violent storm rolls in off Lake Erie, or strong winds spring up, the mats can easily break apart and float into the shipping channel. The sudden presence of fallen logs and other debris can create a dangerous obstacle course for boaters and rowers traversing the river.
Later this summer, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will begin using two specialized aluminum work boats to remove floating debris from the river and the Lake Erie shoreline. The new boats, called Flotsam and Jetsam, are being paid for by a $425,160 grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The river cleanup initiative is the first comprehensive initiative of its kind.
"The river is a lot cleaner than it looks and now has 40 species of fish, but this program will demonstrate stewardship to the community," says Jim White, Director of Sustainable Infrastructure Programs for the Port Authority. "This is one of the pieces of the puzzle in terms of restoring the health of the river."
Source: Jim White
Writer: Lee Chilcote
If a violent storm rolls in off Lake Erie, or strong winds spring up, the mats can easily break apart and float into the shipping channel. The sudden presence of fallen logs and other debris can create a dangerous obstacle course for boaters and rowers traversing the river.
Later this summer, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority will begin using two specialized aluminum work boats to remove floating debris from the river and the Lake Erie shoreline. The new boats, called Flotsam and Jetsam, are being paid for by a $425,160 grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The river cleanup initiative is the first comprehensive initiative of its kind.
"The river is a lot cleaner than it looks and now has 40 species of fish, but this program will demonstrate stewardship to the community," says Jim White, Director of Sustainable Infrastructure Programs for the Port Authority. "This is one of the pieces of the puzzle in terms of restoring the health of the river."
Source: Jim White
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Kevin Busta's trendy, neo-industrial furnishings have been written up in the New York Times and grace sleek lofts and posh living rooms all the way from New York City to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Yet the metalworking artist, who grew up in Medina, chose W. 14th Street in Tremont to locate his showroom. Last week, he sold out of nearly all his furnishings in a single week as eight new businesses opened in the neighborhood and the monthly Art Walk kicked off the summer season.
"Cleveland is so full of everything that I really need," says Busta, a former boilermaker who was once arrested for dumpster diving at an industrial park in Medina (he got off after showing the judge photos of his high-end furniture). "New York doesn't have what Cleveland has in terms of surplus scrap metal."
Busta makes his lamps, tables and chairs out of metal that he buys at scrap yards and auctions. His tables typically sell for $4,000 and up, while a table lamp might sell for $300 to $500. Busta stresses that he does not simply repurpose scrap materials, but rather transforms the raw materials into something new.
"It's glorifying the old with a modern twist to it," he says. "It's taking what a lot of people see every day driving through industrial parks and changing the way people look at these old, industrial remnants by glorifying rust."
Source: Kevin Busta
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Yet the metalworking artist, who grew up in Medina, chose W. 14th Street in Tremont to locate his showroom. Last week, he sold out of nearly all his furnishings in a single week as eight new businesses opened in the neighborhood and the monthly Art Walk kicked off the summer season.
"Cleveland is so full of everything that I really need," says Busta, a former boilermaker who was once arrested for dumpster diving at an industrial park in Medina (he got off after showing the judge photos of his high-end furniture). "New York doesn't have what Cleveland has in terms of surplus scrap metal."
Busta makes his lamps, tables and chairs out of metal that he buys at scrap yards and auctions. His tables typically sell for $4,000 and up, while a table lamp might sell for $300 to $500. Busta stresses that he does not simply repurpose scrap materials, but rather transforms the raw materials into something new.
"It's glorifying the old with a modern twist to it," he says. "It's taking what a lot of people see every day driving through industrial parks and changing the way people look at these old, industrial remnants by glorifying rust."
Source: Kevin Busta
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Goldman Sachs announced last week that it will bring its 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) initiative to Cleveland. The initiative commits $500 million to entrepreneurial education, access to capital and technical assistance services. Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation have pledged $15 million to Cleveland.
Cleveland is the seventh city to host a 10KSB. Unlike many organizations in Cleveland that focus on startups, this program is designed for existing small business owners who are ready to grow their companies and create jobs.
“We’re really excited about this because it fills a gap,” says Jumpstart CEO Ray Leach, who has been in talks with Goldman Sachs for nearly a year about bringing the initiative to Cleveland. “It puts a new focus on the segment of the market that includes existing low-tech, medium-tech and high-tech companies that have been in business for a while.”
Other local organizations involved are Tri-C, the Urban League, the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and COSE.
Leach says Goldman Sachs saw Cleveland as primed for growth. “The entire ecosystem in Northeast Ohio is already pretty robust, so if they brought the program here it could generate jobs more quickly,” he explains. “The philanthropy will go further here than in an area less organized.”
Tri-C will host the 11-session course beginning in September. The course is intended to be a practical business management education program that helps entrepreneurs develop skills they need to grow a company. Selected participants receive a series of one-on-one business advising sessions from professionals to help develop a tailored plan for growth.
Business owners eligible to apply for the program generally have been in business for two years or more and typically have at least four employees and a revenue stream of $150,000 to $4 million per year. Applications for the free September session are being accepted through July 2. Future sessions will be offered on a quarterly basis.
Source: Ray Leach
Writer: Karin Connelly
Cleveland is the seventh city to host a 10KSB. Unlike many organizations in Cleveland that focus on startups, this program is designed for existing small business owners who are ready to grow their companies and create jobs.
“We’re really excited about this because it fills a gap,” says Jumpstart CEO Ray Leach, who has been in talks with Goldman Sachs for nearly a year about bringing the initiative to Cleveland. “It puts a new focus on the segment of the market that includes existing low-tech, medium-tech and high-tech companies that have been in business for a while.”
Other local organizations involved are Tri-C, the Urban League, the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and COSE.
Leach says Goldman Sachs saw Cleveland as primed for growth. “The entire ecosystem in Northeast Ohio is already pretty robust, so if they brought the program here it could generate jobs more quickly,” he explains. “The philanthropy will go further here than in an area less organized.”
Tri-C will host the 11-session course beginning in September. The course is intended to be a practical business management education program that helps entrepreneurs develop skills they need to grow a company. Selected participants receive a series of one-on-one business advising sessions from professionals to help develop a tailored plan for growth.
Business owners eligible to apply for the program generally have been in business for two years or more and typically have at least four employees and a revenue stream of $150,000 to $4 million per year. Applications for the free September session are being accepted through July 2. Future sessions will be offered on a quarterly basis.
Source: Ray Leach
Writer: Karin Connelly
huffpo publishes mike symon's love letter to cleveland
"Cleveland, You have been my best friend for over 40 years," writes Symon, in a heartfelt love letter to his one and only native town.
"I hid from you like every other teenager with a skateboard and BMX, choosing to play in the suburbs, a wide world of vanilla filled with malls, chain stores and entirely too much mediocrity."
"It wasn't until I left you that I realized how amazing you are and all the great treasures you possessed. Whether it was the old world headcheese at The Sausage Shoppe, amazing pierogies at Sokolowski's or the perfect steak and steam at the Shvitz, you were -- history and culture aside -- loaded with old-world culinary traditions that most cities could only imagine."
Enjoy the rest of his ode here.
"I hid from you like every other teenager with a skateboard and BMX, choosing to play in the suburbs, a wide world of vanilla filled with malls, chain stores and entirely too much mediocrity."
"It wasn't until I left you that I realized how amazing you are and all the great treasures you possessed. Whether it was the old world headcheese at The Sausage Shoppe, amazing pierogies at Sokolowski's or the perfect steak and steam at the Shvitz, you were -- history and culture aside -- loaded with old-world culinary traditions that most cities could only imagine."
Enjoy the rest of his ode here.
The Cleveland Entrepreneurs’ Organization is one of the oldest and strongest chapters of the worldwide organization. Comprised of 115 members who are founders of business with at least $1 million in annual gross revenues, the members network, socialize and share their success stories.
Now the EO wants to share its collective knowledge with other entrepreneurs through its Accelerator program. Started three years ago, the purpose of the program is to educate and mentor small businesses to help them grow. “EO Cleveland decided to step out and take companies that are under $1 million and grow them into million-dollar companies,” says EO member Gene Roberts. “The concept is, if we can accelerate them to the $1 million mark, we can make them members.”
Participants must have businesses that make at least $250,000 annually to participate in the three-year program. EO members speak about their experiences and provide one-on-one mentoring once a month for a year. Accountability groups meet to share their progress, and regular events are designed to share advice and success stories.
“Our EO members meet with Accelerator group members once a month and talk about responsibility, how to get focus to grow, and 10 goals for growth,” says Roberts.
The Accelerator graduated six members in 2011. Ideally, Roberts says they would like to host 30 entrepreneurs in each class.
Source: Gene Roberts
Writer: Karin Connelly
Now the EO wants to share its collective knowledge with other entrepreneurs through its Accelerator program. Started three years ago, the purpose of the program is to educate and mentor small businesses to help them grow. “EO Cleveland decided to step out and take companies that are under $1 million and grow them into million-dollar companies,” says EO member Gene Roberts. “The concept is, if we can accelerate them to the $1 million mark, we can make them members.”
Participants must have businesses that make at least $250,000 annually to participate in the three-year program. EO members speak about their experiences and provide one-on-one mentoring once a month for a year. Accountability groups meet to share their progress, and regular events are designed to share advice and success stories.
“Our EO members meet with Accelerator group members once a month and talk about responsibility, how to get focus to grow, and 10 goals for growth,” says Roberts.
The Accelerator graduated six members in 2011. Ideally, Roberts says they would like to host 30 entrepreneurs in each class.
Source: Gene Roberts
Writer: Karin Connelly
This weekend, tens of thousands of visitors will descend on the St. Clair Superior neighborhood for the Cleveland Asian Festival. During their visit, they will be delighted by 25 colorful dragon sculptures painted by local artists and installed outside businesses to beautify the area and celebrate the arts and Asian culture.
The public art project commemorates the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which began with the new moon in January and continues for a full 12 months.
Each one of these fantastic creatures will be completely unique. For example, Cleveland tattoo artist Sean Kelly painted a dragon featuring butterflies flying out of its chest, the kind of glittering eyes used in stuffed animals, and real antlers.
The dragons will be displayed through the end of August. They will be auctioned off at a special benefit on Saturday, September 29th, the proceeds of which will support arts and culture programming in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.
On Thursday, May 31st, the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and artist Anna Arnold will also unveil a huge, 40- foot mural on the side of the Consolidated Graphics building at E. 39th and Payne Avenue. The project was created with the help of neighborhood schoolchildren and Asian seniors.
Source: Becca Britton
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The public art project commemorates the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which began with the new moon in January and continues for a full 12 months.
Each one of these fantastic creatures will be completely unique. For example, Cleveland tattoo artist Sean Kelly painted a dragon featuring butterflies flying out of its chest, the kind of glittering eyes used in stuffed animals, and real antlers.
The dragons will be displayed through the end of August. They will be auctioned off at a special benefit on Saturday, September 29th, the proceeds of which will support arts and culture programming in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.
On Thursday, May 31st, the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and artist Anna Arnold will also unveil a huge, 40- foot mural on the side of the Consolidated Graphics building at E. 39th and Payne Avenue. The project was created with the help of neighborhood schoolchildren and Asian seniors.
Source: Becca Britton
Writer: Lee Chilcote
tremont's new miranda's vintage bridal upcycles classic gowns
Miranda Park has always loved vintage ball gowns from the '40s and '50s, whose intricate, hand-sewn details and figure-flattering designs are often imitated, but nearly impossible to replicate.
Last month, Park traded her job as a seamstress at a bridal store in Rocky River to launch Miranda's Vintage Bridal and Alterations on W. 14th Street in Tremont. She's turned her passion for classic gowns into a business that can help modern brides go green -- and look great doing it.
"They just don't make dresses like that anymore," says Park, who majored in fashion design at Kent State University and says that artsy, historic Tremont is the perfect spot for her destination business. "I find them on eBay or at vintage stores, then use my skills as a seamstress to remake, redesign and restore them."
Park invites her customers to bring in their favorite vintage gowns for custom alterations. Since most new wedding dresses are expensive and used once, she says she's tapping into a national trend towards green, sustainable weddings.
Source: Miranda Park
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Last month, Park traded her job as a seamstress at a bridal store in Rocky River to launch Miranda's Vintage Bridal and Alterations on W. 14th Street in Tremont. She's turned her passion for classic gowns into a business that can help modern brides go green -- and look great doing it.
"They just don't make dresses like that anymore," says Park, who majored in fashion design at Kent State University and says that artsy, historic Tremont is the perfect spot for her destination business. "I find them on eBay or at vintage stores, then use my skills as a seamstress to remake, redesign and restore them."
Park invites her customers to bring in their favorite vintage gowns for custom alterations. Since most new wedding dresses are expensive and used once, she says she's tapping into a national trend towards green, sustainable weddings.
Source: Miranda Park
Writer: Lee Chilcote
This month Cleveland welcomes Great Lakes Courier, a high-energy free monthly paper that caters to Northeast Ohio's enthusiastic cycling community. "One of the things we hope to provide is a place for different groups of cyclists to tell stories and interact," says editor Michael Gill.
'downtown cleveland is surging,' says salon
In an article titled, "Rust Belt chic: Declining Midwest cities make a comeback," Salon writer Will Doig reports on the surprising growth and popularity of former Rust Belt cities like Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
"More than any other city in America, Cleveland is a joke, a whipping boy of Johnny Carson monologues and Hollywood’s official set for films about comic mediocrity," Doig begins.
"But here’s what else is funny: According to a recent analysis, the population of downtown Cleveland is surging, doubling in the past 20 years. What’s more, the majority of the growth occurred in the 22-to-34-year-old demo, those coveted 'knowledge economy' workers for whom every city is competing."
This newfound growth and appreciation can go one of two ways, writes Doig. "Demand for decay could spell a new era for post-industrial cities -- or run its course as a faddish blip that attracted more media coverage than actual converts."
Cleveland-based writer Richey Piiparinen argues for the former.
"The country in the 2000s, it became about growth, glamour, living beyond your means,” Piiparinen says. “It was all aspiration. Now we’re comparing the foreclosed glass condo tower to the old brick building that’s stood for a hundred years.”
Read the rest right here.
"More than any other city in America, Cleveland is a joke, a whipping boy of Johnny Carson monologues and Hollywood’s official set for films about comic mediocrity," Doig begins.
"But here’s what else is funny: According to a recent analysis, the population of downtown Cleveland is surging, doubling in the past 20 years. What’s more, the majority of the growth occurred in the 22-to-34-year-old demo, those coveted 'knowledge economy' workers for whom every city is competing."
This newfound growth and appreciation can go one of two ways, writes Doig. "Demand for decay could spell a new era for post-industrial cities -- or run its course as a faddish blip that attracted more media coverage than actual converts."
Cleveland-based writer Richey Piiparinen argues for the former.
"The country in the 2000s, it became about growth, glamour, living beyond your means,” Piiparinen says. “It was all aspiration. Now we’re comparing the foreclosed glass condo tower to the old brick building that’s stood for a hundred years.”
Read the rest right here.
cuyahoga arts & culture accepting grant apps, hosting workshops
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is accepting applications for its 2013 grant programs. Nonprofit organizations offering arts and culture programming in Cuyahoga County are encouraged to apply.
To learn more about its Project Support grant program, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture encourages applicants to attend one of three informational workshops, to be held June 5, 7, or 13.
“In 2012, CAC is investing $15 million in 154 organizations throughout Cuyahoga County, and we welcome organizations offering arts and culture programs to apply now for CAC grants in 2013,” explains Executive Director Karen Gahl-Mills. “Our county is fortunate to have this source of public funding for arts and culture, which strengthens our community by making it a better place to live, work, and play.”
At each workshop, CAC staff will review its grant programs, eligibility requirements, and CAC’s application process. The same content will be reviewed at each workshop. Workshops are optional, but are a valuable learning opportunity for new applicants to the Project Support program. Attendees are encouraged to register online.
Click here for more information.
To learn more about its Project Support grant program, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture encourages applicants to attend one of three informational workshops, to be held June 5, 7, or 13.
“In 2012, CAC is investing $15 million in 154 organizations throughout Cuyahoga County, and we welcome organizations offering arts and culture programs to apply now for CAC grants in 2013,” explains Executive Director Karen Gahl-Mills. “Our county is fortunate to have this source of public funding for arts and culture, which strengthens our community by making it a better place to live, work, and play.”
At each workshop, CAC staff will review its grant programs, eligibility requirements, and CAC’s application process. The same content will be reviewed at each workshop. Workshops are optional, but are a valuable learning opportunity for new applicants to the Project Support program. Attendees are encouraged to register online.
Click here for more information.
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
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
What’s on your summer to-do list? Hanging out at your favorite outdoor café? Taking a dip at Edgewater? Enjoying a Tribe game at Progressive Field? Well, here’s another: touring Cleveland by bicycle. This year it’s easier than ever to see the city via two wheels thanks to new bike-tour operators, public rides, and bike rental companies.
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
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
“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
las vegas looks to cleveland casino with appreciation
"Ohio's first casino opened Monday night with long lines of gamblers ready to roll the dice, a glitzy music video instead of a traditional ribbon cutting and a taste of Las Vegas with two bare-midriff showgirls wearing plumed hats and sequined tops," begins this Las Vegas Review-Journal piece on Cleveland's brand new Horseshoe casino.
Toledo's casino will open in two weeks, with Cincinnati and Columbus to follow suit by next year.
"Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment owns 20 percent of the $350 million project and will receive fees for managing it on behalf of majority owner Rock Gaming LLC."
Read all the news right here.
Toledo's casino will open in two weeks, with Cincinnati and Columbus to follow suit by next year.
"Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment owns 20 percent of the $350 million project and will receive fees for managing it on behalf of majority owner Rock Gaming LLC."
Read all the news right here.
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.