Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin sprouted a business idea after a death in Belsito's family. Both were working at Findaway World, a digital products company, when Belsito's cousin died and he went through the arduous process of planning a funeral.

The two started talking about how difficult it is to find the right funeral home in a time of crisis... and an idea was formed. They started FunerAlly, an online resource for selecting the right funeral home.

"It's nearly impossible to understand each funeral home in the area and what they had to offer and the prices," says Belsito of the wide selection. "When you talk about the importance of finding the right funeral home, you just pick a home and hope for the best. There really aren't a whole lot of options in choosing one."

It was all talk until the two heard about Ohio State University Fisher College of Business' 10-Xelerator, an 11-week boot camp for 10 start-up companies to launch and succeed in their business ventures. "Bryan and I submitted the idea to the 10X program and we were accepted as finalists," says Belsito. "That was the impetus for us to really step out fulltime and launch a business. We're really motivated to make this work."

Through 10X, FunerAlly is getting the guidance it needs to successfully launch. Belsito and Chaikin are spending their summer in Columbus, getting advice and lessons from advisors and mentors.

"10X opened the door to so many individuals we wouldn't have access to otherwise," Belsito says. "Entrepreneurship has always been a passion of mine and definitely our intent is to created jobs in Northeast Ohio."

Source: Mike Belsito
Writer: Karin Connelly