Since 2008, the Cuyahoga County North Coast Opportunities (NCO) Technology Fund has been helping high growth technology companies thrive and create jobs, and the deadline for the latest round of funding is November 18.
 
NCO provides deferred loans ranging from $25,000 to $125,000 at an interest rate of five percent. Repayment is deferred for five years or until the company receives $1.5 million in follow-on funding. NCO offers six rounds of funding per year, awarding money to one company each round.
 
“The program was created to accelerate tech-based entrepreneurs and create new jobs,” says Greg Zucca, senior development finance analyst for the Cuyahoga County Department of Development. Since it started, the fund has invested $2.6 million in 26 companies. Those companies have gone on to raise $19 million in follow-on funding, created 77 jobs and added $4.6 million in annual payroll.
 
While Cuyahoga County provides the loans, JumpStart provides the assistance to help the companies grow and thrive. “JumpStart assists through programs like its Entrepreneur in Residence and makes recommendations for places the companies can go to get follow-on funding,” says Zucca.
 
The hope is to develop early stage companies that have potential to boost the regional economy. “It’s good for Northeast Ohio because there are a lot of early stage companies here,” says Zucca. “We’re really trying to feed the system and create a continuum for these companies as they are maturing.”
 
Source: Greg Zucca
Writer: Karin Connelly

Cleveland Clinic Innovations (CCI) has named seasoned Health Information Technology (HIT) veteran Gary Fingerhut as its new executive director. Fingerhut has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur in IT, co-founding a global software company and as a senior executive of a software development and technology consulting firm.

CCI is the commercial arm of the Cleveland Clinic, responsible for company creation and business development of medical technology developed by its doctors and researchers.

For the past three years, Fingerhut has served as general manager of IT commercialization for CCI, a position he will continue to perform in addition to his new executive director duties.
 
HIT makes up 23 percent of Innovations’ business, up from six percent when Fingerhut started with the organization. “I take credit for being part of a team,” Fingerhut says of the growth. “We’re a very collaborative group here: very dedicated, very focused in bringing products to market that will change lives. You can’t ask for a better role than that as executive director.”
 
Fingerhut plans to continue that growth in his new position. “I’m really heavily focused on inventor satisfaction as a key goal,” he says. “And I would like to see our Innovation Alliance grow considerably.”
 
And, of course, Fingerhut wants to improve care through technology. “Everything we do is focused on better patient care,” he says. “But we’re also focused on growth in Ohio. Since we began in 2000, we’ve created 1,100 jobs in Northeast Ohio and 66 spinoff companies.”
 
Fingerhut is a Cleveland native and has raised five children here. “This is an incredible institution and I’m really honored to be a part of it,” he says. “We take innovation seriously here, and I look forward to really making a difference.”

 
Source: Gary Fingerhut
Writer: Karin Connelly

Team NEO, MAGNET, Wire-Net and Medina County Workforce Development came together as a group to secure a $1.8 million federal Make it in America grant, one of only 10 groups nationwide to receive such funding.
 
The money will be used to help local companies that show the potential to bring manufacturing jobs to the region.
 
“We will use the money to boost the growth of 25 medium-sized companies in Northeast Ohio in many areas, from product development to workforce development,” says Jay Foran, senior vice president of Team NEO. “We’re also hoping to attract new business to the region in support of those companies in biomedical, automotive and advanced engineering.”
 
The groups have been working together since March to apply for the grant. “So many partners saw opportunities for themselves that aligned with this grant,” says Laura Hudak, Team NEO’s vice president of finance and administration. “The opportunity to collaborate is equally important as the financial implications.”
 
Each group will have a different role in distributing the grant money. Team NEO will serve as administrator and work on attracting international business. WIRE-Net will work directly with the companies receiving the funds, building on its manufacturing experience. MAGNET will provide resources for job and business growth, while Medina County Workforce Development will coordinate services with area colleges and universities.
 
The Make it in America program is a $20.5 million Obama administration initiative designed around job creation and investment in U.S. businesses.

 
Source: Jay Foran, Laura Hudak
Writer: Karin Connelly

When Sharie Renee opened Cosmic Bobbins on Shaker Square last November, she originally intended for it to be a temporary pop-up shop for the holidays that showcased her handbags made from recycled magazines and other items from local artisans.

A year later, Cosmic Bobbins not only is still going strong as a permanent Shaker Square presence, the store's owner has expanded its offerings and the number of artists it features from 10 to 20 and again to more than 30.
 
“I have been such a lover and supporter of the arts that many of the artists I carry in my shop are people that I admire and have become my friends over the years,” she says. “Other artists have started out as our customers.” 
 
Renee carries a few fair trade, vintage and boutique items and has custom embroidery services. Business is going so well that Renee has hired two employees to help her run the shop. “We would love to hire more people,” says Renee.
 
Furthermore, Renee now offers private and semi-private sewing lessons, a fragrance blending class with Yates Apothecary owner Melissa Hale, and plans to offer classes on beauty care products when Renee launches her new spa line, Cosmic Bubbles. Renee is renovating the basement to have a larger workroom and classroom.
 
In the summer, Renee works with Youth Opportunities Unlimited to create mentorship and summer jobs for youth in the community. “This year, we worked with MyCom South Shaker to identify students in the area that had a particular interest in the creative arts and entrepreneurship,” explains Renee. "Some of the students wrote a community grant to further education in sewing and textile arts. We made it to the interview process, but have yet to hear about the grant.”

 
Source: Sharie Renee
Writer: Karin Connelly
 

Ann Onusko doesn’t leave the house without first putting on some perfume. “I’ve always been a perfumista,” she says. When she travels with her husband to his native Holland, she hits the perfumeries. “When we go there, the first thing I do is search out the local shops. Same when I go to LA or New York. But Cleveland doesn’t have any perfumeries.”

The fact that Cleveland lacks a perfume shop with scents by small, artisan companies got Onusko thinking. After working as a nurse for 10 years, and then 20 years as general manager of a special events and floral design company, Onusko decided it was time to bring a perfumery to Cleveland.
 
On October 15, Onusko opened Indigo Perfumery in an historic building in Lakewood. The shop features fragrances not found in department stores. “Most often, when I’m placing an order, I’m talking to the person making perfume,” she says. “They’re very careful about where they want to sell.”
 
Onusko carries 120 perfumes in a variety of price ranges --from Cleveland’s own Yates Apothecary to Paris’ Jul et Mad. “I like these scents more because they have more character, more passion,” Onusko explains.
 
Onusko works with her customers to find the right scent for their styles and body chemistries. She also sells samples for $1. “I want people to take it with them and see how they like it,” she explains. “Two or three hours later it’s a different scent again.”
 
Onusko also sells scented candles and plans on hosting fragrance workshops and opportunities to meet the perfumers. She is in the process of hiring two additional perfumistas.

 
Source: Ann Onusko
Writer: Karin Connelly

Brittany Gonzalez and Alicia Candelario started La Banana Frita on a dare from friend and comedian Ramon Rivas. He was having a show at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights last May and he wanted his guests to have food. The childhood friends accepted Rivas’ dare and began selling fried plantains, or tostones, at the show.

“We’re by no means chefs,” says Gonzalez. “We just make them like our grandmothers and mothers made them.”  The pair has fond memories of growing up as neighbors in South Lorain and smelling the plantains cooking. They enjoy sharing their heritage with Clevelanders.
 
“We really like watching people try them,” says Candelario. “Right off the bat they really enjoy them, even younger people and children.” The two have been hitting the Cleveland Flea, some comedy shows and even picked up a few catering jobs. “We’ve just kind of been bopping around town, trying to get out there,” adds Gonzalez.
 
La Banana Frita’s plantains come with some unique toppings. “The people of Cleveland love pulled pork,” says Gonzales. “That, coupled with spicy no-mayo coleslaw and a drizzle of Sriracha. Wow. We sell out every time.” But it seems like whatever Gonzalez and Candelario put on top of the crispy fried plantains, they’re a hit.
 
“Recently, our plantains with smoked salmon, fried egg, and dill sauce were a huge hit at the Hingetown Market,” says Gonzalez. “We'll definitely be bringing that back again for the folks that missed out.” Councilman Joe Cimperman showed up at their Hingetown stand, but La Banana Frita had just sold out.
 
La Banana Frita plans to expand to include a mail order business, shipping frozen plantains and sauces around the country. “So whenever they have a craving, they can pop them open, heat, and enjoy,” says Gonzalez. They also hope to get a cart or food truck to hit more outdoor events and expand their catering business in the winter months.

 
Sources: Brittany Gonzalez and Alicia Candelario
Writer: Karin Connelly
 

The Cleveland Clinic marks its 50th year of successful kidney transplants this year. While the Clinic was not the first to successfully transplant a human kidney, the hospital was, and continues to be, a pioneer in the field.

“There were two earlier transplants,” explains Robert Heyka, interim chair of the department of nephrology and hypertension at the Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute. “One was in New Jersey, but it only lasted 10 months. The first successful transplant was in 1954, in Boston, which worked because the transplant occurred with identical twins.”
 
The Cleveland Clinic performed its first successful kidney transplant in 1963, in part due to the development of anti-rejection drugs, and in part because Willem Kolff, a doctor from the Netherlands, came to the Clinic in the 1950s with his dialysis machine.
 
Kolff’s original dialysis machines were made with a washing machine motor, a nose cone borrowed from NASA and peach cans. He perfected his machine at the Clinic. Dialysis made it possible to keep patients alive while they waited for a transplant. “A combination of medications and the Cleveland Clinic having dialysis machines made the program successful,” says Heyka.
 
In 1966, the Cleveland Clinic performed 126 kidney transplants. Additionally, Cleveland was one of the first cities to establish an independent organ procurement program in the late 1960s. The organization now is known as Lifebanc.
 
Today, the Clinic has transplanted more than 4,200 kidneys and is on track to perform 200 transplants this year. The Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute ranked second this year in U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Hospitals.
 
“All these things we take for granted now as standard and mass produced,” says Heyka. “When you get into it, it’s more inspiring when you hear about the people who did it first and the challenges they had to face.”

 
Writer: Karin Connelly
Source: Robert Heyka

Abeona Therapeutics, a small biotech startup company that develops therapies for lysomal storage diseases, earned the Global Gene’s Champion of Hope award, along with its partners, for its work in developing therapies for children with Sanfilippo Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.
 
Abeona, founded earlier this year in Cleveland as a spinoff of Columbus-based Nationwide Children’s Hospital, is developing two products that came out of research at Nationwide. ABX-A and ABX-B have the potential to cure Sanfilippo Syndrome.
 
Children with Sanfilippo are missing an essential enzyme for normal cellular function, causing toxins in their brains and bodies to cause severe disabilities. Symptoms often appear in the first year of life, causing progressive muscular and cognitive decline, and the disease is usually fatal by the early teens.
 
Current studies show that a single dose of Abeona’s treatments prompted cells to produce the missing enzymes and help repair the damage.
 
“What’s unique about this drug is that it’s a collaboration between Abeona, the hospital and eight international foundations to find a treatment for Sanfilippo Syndrome,” says Abeona president and CEO Tim Miller.
 
Abeona’s products are a result of 10 years of research done by Nationwide’s Haiyan Fu. Abeona is currently raising money to conduct phase I and II clinical trials in 2014. “One of the things that drew me to this company is the pre-clinical data for these drugs,” says Miller. “The life span is improved. If this transfers over to the kids I’ll be very excited.”
 
While there are no approved treatments for Sanfilippo Syndrome yet, Miller says a number of companies are working on therapies.

 
Source: Tim Miller
Writer: Karin Connelly
 

Researcher J. Mark Brown and his team at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have discovered a protein that might promote obesity and diabetes. Therefore, blocking that protein, called ABHD6, might prevent these diseases.

ABHD6 regulates the brain’s endocannabinoid system, which is involved in metabolism, cravings and hunger.
 
Brown discovered ABHD6’s role in fat storage while studying a mutation in a different protein in the same group, ABHD5. “Normally, fat is stored in triglyceride tissue,” Brown explains. “With abnormal ABHD5, fat is stored in every other cell in the body. In studying that we discovered a crucial breakdown in ABHD6 and we decided to study it.”
 
Brown conducted a study in mice to see how fat was stored in ABHD6, to see if it impacted type-2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease. He found that blocking the protein’s function had a direct impact on these diseases.
 
The research indicates that blocking function of ABHD6 in mice protects against all diseases driven by eating a high-fat diet. Further research could actually lead to a pill that would block ABHD6, and therefore prevent obesity.
 
Brown’s findings were published last week in the journal Cell Reports. “Our paper will be the first that shows the importance of the enzyme in regulating the way the body stores fat,” explains Brown, who has spent the past four years researching ABHD6.
 
“It’s hard to say if it would ever end up being a magic pill to cure obesity,” says Brown. “We look at it like a preventative measure. We’re really excited to move forward with it and conduct safety trials with humans. We know it works in mice, so it’s very important to translate our findings into human studies as quickly as we can.”

 
Source: J. Mark Brown
Writer: Karin Connelly

As a graphic designer, Brian Andrew Jasinski wanted a creative outlet to express himself outside of his work at Epstein Design Partners. So he started Grey Cardigan, which features a whimsical collection of Jasinski’s fine art prints and stationery.
 
Grey Cardigan debuted in summer 2009 at the annual Made in the 216 event. “Grey Cardigan was my need to return to my roots as a fine artist and illustrator,” says Jasinski, who earned his BFA at the Cleveland Institute of Art. ”It’s been growing and evolving ever since.”
 
Jasinski chose the name Grey Cardigan because of the symbolism. “It’s classic and iconic,” he says. “You can adapt it to your style -- very much like my work.” Jasinski’s work is sold at shops around town like the Banyan Tree in Tremont, as well as other boutiques around the country.
 
At the end of August, Jasinski nominated himself for Martha Stewart’s American Made competition, in which companies competed in six categories: technology, design, garden, food, style and audience choice. The winner receives $10,000, a trip for two to New York City to attend the American Made workshop, and a spread on Marthastewart.com. Jasinski entered in the design category.
 
The winner was decided on voting through social media. “I had a very aggressive social media campaign -- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter -- and I had an incredible amount of support,” Jasinski says.
 
Grey Cardigan was named a finalist in the design category. While he did not win the grand prize, Jasinski is pleased with the outcome. “Just being recognized in the top six is an honor,” he says. “And the tech finalist and I are talking about a collaboration; that’s a nice unexpected connection to make.”

 
Source: Brian Andrew Jasinski
Writer: Karin Connelly

Michael Seifert and Jake Fader have had a lifelong love of music. Seifert grew up in his father’s recording studio on E. 61st Street. “It was all I wanted to do growing up,” Seifert says of hanging out in the studio. “Jake is the opposite," Seifert says. "He had more formal training.” Fader has studied guitar since he was 14 and has performed around the world in various bands.
 
Both have experience in commercial production work on local and national levels. So, as friends and musicians working in Cleveland, Fader and Seifert decided to go into business together. They launched Bite Sized Creative, a full-service creative firm that operates out of Seifert’s 11-year-old recording studio, Ante Up Audio, on E. 38th Street in Tyler Village.
 
“Jake and I have a good dynamic and a lot of respect for each other’s work,” says Seifert.
 
Bite Sized Creative opened in April, and already the startup has landed some impressive gigs. Locally, they've worked on accounts for Wade Oval Wednesdays and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. Other clients include Target, Samsung and Microsoft.
 
They’ve also worked on soundtracks for movies. They produced more than 40 music cues for the documentary Running America. They produced more than a dozen original music pieces for the re-release of the classic movie The Outsiders.
 
Seifert describes Bite Sized Creative as taking a boutique approach to production work, providing custom music for soundtracks and other audio. “We have a very high quality product, not only locally but regionally, nationally and internationally,” Seifert says.
 
While Seifert and Fader are the only full-time employees at Bite Sized Creative, they do hire freelancers for bigger projects. “We’ve really been able to hire a lot of talent,” says Seifert. “We try to hire locally as much as possible. We both really love Cleveland and there’s a huge talent pool here.”

 
Source: Michael Seifert
Writer: Karin Connelly

NovelMed Therapeutics, a biotech company founded in 2003 that develops treatments for macular degeneration, announced that it has developed an antibody compound that is effective in treating wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and possibly the dry form of the disease as well. AMD affects more than two million people in the United States and is a leading cause of blindness among adults.

Two independent pre-clinical investigations showed that NovelMed's lead compound, an alternative pathway inhibitor, prevents wet-AMD. “We believe our technology inhibits the progression of AMD,” says Rekha Bansal, CEO and founder of NovelMed. “The animal data supports treatment for wet AMD. The compound could possibly treat the dry form as well, which accounts for 90 percent of the AMD market.”
 
Bansal says the therapy currently is in the manufacturing phase, with safety studies scheduled to begin next year and human clinical trials to start in late 2014.
 
“I think we are at the forefront in time with the potential to treat both wet and dry AMD,” says Bansal. “It’s the first treatment of its kind.”
 
Bansal is proud that this breakthrough is happening in Northeast Ohio. “This is a drug coming out of Cleveland for vision loss,” she says. “It’s going to be a great thing for Cleveland.”
 
NovelMed currently has four R&D positions open due to its recent growth.

 
Source: Rekha Bansal
Writer: Karin Connelly

When Terry Frick opened Frickaccio’s at the West Side Market in 2004, she began with the widely popular pizza bagels, a market staple for countless fans. The snacks even made an appearance on the Food Network when Jeff Mauro, aka The Sandwich King, stopped by Frickaccio’s last year to sample them.
 
Business went well, and soon Frick expanded into pizza dough balls. Frick offers more than 10 different flavors. She caters to the dietary needs of her customers, offering gluten free and even oil free varieties. The dough balls are such hot sellers that Frick now offers a variety of artisan breads, from pepperoni loaves to sourdough.
 
“I’ve always thought that bread is the staple of life,” explains Frick. “One misunderstanding about bread is that it’s quick and easy to make. But really good bread takes time to make.” In the past year Frick expanded her staff from three people to nine, including a professional breadsmith and a chef.
 
Last year, Frick opened a production shop in Fairview Park to keep up with increased volumes. “We offer a little bit of everything,” Frick says of the production center. Her selection includes the dough balls, the pizza bagels, breads and assorted pastas.
 
Frickaccio’s dough balls are now in four local grocery stores. Frick ships the pizza bagels nationwide and is considering launching a line of frozen products.
 
And Frick keeps it local. “I try to use all local stuff,” she says. “I have found that the best thing for supporting each other and networking is to use each other.”
 
Business continues to boom. Frick is in the process of expanding her stand at the West Side Market. Her latest endeavor includes launching a line of certified organic dough balls. She currently offers three varieties, using either their homemade organic yeast or organic yeast imported from Germany. Frickaccio’s has launched a Kickstarter campaign to expand the organic line, buy additional equipment and expand the staff.

 
Source: Terry Frick
Writer: Karin Connelly

NEOSA’s latest quarterly survey of 80 to 90 tech companies in Northeast Ohio reveals an industry that continues to be optimistic about future business growth and success in the region. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents reported business performance was good or very good for the second quarter of 2013.

Hiring expectations continued to be strong, with two thirds of the companies reporting that they planned to increase staff in the next year. “We’ve seen really high level of demand for more than two years,” says NEOSA director Brad Nellis. “There is no other two-year period where we’ve seen such high continued demand for talent.” NEOSA has conducted its quarterly survey since 2007.
 
However, the same companies that plan to increase staff also report having challenges in finding the talent they are looking for. Seventy percent reported having some difficulty or a hard time hiring, while only eight percent said they had no problems. The demand for IT talent in Northeast Ohio also is nothing new, says Nellis.
 
“We’re not seeing any let up in that demand,” says Nellis. “The unemployment rate across the country is below four percent.” He said plans are underway for a nationwide push to attract new and returning IT talent to the area. Global Cleveland, for instance, is planning a road show on the coasts to lure potential employees to Cleveland. “They are going to reach out to ex-pats and tell them about the great things going on here,” says Nellis.
 
However, despite the demand for talented employees, Nellis says the problem is not hindering the roughly 2,500 Northeast Ohio tech companies from succeeding in the marketplace. “It’s not a crippling problem,” he says. “They are still able to compete, they are still able to grow and get their products out the door.”

 
Source: Brad Nellis
Writer: Karin Connelly

"Failure" is a tough word, particularly for entrepreneurial types throwing so much of their lives into a venture that might go belly up within a few months. However, Paul McAvinchey, creator of TechPint, believes valuable lessons can be learned from disappointment.

Such is the theme of this fall's TechPint conference, a casual gathering for entrepreneurs and investors in Internet technology. Coordinator McAvinchey expects more than 250 of the region's most innovative tech pacesetters to attend the quarterly-held event taking place tonight (September 26) at Sterle’s Slovenian Country House. Speakers John Gadd of Hotcards.com, Kendall Wouters of Reach Ventures and Phil Brennan of Echogen Power Systems will touch on how businesses can bounce back from seemingly crushing setbacks.

"It's a fact that you must fail many times before you see success," says McAvinchey, who moved to Cleveland from County Tipperary, Ireland, in April 2012 to lead product innovation for MedCity Media. "If you're failing, that means you're trying. That's a good thing."

Even stories of tremendous achievement, like the billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram, began on a rocky road of risk and false starts, McAvinchey points out.

"Failure will work for you if you learn from it," he says.

The informal get-together is designed to connect the region's tech thinkers over a couple pints of beers, says McAvinchey. TechPint's moniker this month is "Techtoberfest," in appreciation of this suds-filled season of the year.

Autumn also is a time for scary stories, and attendees will hear a few frightening business-related tales at TechPint. "It's important to celebrate failure," McAvinchey says. "This is a way to bring positive attention to it."

 
SOURCE: Paul McAvinchey 
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Cleveland's economic leaders have worked hard to parade the city as a hub for innovation. A chance to further show off Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurial acumen is a driving force behind Shaker Heights accelerator LaunchHouse's sponsorship of Cleveland Entrepreneurship Week (Cleveland EW), an upcoming four­-day celebration of business success.

The event, scheduled for November 4-­8, was created to give entrepreneurs and investors the knowledge and resources to grow the Northeast Ohio business community, says LaunchHouse co-founder Todd Goldstein.

LaunchHouse will kick off Cleveland EW at its Shaker Heights headquarters by presenting the 11 technology startups participating in its Accelerator Program. The rest of the week will feature speakers and other events that give entrepreneurs from all over the country an opportunity to connect with potential financial backers as well as fellow businesspeople.

"We're giving them exposure to people they normally wouldn't meet," says Goldstein. "Meeting the right person can help turn a small business into a large business."

LaunchHouse pushing for the entrepreneurship event aligns with its mission of local job creation through seed capital, education and innovation, notes Goldstein. With Cleveland striving to be on the forefront of the new economy, an event like Cleveland EW can put the area in a positive national spotlight.

"We've worked to change how Northeast Ohio is viewed in terms of entrepreneurship," Goldstein says. "This [event] is about showcasing the region as a place of innovation and capital formation."

 
SOURCE: Todd Goldstein
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
 

Micro-lending organization Bad Girl Ventures (BGV) wants Cleveland to connect with the next generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners. That hopefully beautiful friendship will begin on Thursday, October 3, when BGV Cleveland hosts its kickoff event introducing the 10 finalists of its fall business plan competition.

The 10 women will present themselves at Battery Park Wine Bar, pitching their ideas to an audience before embarking on BGV's nine-week course to help tweak their fledgling enterprises. The final class will be in mid-November, with the winner of BGV's $25,000 low-interest loan announced during a "graduation ceremony" the following month.

Financing and mentorship are just two of the benefits for program participants, says Reka Barabas, director of BGV Cleveland.

"Networking is a huge motivating factor for them," she says. "These women are not just sitting in a stuffy classroom, but extending their professional network."

This autumn's class represents a wide range of industries and specialty areas. There's a children's party bus, granola bar company, match-making business, and more.

BGV Cleveland offers business education courses and financing twice per year to help women-owned startups launch, manage and market their businesses. In May, custom cake baker Sugar Plum Cake Company earned the business group's $25,000 loan. Two other ventures -- Journey Art Gallery  and The Agrarian Collective  -- each received $5,000 loans from a private giving circle. 

"We're exposing these businesses to as many resources as possible," says Barabas. "There's a huge value in that."

 
SOURCE: Reka Barabas
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

JumpStart’s Burton D. Morgan Foundation Mentoring Program offers young companies a little additional insight into running a successful business. Each participating startup is assigned between one and four mentors.

“It really depends on the stage the company is at and what their needs are,” says Anthony Hughes, director of the program. “No one mentor is going to have all the skill sets needed as these companies take their ideas to fruition.”
 
Companies do have to be involved with JumpStart to enroll. Currently, 38 mentors are involved in the program and they have assisted 33 companies since it was launched in March of 2012. The program currently has 21 companies active.
 
“The companies have generated or raised $2.9 million in capital," says Hughes. "Startups with access to mentors and advisers are seven times more likely to raise capita and three and a half times as likely to gain customers. We are responsible for creating serial entrepreneurs and polishing the diamonds in this ecosystem. They’re really flying blind without access to people who have been there, done that.”
 
The mentors come from virtually every industry and background -- from Fortune 500 companies to venture capitalists, to leaders of nationally-know startups. “We’ll entertain anyone, but through a stringent evaluation process. We use mentors who are experienced and knowledgeable,” says Hughes. “Mentors are invitation-only. We’re not trying to be elitists or exclusive.”

 
Source: Anthony Hughes
Writer: Karin Connelly