NEOinc » Lorain

Innovation Fund Announces Investments in Six Technology Start-Up Companies

NEOinc — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:00:39 +0000

In the latest round of awards, the Innovation Fund, administered by the Lorain County Community College Foundation, is investing $300,000 in six Northeast Ohio based technology start-up companies. Funds from Ohio’s Third Frontier Program combined with matching local support and contributions from a variety of partners are used to make the Innovation Fund awards. These partners and collaborators include: the Ohio Department of Development, the University of Akron, Youngstown State University, the Youngstown Business Incubator, the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE), JumpStart, Techlift and the Lorain County Commissioners.

The Innovation Fund advances the strategy to grow our own businesses and jobs in the region. “In this our seventh round of funding, we continued to be impressed with depth and quality of entrepreneurial ideas that are emerging from our region,” noted Lorain County Community College President Dr. Roy A. Church. “Including this round, the Fund has invested more than $2 million in 30 companies located in NE Ohio”

The Fund is seeding the development of new technology-based industries in Northeast Ohio that represent the jobs of the future. The fund supports Ohio’s overall strategy for technology-based economic development as evidenced by the Ohio Department of Development strategic plan. These Innovation Fund awards help to fill the funding need for businesses that are at the earliest stage of development, the difficult point in a business’s growth before they are mature enough to attract angel investors and venture capitalists.

There are two types of awards within the Innovation Fund: the first is a grant of up to $25,000 to help validate the technology; and the second is a pre-seed grant of up to $100,000, which requires a one-to-one match, and is designed to help validate the business concept.

The six Innovation Fund Awards announced today are:

TheraVasc - Cleveland, Ohio – $100,000

TheraVasc is developing a business based on new novel therapies for peripheral artery disease (PAD),a chronic disorder associated with reduced blood flow to the extremities that affects millions of people across the world.

Absorbent Materials Co. – Wooster, Ohio – $100,000

Absorbent Materials is developing a new class of patent-protected, organosilica glass polymers called OSORB – which instantaneously swells to greater than three times its dry volume in non-polar solvents. As a result, it shows great promise as the material to clean hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater and also to remediate toxic waste.

BizVeo – Youngstown, Ohio – $25,000

BizVeo is developing a web based education and training tool that utilizes streaming video accompanied with competency based testing.

Rapid Charge Technologies - Cleveland, Ohio – $25,000

Rapid Charge Technologies will further develop and commercialize rapid charging technology for lead acid batteries that is based on patented technology created and tested at the University of Georgia Technology. This technology holds the promise of allowing lead acid batteries to be charged in minutes, not hours, and dramatically extend battery life.

Citizen Groove – Cleveland, Ohio – $25,000

Citizen Groove is developing an innovative, patent-pending, digital music organization system to first enhance all artists networking capabilities, second, to create an easy-to-use music discovery engine for music listeners, and third, to enable the aggregation and supply of critical music market data to industry professionals.

Sooth, Inc. – Beachwood, Ohio – $25,000

Sooth isdeveloping technology that automates computer network management to provide a less costly, more stable and secure network.

About the LCCC Foundation Innovation Fund

Contributions to the Innovation Fund are fully tax deductible as a result of a landmark ruling by the IRS. Realizing the potential risks to a foundation’s tax-exempt status for supporting incubator activities, the LCCC Foundation submitted a special request to the IRS seeking permission to accept charitable contributions that would be used for the purposes of the Innovation Fund. In January of 2006, the LCCC Foundation received a positive ruling, a groundbreaking decision applicable only to the LCCC Foundation and is the only one of its kind in the nation.

To date the Innovation Fund has received generous support from a variety of partners and the local community. In 2007, the State of Ohio made a major investment of $400,000 through the Ohio Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Support Program. Additional investments were made by the State: in 2008 in the amount of $500,000; in 2009 in the amount of $1.5 million. The Third Frontier Project is the state’s largest-ever commitment to expanding Ohio’s high-tech research capabilities and promoting innovation and company formation that will create high-paying jobs for generations to come.

The Innovation Fund focuses on technology opportunities in Ohio’s five high growth industries. It is a regional fund, providing support across Northeast Ohio’s 21 counties to help great technology ideas develop into viable businesses and thus create jobs in the region.

Recipients of Innovation Fund awards agree to provide an educational experience in entrepreneurship for a student – allowing the student to walk side by side with the entrepreneur without taking on the risk.

The application process for the Innovation Fund is completely web-based. Applicants are able to submit an application through the fund’s website. Upon submission, GLIDE and its regional partners representing a network of industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors employ a thorough due diligence process to assess both the technology and the business potential.

For more information about the LCCC Foundation Innovation Fund or to apply, please visit www.lorainccc.edu/if

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – May 2009 Recap

NEOinc — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:06:14 +0000

Cleveland sports may not be working out the way we had hoped here in early June, but the economic development activities in our region certainly seem to be bearing fruit.

At the Team NEO Economic Development Impact Awards last week, ten awards were handed out recognizing various organizations and initiatives for their positive economic impact our our region. Here’s a recap of the winners in the various categories:

Asset Creation: Akron’s BioInnovation Institute
Business Attraction: Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber
Business Expansion: Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.
Business Retention: City of Akron, Greater Akron Chamber, County of Summit, Summit County Port Authority
Foreign Investment: Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County
Fostering Entrepreneurship: Lorain County Community College Foundation
Marketing Cleveland Plus: Cohen & Co.
Minority Business Development: City of Lakewood & LakewoodAlive
Public-Private Partnership: Maple Street Commerce LLC. City of North Canton, and Stark Development Board
Workforce Development: Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Center of Cuyahoga Community College

After about the forth or fifth award, I lost count of all the jobs created, millions of dollars invested, and businesses attracted. Rest assured it was an impressive total.

Three things really stuck out during the awards. First – the overall coverage of the region by the winners. From Youngstown to Lorain; from Ashtabula to Canton, great things are happening all over the place. Second – many of the winners were collaborations themselves, providing examples to others on how to partner and accomplish great things. Finally – the list above is simply the recognized winner in each category. For all ten categories, there were another 2-3 finalists in the running (and easily another fifty or so overall submissions).

There is a lot of positive change happening in the region, particularly around entrepreneurial activities and economic development. NEOinc follows several regional blogs reporting on these topics. Sometimes the posts shine a spotlight nationally (or internationally) on the region. Every month we publish a short list of some of the stories we’ve noticed that embody the spirit of achievement, growth and change in our region.

Congratulations to all the winners, finalists and everyone submitting an entry. In the spirit of Team NEO’s awards, congratulations to our region for recognizing the great work we’ve all done over the past year. Now, let’s look at what happened last month.

Reflective of the Team NEO awards, this month’s recap is all over the region and state, and definitely highlights job creation, collaboration and economic development of all types. Here then is NEOinc’s May recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

May ‘09 Recap

This list certainly isn’t meant to be exhaustive, merely a representative sample of some of the more positive articles we saw throughout the month. We want to hear from you too! Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts with us here at NEOinc and our other readers. Come on, you know you want to.

We’re also looking for other blogs to follow that report on positive entrepreneurship and economic development activities throughout Northeast Ohio. You can review the list below of the blogs we currently follow. Please post any additional recommendations via the comment box at the end of this post.

NEOinc’s blog reports regularly on entrepreneurial activities within the region, news and successes within the five incubators making up our collaborative, and resources available throughout Northeast Ohio. If you found this post useful, please consider subscribing to our blog. Our “Connect With Us” page will give you all the information you need to subscribe via your RSS reader or receive E-Mail updates.

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech – NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – April 2009 Recap

NEOinc — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:46:38 +0000

It’s mid-May and Cleveland basketball is still being played, so “positive change” is definitely underway! Here’s two eight more “W’s”!

After a couple months that were a bit light on the positive news, there was lots to choose from in April. What was maybe most surprising were many articles about significant capital and job influxes coming into Ohio and Northeast Ohio. 250 jobs here, $14M of investment there, and all of a sudden things aren’t looking so bad after all.

Lastly, if you are a entrepreneur looking for funding for a product-based business, you have until Noon, Friday the 15th to take advantage of the Cuyahoga County New Product Development and Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, administered by MAGNET. Long term, low interest loans of $15K, $40K and $60K are available through this competitive program. Details, documents and contacts are all available online.

Here is NEOinc’s April recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

April ‘09 Recap

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech – NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

New Product funding round just announced

NEOinc — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:03:46 +0000

Do you need funding to help develop a new product or know someone who does? If so, MAGNET has loan funding that helps entrepreneurs or small businesses bring their ideas to reality.

MAGNET administers the New Product Development and Entrepreneurship Program, Product Innovation Loan Fund on behalf of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development. In the last four years, the fund has provided over $3.5 million for new product development in NE Ohio and $500,000 in additional funds are now available. Results of the program have been outstanding with loan recipients attracting over $18 million in additional investment, generating almost $9 million in revenue through the sales of over 330,000 product units, and creating 124 jobs.

The process is competitive. Applicants will have their submissions reviewed and approved by a committee consisting of local business leaders, venture capitalists, designers, entrepreneurs and representatives from Cuyahoga County. Applications for the current funding round are being accepted with a submission deadline of NOON EDT on Friday, May 15, 2009. Loans of up to $115,000 can be made in phased increments ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 depending upon how much development has already been completed and what remains to be done.

The loans have an interest rate of 3.5%. There are no interest or principal payments for the first three years after disbursement. Small companies of less than $50 million in sales as well as entrepreneurs can use this money to fund their product development process for such activities as market research, patent services, industrial design, engineering and prototyping efforts. Software development companies are also eligible.

Full details of the program along with application forms are available at http://www.magnetwork.org/programs/cuyahoga-loan-fund.htm.

If you have further questions you can contact Barbara Paul by phone at 216-432-5322, or by email at barbara.paul@magnetwork.org

PS If you don’t need funding yourself we’d appreciate it if you help publicize this opportunity through your network. Thanks.

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – March 2009 Recap

NEOinc — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:06:49 +0000

Maybe it’s the Cavs, maybe it’s the Spring weather (come on, it was just two days of snow), but things are starting to feel like they’re looking up. With a two week Wall Street rally and the beginnings of optimism, perhaps the worst is behind us.

While the entrepreneurial spirit continues to run high and NEOinc incubators have seen no shortage of innovation over the winter, we would particularly like to recognize the growing student entrepreneur movement. Colleges and universities throughout NE Ohio are embracing entrepreneurship through education, programs and competitions. NEOinc, along with it’s partners, continues to be impressed by the quality of the business concepts and the professionalism of the students.

In particular, the recent LauncTtown finals event, held this year at Baldwin Wallace, saw eight student entrepreneur teams present their concepts. The LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards competition is an annual event open to students of any Northeast Ohio four-year college. Students, individually, or in 2-5 person teams, submit a 5-10 page essay describing their idea for a new business, product, or service. The best ideas shared $10,000 in cash prizes, including a $5,000 grand prize, and over $30,000 in business services to help bring their ideas and concepts to reality.

Participating universities and members of the sponsoring Entrepreneurship Education Consortium include John Carroll University, University of Akron, Kent State University, Baldwin Wallace College and Ashland University. Other schools participating in the 2009 open competition included Hiram College, Youngstown State University, Oberlin College, The College of Wooster, Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, Walsh University, Cleveland Institute of Music and Lake Erie College.

Every student participating in the event is a winner and all the business concepts had merit. NEOinc congratulates Citizen Groove, this year’s winner of the LaunchTown event. Before we get to this month’s positive news, here’s a short video describing Citizen Groove’s concept (video developed by the student entrepreneurs).

Here is NEOinc’s March recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

March ‘09 Recap

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech – NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – February 2009 Recap

NEOinc — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:10:41 +0000

Reports from Indians training camp on the news… “Intriguing” Brown’s trade rumors… Cav’s are headed (positive thinking) to the NBA Finals…

All three can only mean one thing: Spring is just around the corner. While NE Ohio weather supports this notion one day, and denies it the next, both the calendar and the sports report confirm that Opening Day, an NBA title and daffodils can’t be too far away! So in that spirit of rebirth, growth, and a little positive thinking, we offer the February positive change recap.

Here is NEOinc’s February recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

February ‘09 Recap

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech – NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – January 2009 Recap

NEOinc — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:49:41 +0000

Happy New Year!

…and “good riddance” to 2008 many are saying. While there’s little comfort in the uncertainty before us, the symbolism of a fresh start associated with the new year was certainly welcome. Granted, even our rose-colored glasses are becoming a bit tarnished these days, and the recap seems to get shorter every month, but there are bright spots and individuals, organizations, and officials trying to head us in the right direction. The foundation they are building will set us up for greater success not if, but when the recovery happens.

Here is NEOinc’s January recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

January ‘09 Recap

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech – NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

Regional Entreprenreurial Calendar

NEOinc — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:28:02 +0000

If you’ve been on the NEOinc site lately, you probably noticed our new addition: a Regional Entrepreneurial Calendar.

Any page you are on, whether it’s the home page or a blog post, will have the next five upcoming events listed in an “Upcoming Events” window on the left-hand side. The full calendar can be viewed on it’s own page, accessible from the top menu. The calendar is fully interactive and offers a number of ways to interact with both the calendar and individual events. We think you’ll find two aspects of the calendar particularly useful:

The calendar has it’s own RSS feed. Subscribe to the feed and you’ll automatically get updates in your feed reader whenever we add events to the calendar.
You can easily add events of interest to your own personal calendar. When viewing the calendar, simply check the box next to the event you are interested in, then click the “Add to my Calendar” button at the top of the calendar. Multiple calendar formats are supported, including Outlook, Yahoo and Google.

NEOinc would like to thank MAGNET for hosting the calendar. It is actually a subset of MAGNET’s comprehensive Regional Datebook, listing events of interest from around the region.

While NEOinc member incubators regularly host events of interest to entrepreneurs, we know our events are just the tip of the iceberg. If you have an event of interest to entrepeneurs, and would like it included in the NEOinc Regional Entrepreneurial Calendar, send details of your event to:

Lynne Brakeman (MAGNET)
lynne.brakeman@magnetwork.org

Please include as much detail as possible about your event, making sure to include the event’s contact person, website and registration link (if available).

NEOinc is pleased to provide this calendar of events to our region’s entrepreneurs, partners and support organizations. We hope you find it valuable and take the time to contribute your events.

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – December 2008 Recap

NEOinc — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:02:28 +0000

I think it’s fair to say that no one was particularly upset bidding farewell to 2008. What a year!

The winds of change are blowing however, and NEOinc continues to see positive entrepreneurial activity throughout the region. Incoming requests for assistance for all our member incubators remains strong. Cuyahoga County kicked off a new support program for high potential technology startups. VC and investment activity is still strong, albeit perhaps a bit more cautious, with most investors telling us to continue bringing them good opportunities.

So while the list of news items below is perhaps not as long as usual, NEOinc and all it’s partner organizations remain very optimistic about the state of Northeast Ohio entrepreneurship.

Here is NEOinc’s December recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

December ‘08 Recap

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech – NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.

Positive Change in Northeast Ohio – November 2008 Recap

NEOinc — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:00:23 +0000

Between the temperature drop and the snow on the ground it’s safe to say our Indian Summer is over and we are making the turn toward winter. NEOinc wishes you and yours a safe, healthy and joyous holiday season.

The current economic climate is challenging to say the least, and positive news, let alone positive change, has been in scarcer supply than months past. However, it is said “you find what you look for” and there are still plenty of bright spots to report this month. In particular, a number of regional entrepreneurs either launched their businesses or received significant funding.

Here is NEOinc’s November recap of the articles we feel speak to the growth and positive change that is happening quietly, every day, in our region.

November ‘08 Recap

Sources

NEOinc watches the following regional blogs. Please use our “Contact Us” page, or the comment box below, to recommend a blog not on the list.

Advance Northeast Ohio – the online home of our region’s economic action plan, which was inspired by Voices & Choices. Learn about the actions our region is taking to grow our economy and engage in conversations that shape the plan and evaluate our performance.
Brewed Fresh Daily- topical, wide-ranging, and sometimes irreverant, George Nemeth’s blog is a clearinghouse for the pulse of Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Plain Dealer’s business blog
Crain’s Cleveland
NorTech - NorTech leads the region’s technology based economic development agenda. By supporting and nurturing Northeast Ohio’s most promising technology projects and initiatives, they help to create new technology industries and make the region ’s economy more globally-competitive.
Ohio Means Business – The OBDC blog is a chance for Ohio executives to share their perspective on how locating in Ohio has enabled them to achieve both their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other.