As the owner of a small consulting firm, James Gasparatos knows all too well the struggles of running a small business, including promoting the company and finding the right talent among other things. The challenges gave Gasparatos the idea to start Gigfinity, an interactive website designed to help small and mid-size Cleveland businesses connect with customers, promote their companies and find local talent. The site also allows job seekers to peruse and apply for jobs with Gigfin... Read more >

El Futuro de Cleveland, a collaboration between Global Cleveland, Esperanza, Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE), and Cleveland Leadership Center’s (i)Cleveland hopes to retain local Latino talent in Northeast Ohio by offering paid internships to college students.
 
“The mission is to support the rich diversity of the Greater Cleveland Latino community and ensure it grows and thrives,” says Global Cleveland’s Elizabeth Hijar. The... Read more >

Intern in Ohio launched last week, connecting thousands of employers and students in internship opportunities across the state. The matching program, which was created by Detroit-based Digerati and sponsored by the University of Toledo, is free to both students and employers.
 
Intern in Ohio uses Digerati's matching algorithm -- called Classroom to Career -- to match participants based on their skills, interests and requirements. The program saves employers time ... Read more >

Two years ago, Matt Benton and his partner Jeremy Amos had an idea for adding social media to the college search process. So they quit their jobs doing investment work at KeyBank to develop College with Friends, a free mobile app that allows users to build a list of schools and see where their friends are going.

“It’s a way of saying, 'Hey, I want to go to Ohio State; who else wants to go there?'" says Benton. "The ma... Read more >

When Tom Nolan was at South by Southwest (SXSW) last year, he was moved by the startup companies on the stage during the business accelerator. “It was inspiring to see the companies go and pitch their hearts out with something they’ve been working on for months and years,” Nolan says. “I remember sitting in the audience and I had the idea for Plotter and I thought, ‘I’m going to go home and work on it.'"
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JumpStart recently invested $250,000 in Casentric, a Shaker Heights developer of a cloud-based software-as-a-service application to help insurance companies resolve property and injury claims quickly and fairly. CaseXpert streamlines the information needed to resolve a claim by integrating liability, injury and medical reports into one, making the adjuster’s job easier and un-biased.

“This tool helps insurance companies resolve their cases more accurately and ... Read more >

In 1960, the late Keeva J. Kekst founded ka architecture in his attic, where he designed apartment buildings. Today, under the third generation of ownership, ka architecture is behind the designs of some of Northeast Ohio’s newest and most prominent structures, including the Horseshoe Casino in Public Square and the new Eaton Corporation world headquarters in Beachwood.
 
“We’re pretty proud that we’re still around and we’ve weathered thi... Read more >

Motorcycle enthusiasts who want to take to the open road for an afternoon will be able to rent a BMW motorcycle through Eagle Rider Cleveland BMW, starting April 1. The company, a spinoff of Sill’s Motor Sales on Brookpark Road, will rent out six BMW motorcycles in four models, including the new BMW scooter and BMW’s top-of-the-line model with all the bells and whistles.
 
Customers can rent the bikes for a day or longer, or even do a one-way rental and dr... Read more >

Last week at the 2013 Movers and Shakers Awards, the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club honored 25 area professionals under the age of 35 who are active in their communities. The event was held at Ariel International Center.
 
The up-and-coming leaders were honored for their work as volunteers or board members in the communities and businesses they are involved in. The keynote speaker was Jonathon Sawyer, chef-owner of Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat.
 
Sa... Read more >

Bizdom and the Shaker LaunchHouse Accelerator (LHX) program each received $200,000 from the Third Frontier Ohio’s New Entrepreneurs (ONE) Fund to invest in a total of 20 startups. The two are the only business accelerators in Ohio to receive the funding.

While Bizdom’s program focuses on software and web opportunities in healthcare, consumer finance, real estate, entertainment, sports, online marketing and gaming, the LHX program centers on technology, interne... Read more >

A team of Cleveland Clinic researchers have found that regular screening for Lynch Syndrome, the top genetic cause of adult colon cancer, can significantly reduce the occurrence of subsequent cancers. Researchers screened all colorectal cancers surgically removed at the Clinic for Lynch Syndrome and referred those who tested positive to genetic counselors.

Lynch Syndrome affects patients at an early age and often leads to multiple colorectal cancers. Women are additionall... Read more >

Expedient and Fast Switch are bringing their Tech Strategy event to Northeast Ohio. Started in 2007 in Columbus by Fast Switch, the Tech Strategy events are relaxed invitation-only networking events between senior level IT executives and promising technology startup companies.

Expedient got on board as a co-sponsor soon after the group’s inception, and now the two companies brought the concept to 70 attendees at Lockkeepers in Independence o... Read more >

Startup Weekend is returning to Cleveland March 8-10 at the 5th Street Arcades. An event that originated in Seattle, Startup Weekends occur all over the world and are designed to get people with the entrepreneurial bug together to pitch ideas, form teams to hash the ideas out and potentially form companies.

 
The event has not been held in Cleveland since 2009, but thanks to the efforts of Hyland Software employees Ryan Marimon and Brian Adams, it&rsquo... Read more >

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, which supports entrepreneurship education and programming in Northeast Ohio, awarded a $1 million grant to JumpStart last week for an entrepreneurial mentoring program over the next three years.

“Our goal is to reach aspiring entrepreneurs by using the talent and time of the mentors to help these businesses move along with their plans,” explains Deborah D. Hoover, Burton D. Morgan Foundation CEO and president.
&nb... Read more >

Dan Malz is a science guy and a rum aficionado who always dreamed of making his own rum. Three years ago over a pint of Guinness, that dream was on the way to becoming a reality. That's when Malz and his three business partners, John Marek, Keith Sutton and Matthew Zappernick, founded Portside Distillery, Cleveland’s first distillery since Prohibition.
 
Portside Distillery produces small-batch artisan spirits and craft beers from its lakeside location on W.... Read more >

Venture for America, a non-profit group that places new college grads in startup companies, is coming to Cleveland. The New York-based organization focuses on placing new college grads in jobs at startups in cities with a low cost of living and in the process of revitalization.

“The goal is to create young entrepreneurs,” explains VFA vice president of corporate development Mike Tarullo. “Too many of our best and brightest are going into big firms and to... Read more >

The city of Beachwood already is home to 2,500 businesses, and the city has long taken pride in providing services and amenities that make the city an attractive place to locate. Now Beachwood is launching a grant program to further entice new businesses and encourage existing businesses to expand.
 
The Job Creation Incentive Grant Program offers annual grant payments to companies. The payments are based on a percentage of payroll withholding taxes generated by new j... Read more >

For the second year in a row, Amplified Wind Solutions competed in the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge. This year the company won $10,000 and a trip to Chicago for a chance to win $100,000 in the Midwest competition.

Amplified Wind Solutions has designed a wind amplification system that can produce up to six times more electricity than a typical wind turbine. The company is targeting the telecommunications industry.
 
AWS CEO and co-founder Niki Zmij ha... Read more >