The Cintrifuse venture capital team is already working on supporting the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Now, it's time to see how The Rainmaker, The Money Man, The Go Getter, The Teacher, The Connector, The Youngster and The Magician Behind the Curtain plan to get down to business.
The discovery of a great local act or a hot new bar should be shared, says Impulcity founder Hunter Hammonds. Immediately. And it is. Thousands of smartphone users have downloaded the mobile application of the Brandery-trained startup since it launched on iTunes early last week. An update to the app could drop as early as Wednesday, which would bring significant improvements to the mobile aggregator of entertainment venues. And the new company is hiring, too. They're looking for an Android app developer and an "artist content intern"—someone to write content about venues and events. Hammond’s team, which includes co-founder Austin Cameron and iOS developer Eric Ziegler, is fine-tuning a VIP program, which will Impulcity users to check-in at a venue and avoid cover charges or receive other VIP benefits. They’re working on more robust context for events, including the ability to play the music released by a new band and produce background on an entertainer or a venue. The app will offer rankings and suggestions based on users’ past choices and an interactive calendar for entertainment-seekers who plan ahead. Hammonds and his team maintain strong partnerships with venues—they're always asking how they can make the app more useful. “People are tired of the traditional ways of finding stuff to do,” he says. Impulcity will evolve until it captures each city’s unique culture. Impulcity's short history is one of long-into-the-night planning. Hammond’s team scrapped the first version of the app in September, and rewrote it in a four-day marathon coding session. Their retooled version received Brandery approval in October, and they continued to tweak it until their Feb. 12 launch in the iTunes App Store. They've raised a reported $400,000 and are seeking new office space. “Our goal is to build, and to last,” Hammonds says. “We have no plans to be absorbed into anything else.” He’s still not sharing his revenue model, but said Impulcity will approach profit-making differently than other social media products. “We’d love to hire fresh college kids, but universities are teaching them outdated stuff,” Hammonds says. Advice from Hammonds: Learn to make use of Objective-C, Java and jQuery. And hurry. He really wants to find an Android developer to help them expand their reach. By Gayle Brown
From organizing events involving beer and historic churches to providing affordable housing and jobs to those who have struggled to attain them in the past, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation does a little bit of everything. And it's all for the purpose of reinventing and celebrating a diverse, historically-rooted community. At the beginning of February, Kevin Pape, who’s lived in Cincinnati his whole life and who grew up with a fondness for the OTR community, stepped up to the role of president of the foundation. OTR has been a part of Pape’s family history for multiple generations, so he’s someone who understands what the community has to offer. His grandparents lived in OTR and operated a business there until 1935, though it was actually started back in 1850. Pape lived in the community himself for about four years in the 1970s, and his office at Gray & Pape—a cultural resource management and historic preservation consulting firm—just celebrated 23 years at its Main Street location. Pape says because of his background, he deals with the renovation of historic buildings all the time, but his vision for OTR contains much more than the preservation of buildings. “I think my interest really is in community-building,” Pape says. “The message is that it’s really all about putting people back into historic buildings and finding ways to do that in a meaningful way.” One way Pape and the OTRF plan to build on that vision is through their strategic plan, which entails owner-occupied redevelopment, historic preservation and the goal of making OTR the greenest historic neighborhood in the country. “We also want to encourage people who are investing in the neighborhood to seek ways to provide meaningful employment and jobs for people that live in the neighborhood who may not have had access to opportunities before,” Pape says. While working to show that “green buildings, sustainable buildings, LEED certification and historic preservation are actually compatible,” the OTRF also helps organize events like Bockfest, which Pape says showcases what’s good and great about the community. This year, the nonprofit, in conjunction with American Legacy Tours, is offering historic church tours, which will highlight the architecture and stories of four different 19th century landmarks within the community. “When you think about the size of OTR and the number of churches, it gives you a good sense about the density of people and the diversity even at that time that would have such a population to support a variety of churches,” says Pape. It’s that diversity that has withstood the test of time, and which Pape says the community embraces at all levels. “Socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, you name it,” Pape says. “It provides residential density that allows people to share ideas and celebrate those differences in being able to all live in a compact place at one time. It’s about not only economic vitality, but residential vitality.” Do Good: • Attend Bockfest, and register for the Historic Churches of OTR Tour. • Support the Over-the-Rhine Foundation by becoming a member. • Volunteer to help the organization preserve and revitalize OTR. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
OFFF is an event that encourages innovative and artistic thinkers to join together for collective inspiration.
Residents of Columbia Tusculum have pride in their neighborhood, and to showcase that, they hold the Columbia Tusculum Home Tour every two or three years. This year, the tour will be held Oct. 6 and will feature about 15 houses, a handful of businesses and a few historic buildings in the neighborhood. Columbia Tusculum was established in 1788, making this year its 225th anniversary. It’s a relatively small neighborhood that thrived in the 1700s, but has seen its share of decline and dilapidated and run-down buildings. “Columbia Tusculum has been in a state of transition over the past few decades, and residents have made it a mission to restore the beautiful homes,” says Janette Yauch, the chair of the home tour. Yauch and the tour want to showcase the work and beauty of the original houses and the effort the homeowners have invested in ensuring long-term sustainability of their homes. Most of the houses in Columbia Tusculum were built between the late 1700s and late 1800s, and are Victorian (also called “painted ladies”) in style. As of now, there will be one craftsman style house included in the tour. The houses included in the tour aren’t for sale, but Yauch is looking into partnering with local realtors to include a few open houses. The tour includes homes throughout the neighborhood. All of the houses are within walking distance, but there will be a trolley running for those who don’t want to climb the steep hills, Yauch says. Like last year, the tour committee hopes to partner with the Riley School of Irish Music and have live Celtic and Irish music in every house. Day-of ticket sales are sold in front of the Green Dog Cafe, and the committee hopes to partner with them to create food specials for tour-goers. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Russian-based Unipack Group, a full-service glass container decorating and packaging company that has served the alcohol beverage industry since 1995, is expanding into the United States. Westpack, a new branch of Unipack, will soon have a plant in Covington. Currently, Kentucky is home to about 420 internationally based companies from 30 countries that employ about 80,000 people. “With decoration plants in Russia and Europe, expanding into the U.S. market was a natural next step,” Westpack Managing Director Simon Mnoyan said in a press release. “And selecting the right state for our production was a function of customer logistics, business operating costs and quality of life. The Commonwealth of Kentucky provided and met all three requirements for our expansion. We would like to express our gratitude to the Commonwealth and the City of Covington for guidance and support in our endeavor.” Westpack will mainly serve bourbon, spirits and wine producers, and the perfume and cosmetic industries, but the company will also produce promotional tumblers and other items for the tableware industry, according to Sam Popianksy, director of business development for Westpack, in a press release. The company’s services include screen printing, etching and frosting, electrostatic and liquid organic spray coating, automated hot stamping, PSL and decal application. Unipack’s expansion will create 63 new, full-time jobs and will represent a $4.49 million investment in Northern Kentucky. The 126,000-square-foot facility at 200 W. 43rd Street in Covington’s Latonia neighborhood isn’t on the riverfront, but in a residential area with retail and other industries. Not only is Westpack creating jobs, but it’s making use of an existing, vacant building. “The redeveloped building will hopefully attract new companies to the area and breathe new life into the market,” says Karen Finan, senior VP at Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation. Construction is to begin on the Westpack plant this spring. Interested in working at Westpack? Send your resume to: sunny.saloman@west-pack.com. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Russian-based Westpack, a bottle decorating and packaging company, announced this month it would locate a new manufacturing plant in Covington, creating 63 new jobs. The plant will invest nearly $4.5 million at a 126,000-square-foot space on West 43rd Street in the Covington neighborhood of Latonia. In addition to bottle decorating and packaging, the plant will be equipped to provide short-run decorations for special events and promotions. Kentucky’s foreign direct investment continues to grow, with approximately 420 internationally based companies from 30 nations in the Commonwealth, employing nearly 80,000 people. “The Commonwealth is thrilled to partner with Westpack to see the creation of more than 60 jobs and an investment of nearly $4.5 million,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear in an announcement. “We’re especially proud that a company from Russia has chosen Kentucky to do business, a testament to the ideal logistics and strategic location here in the Commonwealth.” Westpack is a new expansion of UniPack Group, a full-service glass container decorating and packaging company serving the alcohol beverage industry since 1995. It will be the only company in the state providing bottle labeling and decoration services to the state's bourbon and alcoholic beverage producing and bottling industry. “With decoration plants in Russia and Europe, expanding into the U.S. market was a natural next step,” said Westpack Managing Director Simon Mnoyan. “And selecting the right state for our production was a function of customer logistics, business operating costs and quality of life. The Commonwealth of Kentucky provided and met all three requirements for our expansion.” The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $1.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. Westpack plans to be in its new space this summer, and is currently taking job applications on its website. Written by Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.
Along the I-71 corridor from Mason—25 miles south to downtown Cincinnati—quality, early-stage companies are emerging at a fast clip. This momentum is creating a talent crunch for the region, and in turn, new career options for recent college graduates. Read the full story here.
Did you recently buy a historic home and need help getting renovations underway? Or do you want to learn more about living green? Then NKY Restoration Weekend is for you. The second annual Restoration Weekend is from 9 am to 5 pm on Feb. 23 at the Gateway Community and Technical College's Urban Campus in Covington. The event will feature many opportunities for historic home owners, including classes and demonstrations on how to make historic houses and surrounding property more energy efficient and sustainable; researching historic homes; utilizing the Kentucky homeowner’s rehabilitation tax credit; Rookwood tile history and maintenance; historic ironwork; window restoration; plaster; masonry repair and maintenance ask the expert. There will also be a vendor fair with more than 20 booths featuring craftsmen and contractors that represent all aspects of the renovation process. “The weekend is about combining sustainable and green practices with historic homes,” says Beth Johnson, preservation and planning specialist for the City of Covington. “The vendors are a huge part of the event, and helps connect homeowners with good products and contractors.” But Johnson says the highlight of the event is the keynote speakers, Matt Grocoff. He’s a nationally known TV personality who turned a 100-year-old folk Victorian house into net zero, which means it’s historically sensitive, but doesn’t use energy. “There’s such an amazing stock of historic homes in Northern Kentucky and the surrounding area, and people need to be responsible homeowners and be better stewards of historic homes,” Johnson says. “DIY is really big, and they need to know the proper ways to do things.” The event is partially funded by the Certified Local Government grant that’s given to the cities of Bellevue, Covington and Newport from the National Park Service and administered by the Kentucky Heritage Council. NKY Restoration is an unincorporated association and collaboration of businesses, artisans and craftsmen, nonprofit organizations, cities and the Historic Preservation offices in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. The event is free, but reservations are requested to ensure a spot at the keynote luncheon. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Construction on one of Over-the-Rhine’s 19th century buildings will soon be finished, and will open up new office space for members of the community. Rehabilitation began on the Cogswell Building in November and should be completed by March. “I visited the Cogswell when it was CS13 Gallery and really liked the space,” says Pat Feghali, the building’s owner. “I used to drive by the building on the way home and saw that it was for sale, and eventually bought it.” According to records, the Cogswell Building at 1219 Sycamore Street was built in the 1880s, and the first tenant was a shoe and boot store. The storefront was later converted into apartments. A bit of renovation work was done in the 1990s, but nothing major. The building has been vacant since 2010, when CS13 occupied the space. Before that, it was a bar called The Cabaret. Both tenants only used the first two floors of the four-story building. When Feghali purchased the building in 2012, the fourth floor didn’t have heat and the plaster was peeling off of the walls. Even though the Cogswell will have new office and conference space, all of the original detailing was kept intact, including the doors, trim, windows and floors. The first floor will have conference rooms available to those with offices in the building or members of the community who need meeting space for an hour or two, Feghali says. The second and third floors will contain offices for individuals or small companies, and the fourth floor is now one room with open access for occupants of the building who need more room to spread out to do their work. “I hope the building will bring more people to Sycamore,” Feghali says. “It’s a weird street, with only a few blocks of inhabited buildings. The Cogswell is on the corner, and you can see it from quite a distance.” Feghali has a few tenants lined up, but she’s still looking to fill offices. If you’re interested in renting space in the Cogswell Building, contact her at p.feghali@gmail.com. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
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