Soapbox - Innovation + Startup News

Area high school students earn college credit with video distance learning

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Students at 10 Cincinnati area high schools are earning college credit through a new dual enrollment program at the University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering and Applied Science.

It's the first step in a wider plan that will allow incoming UC engineering majors to complete their freshmen year of college before high school graduation.

The dual credit program grew out of a longer collaboration between CEAS and area schools that started in 2007. That's when CEAS began offering an introduction to engineering course to high school seniors. The course is offered through an educational video platform called Mediasite, which is designed specifically for educational use.

That collaboration started with four schools—Harrison, Mother of Mercy, Mt. Notre Dame and Princeton high schools—and now more than 13 participate (howerver, not all offer the dual credit option). The 2012-2013 school year was the first that students could take courses for credit at UC, says College of Engineering Academic Director Eugene Rutz.

Not all students take the class for dual credit, but out of the 500 who did, about 140 of them earned credit, Rutz says.

UC faculty and the high school teachers work together to deliver the course. UC provides lessons via videos, which students can watch from home. In the classroom, high school teachers assign projects that require students to find solutions to questions by creating an engineering-based solution that builds on what they learn in the videos.

"They build a prototype for the solution, test it, report it and defend," says Rutz. "There's a verbal presentation of it as well."

During the school year, students complete several projects—some could take a week, some could take a month. The focus is on applied learning.

"This is a course that helps students see and appreciate why they learn math and science," Rutz says. "They are also learning critical thinking, and that there are multiple ways to solve problems."

CEAS plans to add more high schools to the program next year, and add an additional engineering course, says Rutz.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Kenton County School District applies to be District of Innovation

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The Kenton County School District is one of 17 districts across Kentucky applying to become a "District of Innovation," whic is a new designation that allows districts to waive some established education statutes. It's part of an effort to push educational boundaries and reimagine education.

State lawmakers enacted the innovation program in 2012, and school districts should know if their applications have been approved by early June.

If approved, Kenton County could speed up work already begun through its Kenton County Academies of Technology and Innovation, where high school students study informatics, media arts and the biomedical sciences in-depth. This is the Academies' first year.

If approved, the district could move more quickly to allow students to do more work outside of the classroom, including internships and project-based learning, without asking for state waivers, says Superintendent Terri Cox-Cruey.

"Some of what we're doing was not envisioned when the statues were written—for instance, project-based learning is based more on demonstrating mastery of a subject than sitting in a seat for a certain number of hours," she says.

The district has 18 schools, including three high schools. Next year, two of the academies of innovation will be at the former J.D. Patton Career and Technical Center in Edgewood. The remaining two will be at Simon Kenton High School and Dixie Heights High School. It's expected that 400 high schoolers will be accepted into the academies this year through an application process.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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NKY students win scholarships to Gateway through new UpTech program

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Three Northern Kentucky high school students won scholarships to Gateway Community and Technical College through an innovative new UpTech program that challenges students to apply advanced manufacture learning through competition.

Eleven Kenton County high schoolers competed for the scholarship earlier this month. Competitors were sophomores and juniors who have been taking college courses while still in high school. The scholarship pays for up to 24 credit hours at Gateway.

UpTech is a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, e-zone and Vision 2015. The intense, six-month accelerator program includes $100,000 in funding.

This latest scholarship program reaches into the advanced manufacturing area, which is a strong source of Northern Kentucky job growth. Called mUpTech, the program seeks out area talent at the high school level, and encourages learning through competition and college aid.

"mUpTech, was born out of our region’s need to stimulate interest and innovation in our manufacturing industry,” says UpTech co-founder Casey Barach. “Over the last 12 years, over 300 companies have used the e-zone, and only three were in the manufacturing industry.”

This year, all competing students came from the newly developed Kenton County School District’s Academy of Innovation and Technology. The high school houses six academics that focus on real world learning, including biomedical sciences, engineering and high performance production technology.

As part of their learning, academy students must complete and present a project related to their learning. Divided into two-person teams (one student competed alone), students from the high performance production technology academy presented their projects and participated in the mUpTech competition. It was held at the Gateway Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

Winners were juniors Matt Flanagan and Austin Ernst, who developed a speedy tractor lift, and sophomore Wendy Webster, who created a window heater.

"Their families were really floored," says Academy director Francis O'Hara. "This will be a life-changing experience for them."

mUpTech’s partners include Gateway Community and Technical College, Tri-ED, ezone, Vision 2015, UpTech and Duke Energy Foundation. Plans in the next year are to expand the program into Boone and Campbell counties, and to include more of the region's advanced manufacturing business community in judging, Barach says.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Retrocentric creates pin-up army

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Lovers of WWII-era Americana should kick off their shoes and bop to this news: Retrocentric, a boutique that offers the combination of professional salon and photography sessions, also celebrates the glamorous pin-up styles of yesteryear.

The business' all-female staff works to ensure customers, non-models especially, are completely comfortable. All of its “retrofitted” photo sessions include selections from a classic pin-up wardrobe themed around clothing that was popular in the American Midwest during World War II, along with hair and makeup by Eros Salon.

Founded by Sailor Gruzleski, Retrocentric will be celebrating its first year in Cincinnati later this summer. To help commemorate that achievement, the Retrocentric team is selling a 2013 charity calendar called “Pin ups for Pound Pups.” Featuring pin up girls with rescue dogs from local shelters, the proceeds will benefit Cincinnati’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Living historians like the Retrocentric team help preserve the rosier side of turbulent times in America. While most able-bodied men were overseas, the ingenuity and strength of the women left behind helped stabilize the homestead. By taking on jobs typically held by men, Gruzleski says, women found unique ways to preserve their delicacy and femininity while still struggling under society’s wartime duress. It's an important cultural footnote that's shadowed by the glamorous eye candy of Retrocentric’s portfolio.

Eros Salon (featured at Bridalrama) is open for non-pin up related appointments inside Retrocentric.

By Sean Peters

Band artist Lindsay Nehls mixes art, photography

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

It’s a good thing for everyone involved when artists find their niche. In Lindsay Nehls’ case, the Cincinnati music community provides the perfect home for her artwork.

Poster illustration and photography have been her chief projects as a commissioned artist. There’s a psychedelic joyousness to her drawings, which lends itself well to some of the bands she’s worked with. SHADOWRAPTR, her first album art client, recently released “Love a Good Mystery.” Nehls’ cover art is a mixture of hand-illustrated and digital art, a fitting accompaniment to SHADOWRAPTR’s jazzy, experimental rock music that, like Nehls’ work, is beyond convenient classification.

Nehls has worked with a number of other musicians, including locals like The Happy Maladies, Gorges, Whitfield Crocker and Majestic Man and Chicago’s Zamin.

Nehls works out of her garage, which is heated by a potbelly stove in the winter. She’s currently working to master screenprinting, since T-shirt designs go hand in hand with album cover art. Nehls wants to be able to be a one-stop shop for bands.

Some of her fine art illustrations are available on Tumblr, which serves as her primary online portfolio.

By Sean Peters

dunnhumby, AAF Cincinnati start Cincinnati Digital Dialogue

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A new partnership between the American Advertising Federation Cincinnati and dunnhumbyUSA is setting the stage for the city's first consumer-focused digital marketing conference.

D2, or Cincinnati Digital Dialogue, will be held Sept. 11 and 12 at the Horseshoe Casino downtown. The conference will focus on putting consumers at the center of digital marketing and business planning.

"If the customer is not at the center of your marketing, then what is?" says dunnhumbyUSA Executive Vice President of Communications and Media Matt Nitzberg. "I think people can get caught up in technology and technique because of the interesting things that can be done. But the techniques that will work are the ones that will connect with customers."

Digital marketing through websites, social media and video has been more accessible and available than ever. And businesses large and small are using digital media to promote their brands to varying levels of success. The conference will help businesses and agencies focus those efforts to their particular customers.

"This is for professionals who want to put the consumer at the center of their digital marketing strategy," Nitzberg says. "It's for everyone, from the big retailer to the small ad agency."

The conference is a good fit for the Queen City, which has the highest per-capita concentration of branding professionals in the world. It's home to P&G, to the largest consumer goods manufacturer; Kroger, the country's largest supermarket retailer; and Macy's, the country's largest department store chain.

Organizers will spend the summer ironing out conference details, including speakers, session topics and registration information. To stay updated on the latest news, or for more information on speaker and sponsor packages, go to www.d2cincinnati.com or follow D2 Cincinnati on Twitter @d2Cincinnati #d2Cincy.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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'Big idea challenge' offers rewards for innovative solutions

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Part crowd-sourcing, part-buzz-generating and all focused on civic progress and innovation, the Greater Cincinnati's Foundation's freshly launched "The Big Idea Challenge" guarantees funding for big ideas with community support and the potential for high impact.

Envisioned as a way to engage the broader community in problem-solving and program development, the Challenge offers a public platform for anyone with an idea that could make the city a more vibrant and healthy place. Online submissions answering the question, "What's your Big Idea for a more prosperous Greater Cincinnati?" will be accepted from June 3 through July 29. In August, the field will be narrowed to 21 finalists; in September, public voting will determine the winners in each of seven categories.

"This is a groundbreaking way for one of the largest funders in our region to connect with the entire community," says Elizabeth Edwards, CEO of Metro Innovation and founder of Cincinnati Innovates. Her web platform, CrowdSpark, which hosts the Challenge. She's also part of the Big Idea Brain Trust, local thought-leaders who helped shape and refine the project with Greater Cincinnati Foundation leaders.

GCF is looking for ideas that will impact Cincinnati in one or more of seven categories:
• Strong Communities
• Cultural Vibrancy
• Job Creation
• Environmental Stewardship
• Educational Success
• Health & Wellness
• Economic Opportunity

The application process is streamlined — applicants, aged 18 and up, need only submit their contact information, a title, a 140-character description (great for Twitter) and a 2,000-character detailed description. Applicants whose ideas are chosen as winners will receive cash prizes; then, GCF will award $5,000 grants to area non-profits with the capacity to implement the winning "Big Ideas." One overall "Big Idea" will add a $50,000 grant to a complementary non-profit's coffers to "kickstart" the implementation of the idea.

By Elissa Yancey
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Arcade Legacy a destination for gamers

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Arcade Legacy is a mecca for gamers, with more than 68 arcade machines ready to be played and no quarters needed. Gamers can pay at hourly or monthly rates. Arcade Legacy also buys, sells and trades pretty much anything that has to do with gaming and movies.

Old-school and high-tech at the same time, Arcade Legacy is a veritable museum of video game history. Classics like the Missile Command arcade cabinet and the Jurassic Park pinball table sit in the same room as Guitar Hero. There’s also the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles side-scrolling brawler game, which could be found in nearly every respectable pizza place 25 years ago.

There are also more than 1,000 console games that guests can play on TVs or on a giant wall. Visitors can essentially visit the coolest nerd on the block—in this instance, Jesse Baker. Baker, the store’s founder, grants them unlimited access to his massive gaming treasure room for a nominal fee.

Located in the sparsely populated Cincinnati Mall, Arcade Legacy is a beacon for dedicated gamers and shoppers. High demand for birthday parties and social events has led Baker to consider expanding his business to a larger location in the mall, which is undergong a major overhaul.

In celebration of its first anniversary, Arcade Legacy launched a mission to offer every single Nintendo Entertainment System game that’s been made—something like 760 titles—in alphabetical order. Baker has just hit the letter “B.” Since January, gamers have met at Arcade Legacy on Wednesdays for “Beat it or Die Trying.” Anyone can sign up to play their favorite games in the NES’ massive library and show off in front of a crowd.

By Sean Peters

Local craftsman makes jewelry from old silverware

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Local craftsman Dave Behle and his wife Deb started Spoonin’ Jewelry soon after their retirement. The couple repurposes silverware into unique rings, pendants and bracelets. At first glance, it’s hard to tell that the pieces were originally used at dinner time.

Deb Behle worked in the University of Cincinnati registrar's office, while her husband taught industrial education classes. They were prompted to expand their business by their daughter, Caitlin Behle, who is a blogger and coordinator for SpringBoard ArtWorks. With her encouragement, Spoonin' Jewlery found its identity.

After a few years of perfecting his tools and technique, Dave felt confident enough to stand behind their offerings.

“Anybody can bend a fork,” he says. “The real challenge is finding the right way.”

According to Dave, Deb is in charge of polishing the silverware before he bends and twists the metal into jewelry.

There are so many challenges associated with this practice that Dave customized his own tools to help shape and size each piece. After years of practice, he says he can any ring to a specific size.

From floral rings to lavish silver bracelets with insets, the pieces are in no way kitschy or whimsical. They are, however, environmentally friendly—Spoonin' Jewlery really does reduce, reuse and recycle.

“A lot of silverware ends up at the junkyard because nobody wants to polish it,” Deb says. Instead, the Behles take forgotten pieces of silverware and turn them into something beautiful and practical keepsakes.

After spreading their business through craft and trade shows—their next show will be in Paducah—Spoonin’ Jewelry has also found sellers, including Spotted Magpie in Over-The-Rhine and Fabricate in Northside. The Behles also operate their own small mom-and-pop shop on Etsy.

By Sean Peters

3DLT launches online 3D printing template market, gains national attention

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

3D printing is fast becoming an accessible, affordable way to create products, pieces and prototypes. Machine parts, toys and even jewelry can be printed quickly and with precision using 3D printing.

A new Cincinnati company is leading in the industry—3DLT—an online marketplace where users can purchase and download 3D printer templates. Using home printers or 3DLT's printer network, users can print pre-designed products in a variety of materials—from plastic to metal and even leather.

"We work with industrial designers across the world," says 3DLT's founder, Pablo Arellano, Jr. "They love to design, and we have them build these templates."

Arellano launched 3DLT at TechCrunch Disrupt NY in early May. The Cincinnati native is working with a team of co-founders to get the company off the ground. Arellano has founded several other startups, and is a former Procter & Gamble brand manager.

Arellano described the company as the iStockphoto of 3D printing.

"I'm a big fan of iStockphoto," he says. "I thought the next thing you can potentially download is 3D templates, and I wanted to be in that space. I've been working on this full-time for the past four months."

3DLT templates include bracelets, rings, mesh lampshades, eyeglass frames, shoes and iPhone 4S protectors.

The self-funded company is beginning to seek investors. 3DLT already has gotten national attention, and has been featured in TechCrunch, Wired, The Verge, Fast Company, Venture Beat and Popular Science. It's also a winner of the 2012 X-LAB competition, and has moved into the new Cintrifuse incubator.

Arellano believes most of the companies initial users will be commercial, but as 3D printer prices drop, more consumers will begin to print their own products.

"The prices are dropping very quickly," he says. "It's already happening."

By Feoshia H. Davis
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UC researchers develop smarter, solar-powered water filter

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed tiny, solar-powered water filters that target and remove carcinogens and antibiotics from lakes and streams.

These protein-based filters are smaller in diameter than a human hair, and work differently than current surface water filters that are made of activated carbon. Those carbon filters work much like the ones in home water filtration systems.

"In Cincinnati, we have one of the largest activated carbon treatment facilities in the United States," says David Wendall, a faculty researcher and environmental engineering professor at UC. "But what the current filters do is bind a lot of different [non-dangerous] compounds; it will will coat the filter very quickly."

UC's research was published in the "Nano Letters" journal. It showed the new filters absorbed 64 percent surface water antibiotics, compared to 40 percent absorbed by current filtering technology.

The research is important because there is growing scientific evidence of harmful effects of the hormones and antibiotics that work their way into our lakes and streams.

"We're starting to understand that birth control is feminizing fish, and antibiotics promote resistance in certain organisms," says Wendall. "It's what is contributing to superbugs that resist to antibiotic treatment. We're learning more about what happens when we dump antibiotics into the environment."

Generally, the contaminates arrive in waterways from runoff through farms or when we flush or trash our medicines.

"The main sources are from farms," Wendall says. "They put antibiotics in animal feed so they will grow fast and stay healthy. But some of their waste ends up in the rivers as runoff, where [the antibiotics] don't break down, and it ends up contaminating our water."

The filter at UC was developed in 2010. Testing has proven successful in specifically targeting antibiotics and other harmful materials.

Wendall describes the filters as "selective garbage disposals." Filtering ability is fueled by sunlight, and the filters actually preserve antibiotics in a way that famers can reuse if filters are recovered.

The university's research is continuing to be tested and refined, Wendall says. But current work could be used practically in three to five years.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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UC professor leads national PTSD treatment study

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A University of Cincinnati professor is one of three leading investigators in a national study that is comparing two treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

The 17-site, $9 million study will take about three years to complete, and it will involve approximately 500 veterans at VA medical facilities across the country, says UC Clinical Psychiatry Professor Kathleen Chard.

Researchers will compare two proven PTSD treatments:

Prolonged Exposure (PE), which allows patients to work through painful memories by re-experiencing traumatic events in safe and supportive environments, and to engage in activities they've avoided because of trauma. Prolonged exposure also emphasizes education about treatment, common reactions to trauma and breath retraining.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which focuses on patients' thoughts and feelings. This approach emphasizes how traumatic experiences changed the patients' thoughts and beliefs, and how those thoughts influence current feelings and behaviors. Patients identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts through structured therapy sessions and practice assignments.

The Institute of Medicine and the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences have endorsed both PSTD treatments, which are used for both military and civilian patients. One of the study's goals will be to determine which treatment works better when a patient has other problems, like depression or substance abuse.

Chard is co-author of the CPT military/veteran manual and the national CPT implementation director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"Both are gold standard treatments, but what we don't know is, if I have patient 'X,' which one should I put them in," she says. "What we have now is informed patient choice. We tell them about the treatments and they can decide what to do. We don't have solid research about what works best."

Chard is also director of UC's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience PTSD division, which is based at the Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center facility in Ft. Thomas. It likely will be one of the 17 testing sites.

The findings of the study will have an impact that reaches beyond treatment for members of the military, as PTSD has been diagnosed in people who have never been in the miliary, but who have seen or lived through dangerous events, including survivors of physical and sexual assault, abuse, accidents and natural disasters.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Facebook-photo tapping Life Blinx looking for new hires

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Made for people who don’t want to store all of their recorded memories digitally, Life Blinx offers a tangible way to preserve photos—by creating real-life photo albums right from your Facebook account.

Created by Darcy Crociata, who also works as a marketing and networking consultant, Life Blinx was propelled by the Brandery and CincyTech.

“So many people are living their life on Facebook with nothing outside [of the site] to show for it,” Crociata says. “This is digital scrapbooking meets the real world.”

To create an album with Life Blinx, you simply register through your Facebook account and select which photos will go into your book. It’s a very quick process that Crociata says is best fitted for busy people—not those looking to painstakingly plan out every single detail of the book.

The books are created by Print Management in Fairfax. Crociata describes the partnership as a blessing to the small business, because they have a professionallly equipped staff and facilities at their disposal. The two companies connected through the Brandery as well.

The service is not without its hiccups, of course.

“Every time Facebook changes, we have to adapt,” Crociata says. Users of the massive social network will know Facebook’s platform seems to change as frequently as the weather forecast. Life Blinx struggles to maintain composure amid Facebook’s many bugs. So far, they’ve been successful.

A growing company, Life Blinx is on the lookout for new staff. Interested applicants should have a technology background and experience maintaining company websites.

By Sean Peters

Mason Tech Center opens in May to innovative startups

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The City of Mason is part of a private-public partnership to house and grow tech-based startups in the Cincinnati suburb. In late May, the city will invite businesses and local media to an open house of the Mason Tech Center, a renovated office building just off the Mason-Montgomery Road corridor.

Top Gun Sales Performance, a global sales support organization that provides consulting, training and personnel for Fortune 500 clients, began the $4 million renovation at 5155 Financial Way last February. The growing company, expected to create 500 new jobs in the next five years, occupies the first floor of the tech center.

Through incentives offered by the City of Mason and Mason Port Authority, Top Gun renovated additional space to create the Mason Tech Center for startups in digital IT, biohealth IT and technology sectors.

One company, ConnXus, has already moved into the center. The three-year-old company is an online service that connects diverse and small businesses with companies that are seeking to expand and diversify their supplier bases.

"The Mason Tech Center is a unique alternative to a traditional startup incubator," says Sue Oswalt, vice president of operations and member services at Connxus. "By bringing together public and private resources, the City of Mason is building a location and community that is a great fit for a company like ours. We were excited to be the first startup company in the Mason Tech Center."

The tech center has about 25,000 square feet of available space and can accommodate up to 20 companies.

"Through an innovative partnership with Top Gun Sales Performance, these young companies can access energetic office space at below market rates, tap into a network of peer companies and an infrastructure of resources, which can propel them further, faster," says Michele Blair, director of economic development for the City of Mason. "To use an analogy, we aren't just planting a seed and waiting for it to rain. We've bioengineered the soil and are watering it regularly so the seed can grow faster, stronger."

By Feoshia H. Davis
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DAAP grad embraces innovation, nurtures young Design Geniuses

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Rebecca Huffman’s circuitous route to UC’s Fashion Design program both inspired and informed her non-traditional senior thesis, Design Genius. More methodology than consumer good, Design Genius is a learning module that teaches students the value of education and the building blocks of problem-solving as they design their own products.

Unveiled at UC’s DAAPWorks, Design Genius takes a fresh approach to making learning relevant for kids of all ages, which is exactly what recent grad Huffman, 24, who works for LPK, wanted.

“I knew that I wanted to do something that would help kids,” says Huffman, who spent a year working as a preschool teacher before starting her design training at DAAP.

As she considered what her culminating project for college would be, she thought back to a studio class in which she’d designed and created a real project, then put it up for sale in real life. Through that process, and its embrace of design-thinking, she saw the value of the disparate classes she’d taken through her academic career, from math to marketing and writing to psychology. And she felt empowered.

Her work as an LPK co-op increased her experience with design-thinking, an approach to problem-solving more often seen in Fast Company than elementary schools.

“Design Genius is an attempt to solve the problem that our kids are facing by instilling a greater sense of educational purpose,” she says.

She describes Design Genius on her website as “the culmination of five years of study and extensive research on the Creativity Quotient, Design Thinking in education, the concept of ‘failing forward,’ sociocultural trends impacting Generation Z, and the educational and social development of Tweens.”

What that looked like, in the end, were three, one-and-a-half hour sessions in two schools—St. Ursula Villa and Pleasant Ridge Montessori—in three different classes. Fourth and fifth grade students examined case studies in the form of fictional diary entries. Then, they ideated, revised and designed real products to help solve the problems of their fictional “customers.”

“They learned everything I was trying to teach them,” Huffman says. “It was amazing.”

The students not only learned from the project, they loved it. Huffman received unprompted thank-you notes and testimonials when the students presented their products. She’s convinced that with a little tweaking, she can develop a fully functional learning module that can help young students not only design products, but create and sell them.

By Elissa Yancey
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Ramshackle Recordings captures musicians at their best

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

For many listeners, the best album sounds like a live performance, which sits perfectly well with Jacob Tippey of Ramshackle Recordings.

Tippey believes a song sounds best when recorded with limited interference—spared from a gang of overdubbed and mutated parts that can bury its soul. His work hearkens back to recording's early days, when one-take tracks were necessities because of limited technology and materials.

“I believe in using the resources you have,” says Tippey, who views himself as a documentarian.

He works to ensure clients record in the best possible setting for their sound. That could mean adjusting sound-absorbent panels to soak up or reflect the music in the walls of the Curtis, Inc., audio studio, or taking the client to the altar room of an 1800s church, the space he also calls home, to allow for a blooming natural reverb.

So far, Ramshackle Recordings has put down tracks with SHADOWRAPTR, The Happy Maladies and Till Plains.

By foregoing the luxury of heavily altered and modified tracks, Tippey simplifies the recording process.

By Sean Peters

SocialPoint simplifies online interaction

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

SocialPoint is a new web-based service that combines major forms of social media into one feed. Users can control what services they’re accessing with simple clicks, which helps make the management of personal profiles much simpler.

Created in Cincinnati, SocialPoint was developed by a local team of techies who wanted to make the social media experience more efficient.

“We found that we were spending a lot of time every day checking in with our friends on all our various social media sites, and that we needed a solution for ourselves, so we developed SocialPoint.Me,” says Chris Burnett, SocialPoint’s vice president of marketing.

SocialPoint makes it very easy to navigate between different profiles on connected accounts, which still provide the standard features offered by the original sites. For example, if you wanted to check your Facebook account, SocialPoint gives you the option to filter specific categories. If you are just interested in seeing photos uploaded by your friends, you’d select the preset on the easy-to-navigate sidebar. Your search can be as specific as you want. Plus, you're still able to chat with your Facebook friends with SocialPoint.

Similar features are also available for Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, FourSquare and AT&T.

While most social media apps are aimed at business owners who are more interested in tidying up their “online estates,” SocialPoint is intended for personal users who want to continue sharing and keeping up with friends in the many ways the expanding idea of “social media” allows.

A mobile app will soon be available, along with an early summer update with additional social media customization options.

SocialPoint’s office is in the heart of downtown, and all of their funding comes from Chicago West Pullman LLC, which is headquartered at 600 Vine Street.

By Sean Peters

Grupo Xela offers Hispanic insight

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Grupo Xela is a marketing research agency that specializes in Hispanic demographics. Founded by Jose Cuesta in 2003, the company found success in Cincinnati by communicating an authentic and carefully researched Hispanic perspective to Procter & Gamble and QFact, among other locally owned businesses.

Originally from Colombia, Cuesta earned a BA in industrial engineering at Javeriana University. He came to Cincinnati in 1998, where he earned an MBA from Xavier University. Cuesta’s mother is originally from Cincinnati, and he was prompted by his family to move to the Queen City.

“You don’t go to Cincinnati unless you have a reason,” Cuesta says. “But there’s always a reason to go.”

After earning his degree from Xavier, Cuesta began working for Cincinnati Bell as a manager for various departments.

Cuesta founded what would eventually become Grupo Xela with his brother-in-law. Their first business attempt was as coffee distributors for regional restaurants, but their work in the city helped them realize the Hispanic community’s marketing potential. Prompted by the fact that Hispanics were the most rapidly growing minority in the country, Cuesta knew he could offer a very important perspective to P&G—Cincinnati’s powerhouse corporation.

By interacting with Hispanic panelists sourced from Cincinnati, Columbus, Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami, Grupo Xela’s chief concern is gathering qualitative market research.

The company has since gone international, with a United States' headquarters in Cincinnati, and a Colombian office in Bogota, with plans to expand into more cities and countries soon.

By Sean Peters

Growing Balluff Inc., builds expanded US HQ in Independence, to hire 24

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Another Northern Kentucky manufacturing facility is expanding. Balluff Inc., an international supplier and manufacturer of sensing devices, just broke ground on a new headquarters in Independence. It's the company's third expansion in 30 years.

The German-owned Balluff currently employes 150 people in Northern Kentucky, and expects to add 24 new jobs and invest $6 million as part of the expansion. Balluff specializes in products for industrial sensing, networking and identification devices.

Balluff's customers are manufacturers who are working to increase efficiencies through automating processes. Many are automakers, with increasing demand from emerging industries in renewable energy like solar and wind. The steadily improving strength of U.S. manufacturing is driving company growth, says Balluff President Kent Howard.

The company has been hiring on a regular basis, around 15 people per year. Balluff expanded previously in 1994 and 2001.

"Manufacturing in this country is coming back strong, and the manufacturers that are successful are the ones that are using automation to improve productivity," Howard says.

The Independence facility in Northern Kentucky Industrial Park is the final assembly, distribution and training site for Balluff in the U.S.

Balluff’s new 48,000-square-foot building is set to be finished next spring. It will include customer support, training and a sales and marketing center. The facility will include “green concepts” and worker-friendly features, such as 100 percent employee access to daylight from workspaces. Bluff’s current 60,000-square-foot space will accommodate more space for manufacturing.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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UC's new MENtorship pilot aims to develop male nurses

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

As our aging population grows, they're asking more of our healthcare providers.

Nurses increasingly are being asked to fill healthcare needs and are growing their skills and knowledge through higher education. Still, an untapped resource of nursing talent remains: men.

About 94 percent of nurses are women, and that creates challenges for men who are entering the field, as well as patients who aren't always comfortable receiving treatment from a male nurse.

These are some of the reasons that local medical and educational partners, including a University of Cincinnati College of Nursing student organization, started MENtorship, a program for male student nurses.

The nursing program has partnered with Cincinnati Children's Medical Center and UC Medical Center to develop MENtorship.

The six-to-eight week program is just wrapping up, with a group of 12 undergraduate nursing students. In addition to being mentored by professional nurses, higher ranking students also mentor younger students. So students are both mentors and mentees, says UC MENtorship faculty advisor Gordon Gillespie.

"The junior and senior mentors can tell the freshmen and sophomores what the student nursing program is really like and the commitment that it takes, so the students aren't surprised," says Gillespie, who has been a nurse for 17 years. "They could be less likely to drop out."

The program was initially inspired by a 2013 American Journal of Nursing article, "Men in Nursing: Understanding the Challenges Men Face Working in this Predominantly Female Profession,” that identified professional tribulations experienced by men in the nursing field.

Students are mentored on educational challenges and expectations, but also on dealing with challenges they'll face after school, Gillespie says.

"How do you approach intimate care for a female patient?" he says. "There are higher concerns about inappropriate touching with a male nurse. There are some cultures where it is taboo. When there are violent or aggressive patients, they were automatically assigned to me because I am the man. We talk about those issues and how to deal with them."

The MENtorship program will be evaluated this year, and there are plans to offer it again based on feedback from this semester's participants. If given board approval, it will be offered for a full year starting with the 2013-2014 academic year.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Dooley Media serves as one-stop shop for companies' online presences

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Xavier University graduate Matthew Dooley started his company, Dooley Media, in 2011. And on March 18, Dooley made his first full-time hire, Kirsten Lecky, whose focus is on client management.

Dooley Media specializes in all things social media, from strategy development and execution to measurement and education. It brings together some of the best and most creative minds in graphic design, development, copywriting and videography to work on social media campaigns.

“Our goal is to take what companies already do well and bring it online to shareable platforms that extend the reach and impact of their brands,” Dooley says.

After graduating from college, Dooley was a social media strategist for a local insurance company. As time went on, Dooley’s interest in social media grew, as did his client list, which he was managing on top of his insurance job and a course he teaches at XU about social media. After five years, he decided to take a leap of faith and start his own business.

Dooley Media works with both small businesses and Fortune 500 companies.

“While larger companies are blazing trails and have great success stories about using social media, smaller companies are underserved,” says Dooley. “They’re the ones that need the most help when it comes to social media. They don’t have the technical know-how or the money to invest in a social media strategist. It’s a unique opportunity for us to service them.”

Dooley comes from a family of entrepreneurs—his aunt and uncle both own businesses in Cincinnati, and his uncle was actually his first client back in 2010. And Dooley isn’t a stranger to starting businesses: He and his twin sister opened Flix, a DVD rental at XU, during their undergraduate years. He’s also part of nugg-it, a Cincinnati-based startup that is working on a wearable tech device that records “nuggets” of conversations, which will launch later this year.

“Dooley Media’s goal is to serve local businesses and optimize the conversations of those businesses, which will allow them to compete on a level playing field with larger companies,” Dooley says.

Dooley Media dabbles in all types of social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, blogging, etc. But the platform differs from client to client, depending on the audience they’re trying to reach, says Dooley.

And when Dooley Media sends out proposals to potential clients, they do something a little out of the ordinary. “One of my friends does cakes, and we send along a customized cake with the company’s logo and the phrase ‘Life is sweeter with Dooley Media,’” Dooley says.

To him, it’s a way to get the conversation started, and puts the ball in the client’s court.

By Caitlin Koenig
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Cait Pantano's dark, simple things

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

How does a dietician with a tendency toward the macabre end up creating sometimes shocking illustrations for local and national bands? Through a combination of nightmare-chasing exercises and a desire to break out of her routines.

Cait Pantano, who graduated from Miami University in Ohio, is now keeping busy illustrating her take on moments of extreme mental and physical sensation. Some are sexual; others show debilitating pain. No matter the topic, Pantano’s art reflects her observations in dark and often comedic drawings of the human body.

Her inspiration comes from a very personal space. “I have nightmares almost every other night,” Pantano says. So she took one recurring stress dream--one during which she loses all of her teeth--and drew the image to get it out of her head. “I don’t think I’ve had that dream again.”

Encouraged by her friends to share her work, Pantano's humorous and macabre sensibilities were met with enthusiasm when she she began uploading images of her illustrations to Tumblr. Soon, musicians began commissioning her to create their album art. Recent clients include Cincinnati's The Pinstripes and Wisconsin-based Daniel and the Lion.

By Sean Peters

NKU Research Foundation grant expands NKU environmental monitoring app

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A new water quality monitoring app developed at Northern Kentucky University caught the attention of national ecologists and the United States Environmental Protection Agency for its potential to strengthen the quality of data collection at local waterways.

NKU is quickly building on that success with funding from the NKU Research Foundation. The foundation recently awarded the NKU's Center for Applied Informatics $10,000 for two students to develop field-based water quality applications.

"The NKURF board is very excited about the further development of tools like the water quality app and associated data storage," NKU Associate Provost for Research, Graduate Studies and Regional Stewardship and Chair of the NKURF, Jan Hillard, said in an announcement. "The entire process of creating and sustaining this application ties together values of undergraduate research, creativity, collaboration and community engagement."

NKU's latest mobile application, Water Quality, allows users to more efficiently log and identify water quality data from rivers, lakes and streams. It also features a digital field guide for identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates and a Pollution Tolerance Index calculator.

Water Quality was unveiled before a national audience at the Technology to Empower Citizen Scientists conference held at NKU last month. Developed by a team from NKU and the Foundation for Ohio River Education, the $4.99 app is currently available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch in the App Store.

"We are excited that this mobile technology can be used by scientists and students alike to learn about and monitor rivers, lakes and streams across our region," says Dr. Steve Kerlin, director of the NKU Center for Environmental Education.

With this new funding, students will help develop apps like Water Quality through the Center for Applied Informatics' Virtual Co-Op program. This program allows students to build their resumes through hands-on work experience that applies what they learn in the classroom.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Blink makeup studio offers hand-mixed body care, makeup in Northside

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

During their careers as professional makeup artists, eventual best friends and colleagues Niki Mcclanahan and Megan Kelly felt their industry was straying too far from its roots.

"We felt it was becoming more about how much product you could sell," Mcclanahan says. "It was getting away from being fun and creative, and helping people find a look they never thought they could achieve."

She and Kelly joked off and on for a few years about striking out on their own, but by last spring, the joke became serious. After careful research and planning, they started Blink makeup studio. The freelance makeup artists have a shop in Northside International Airport, an eclectic retail, arts and entertainment space.

Blink sells its own line of handmade soaps, shower gels, lotions, bath bombs and essential oils. The shop also features an essential oil bar.

"We started from scratch, and did a lot of research on how essential oils and natural oils work," says Mcclanahan. "If a customer comes in to our oil bar, we can mix a custom blend right in front of them."

Among their most popular products is a brown sugar lip scrub. "People have really started using it all over their bodies because it's a very gentle exfoliant," she says.

Blink has recently expanded into the founder's first love—makeup. They've worked with an outside company to develop Blink's artistry makeup line. They're starting out small, offering products for eyes, lips and cheeks.

For their more environmentally-conscious clients, Blink offers mineral-based eyeshadows, a line they plan to expand.

Cincinnati is taking notice of Blink. It's was recently featured in CityBeat's 2013 Best of Cincinnati issue and in Cincinnati Magazine's Bridal Buzz blog.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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RentShare changes how rent is typically paid

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

RentShare, an online service that allows tenants to pay their rents online, is set to become a standard for the global home rental industry.

Started largely with support from The Brandery, RentShare's Manhattan-based entrepreneurs came to Cincinnati to benefit from the area's powerful startup community. RentShare, only a burgeoning idea when it entered the Queen City, has emerged as a functioning business that was ready to change how people pay their rent.

Any tenant with Internet access can use RentShare. The service allows renters to simply split rent payments, along with bills and expenses (including house cleaning services in the future), with roommates. By helping to eliminate one of the most common frustrations among people who share apartments or houses, RentShare is designed to help irritated roommates who are sick of absentee payers or passive-aggressive notes left on their refrigerators.

In addition, since rental payments are the only use of paper checks for many people, RentShare helps to eliminate the hassle of having another type of payment option available for only one bill. By automatically sending your landlord a check in the mail, with a detailed status report of which tenants’ payment is accounted for, there is no change for the landlord, who doesn’t even need to be notified directly that renters have opted to use RentShare.

RentShare founders Ian Halpern, Christopher Toppino and Trevor Geis focused on catering to tenants, rather than the landlords. In fact, landlords are not required to register for the service, as long as the necessary information is supplied by the renters.

By Sean Peters

Proposal could boost solar panel manufacturing, reduce city's carbon footprint

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls introduced a motion that could change the way residents and businesses pay for powering their spaces with solar energy.

She says the benefits are two-fold: increasing the demand for solar panel manufacturing and lowering the city's reliance on fossil fuels.

This plan is one of several energy-saving initiatives introduced since City Council adopted the Green Cincinnati Plan in 2008. That plan included a goal of one in every five Cincinnati buildings incorporating rooftop panels fueled by solar power by 2028.

"There's an emerging solar manufacturing sector here, and we would be creating a financing mechanism that would allow the demand to emerge for solar energy," Qualls says. "It's not a viable option for many property owners right now."

Qualls introduced a measure that directs the city to look into working with local environmental organizations like Green Umbrella, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance and the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority to help create a Property Assisted Clean Energy, or PACE, financing program.

PACE programs is a public/private initiative that are enabled by legislatures in nearly three dozen states across the country—including Ohio—which help business and homeowners pay for energy upgrades to existing buildings. Typically, participating property owners can finance those upgrades as a property tax assessment for up to 20 years.

"It's tax neutral, promotes 'going green' and reduces our carbon footprint," Qualls says.

The city has used the property tax assessment mechanism before for property owners who have been responsible for other large fixes, Qualls says.

"It has been done to pay for costly repairs over time—that's the same principle PACE follows," she says.

Ohio passed its PACE law in 2009. In 2012, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority issued the first PACE bonds in Ohio for a project to upgrade the City of Toledo’s municipal buildings.

Cincinnati must pass its own legislation for a local PACE program. Quall's motion directs the administration to bring the legislation back to Council within 60 days.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Novak Consulting Group moves to HCBC

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Novak Consulting Group was started on a dare.

Egged on by her husband and friends, Julia Novak felt compelled to earnestly pursue starting her own consulting business for leaders in government and non-profit communities. She began her solo venture at home, and has since hired staff around the country and progressed to working out of the Hamilton County Business Center. There, her consulting firm continues to serve clients all over the country.

While consulting with governments and nonprofits in public works, public safety, human resources, finance, planning and IT sectors, Novak Consulting Group aims to service more fields than other firms by working with a skilled team whose members offer a broad range of expertise.

With a background in city management, Novak has found success serving local governments across the United States. Having her own Cincinnati-certified small business has allowed her to take her talents to different types of clients. But her emphasis is in personalized service that suits each situation’s needs.

Expanding the office to the HCBC means dedicated meeting and collaboration space as well as increased support from other local ventures and small business advocates.

By Sean Peters

Platform 53 brings coworking to Covington

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

On April 12, Platform 53 is hosting a “jelly” for those interested in coworking. A “jelly” is a temporary coworking event that Platform 53 plans to host every two weeks.

Adam Dean launched Platform 53 in January 2012 at Northern Kentucky University’s Startup Weekend—but under the name 3C-Coworks. At the time, Dean was an intern at Bad Girl Ventures, and he saw a need for a coworking space in Covington. He partnered with Stacy Kessler, an ex-P&Ger whose background is in consumer understanding and strategy, and the name was eventually changed.

The name references the railroad and the impact it had on the area. The “53” refers to 1853, which is the year the Covington train station at Eighth and Russell was built. Platform 53 also symbolizes the role the group wants to play in the community, by being a platform upon which people can build their businesses.

“I was used to a traditional office setting and office resources, but then I started working at home and out of coffee shops, and I realized I needed something different,” Kessler says.

About 30 percent of the private workforce in the United States works independently, Dean says. “We want to create a network of opportunity in the area and be a hub for independent workers.”

Dean and Kessler have a vision for Platform 53’s physical workspace, which they’re hoping to secure by the end of April. They want to have an open work environment with a combination of phone booth rooms, meeting rooms and conference rooms, plus flexible desk options or dedicated office space for those that wish to have their own offices.

“We want to make people feel at home, and have a platform to celebrate successes and make announcements,” Dean says.

Platform 53 is for entrepreneurs, small businesses, independent workers and those with flexible work arrangements who want to run and grow their businesses and connect with others.

“To me, coworking is about ‘accelerated serendipity,’” Dean says. “You might not know what you need, but you’ll eventually see the opportunity by being around others.”

Currently, Dean and Kessler have had about 75 people show interest in Platform 53. And the group isn’t just tech-focused. “The magic happens when you bring together people from different walks of life,” Kessler says.

They’re looking for different skill sets but shared values among members.

“We want to be part of the startup corridor,” says Kessler. “The Brandery and Cintrifuse are in Over-the-Rhine, and UpTech and Platform 53 are here in Covington—we’re like bookends that connect the region.”

By Caitlin Koenig
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Cincinnati board game developer works to add to his success with Family Vacation

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Yes, blockbuster video game releases get all the buzz and rake in a lot of money, but the tried-and-true board game still has a following. And it's even made a mini resurgence in the past decade.

Some of the best-selling modern board games, including Ticket to Ride and Dominion, feature compelling back-stories, are fast-paced and require strategic thinking.

Just in time for summer, a Cincinnati board game developer with a track record of success is working to get his latest game, Family Vacation, on retail shelves. Philip duBarry, with the backing of Jolly Roger Games, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the game's production.

Children and adults alike can play Family Vacation, a game where each player takes their family to various cities and attractions across the United States and racks up or loses happiness points through travel experiences (including chances for bonus points). The player with the most points at the end of the vacation earns the title of "Vacation Master." You can see a video will a complete explanation of the game here.

"Family Vacation is a lighter, more casual sort of game," duBarry says. "It takes about an hour to play." DuBarry previously designed Revolution! by Steve Jackson Games, Kingdom of Solomon by Minion Games and Courtier by AEG.

So far, the Kickstarter campaign has raised about one-fourth of its $12,000 goal.

When he's not creating games, duBarry is a children's pastor at Addyston Baptist Church. He has a B. A. in elementary education from Middle Tennessee State University, and has lived in the Cincinnati area for the past 13 years.

He began designing games as a hobby in 2007, when he created Revolution! and sold a few dozen on the Internet.

"Then Phil Reed of Steve Jackson Games bought one and asked if I'd thought of publishing the game," he says. It was the end of a hobby and the start of a side job.

"I've thought about starting my own company, but really my favorite part of this is designing and making games, so that is what I'm sticking to," duBarry says.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Applied Decision Science aims to improve decision-making

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Applied Decision Science is a field-based research and development company that specializes in the the study and development of new ways to improve decision-making in high stress situations.

Founded by Steve Wolf, along with Laura Militello and Dr. Gary Klein—two authorities in the fields of human cognition and the budding study of naturalistic decision-making—Applied Decision Science is dedicated to improving the choices made by people in arduous situations (medics, soldiers, firefighters, etc).

By obtaining their data firsthand from the field and by interviewing pertinent subjects, Applied Decision Science can create protocol applications that enhance the chances of successful and beneficial decisions. This is a distinct difference from lab-based research, which separates the researcher from the core of their study.

While their military work is confidential, the work the company has done for the healthcare sector continues to enhance peoples’ lives. Their most recent efforts for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention involve an application that helps healthcare providers identify patients at a higher risk of colorectal cancer, one of the deadliest iterations of the disease.

Rooted in Wolf’s work of studying the potential for enhanced decision-making, and coupled with Dr. Militello and Klein’s expertise, Applied Decision Science was started largely thanks to the Hamilton County Development Company in Norwood. Through the business incubator, Applied Decision Science has overcome many of the struggles similarly sized startups encounter.

By Sean Peters