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