Innovation News

UC students win ‘zero energy’ national design competition

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September 11, 2012

A group of University of Cincinnati students took home first place at a national sustainability design competition, designing an essentially "zero energy" building. The seven-member team redesigned the innovative Joe and Rika Mansueto Library of the University of Chicago. Students were tasked with theoretically creating a building with net zero energy usage. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, or ASHRAE, sponsors the annual competition, and this is UC's first No. 1 finish. Six graduate students and one undergrad made up UC's team; their educational backgrounds include architecture/construction and mechanical (HVAC) engineering. The team worked on the design for about three months, says member Ravik Chandra, a grad student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The team divided into a group that worked on the building's architecture and a group in charge of mechanical systems. Both groups worked closely to assure the building would be both pleasing to look at and energy efficient. That teamwork paid off, and could serve as an example to professionals in the field, Chandra says. "It's the first time I've worked with an architect to solve a real-life problem. Usually the architecture or the engineering dominates (building design). It was quite a new challenge, and I never realized the many different aspects that go into architecture," he says. Teams were allowed to relocate the building to the state capitol of their home state, which the UC team did, bringing it to Columbus. Among the building's winning features were changing the orientation of the building to increase the amount of sunlight it would absorb. That cut cooling costs by some 20 percent. The team also altered the large glass dome that tops the building, using transparent photovoltaic cells that turned sunlight into electricity instead, says Dustin Altschul, the project manager who recently graduated with a B.S. in Architectural Engineering Technology. They also installed a system to harvest rainwater for the building's use to cut down on water consumption. The building wasn't 100 percent net zero, but it was the closest to achieving the goal. It's up to the Library itself to use any of the ideas, but UC team representatives will present their design concepts at the annual ASHRAE Winter Conference in January 2013 in Dallas. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

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Guerilla marketer helps small-budget companies

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Architecture + Design

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September 11, 2012

When Cheryl Walters was laid off from her corporate marketing gig last February, she was a victim of the same mindset she describes as the most common misconception about her field: thinking it’s not important. Marketers, Walters says, are often first to be cut in rounds of layoffs. Yet, “You don’t need to do big branding campaigns like [Procter & Gamble] to be effective. You do need to do something,” she says. After the layoff, she launched her own marketing firm, CheronaWorks, to address the marketing needs of smaller companies in a variety of industries. She specializes in budget-conscious work; many of her clients are just starting out, like Walters herself, or don’t have a marketing staff. “I respect that clients don’t want to spend a lot of money,” she says. “I make sure I don’t give them any costs they can’t handle, and I’ll be honest if they do something and I think it’s a bad investment; I’ll tell them not to waste their money.” CheronaWorks offers marketing services from direct response mailings to websites and email campaigns. Like so many startups, Walters is currently finding new clients through referrals and, of course, marketing herself. She says she uses social media to connect with local companies with marketing needs – and frustrations. “When I’ve had to do marketing to drum up business, I’ve had luck with social media. I look for people who are looking for help or seem frustrated or are just blatantly posting that they need something,” she says. Walters says her most common requests are designing logos and websites for new businesses or those “ready to move beyond their WordPress site.” By Robin Donovan

New SoMoLaunch competition to award 5K to small business with big idea

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Entrepreneurship

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August 28, 2012

SoMoLend, the Cincinnati-based online peer-to-peer lending site, has launched a new small business competition. The winner gets $5,000 to help fund a new idea. SoMoLaunch is the lender's first business competition. Participants have until Sept. 30 to apply at the SoMoLend website. The winning company will receive: $5,000 in cashNational publicityA mentoring session with SoMoLend founder Candace Klein“There are so many talented entrepreneurs out there with fantastic business ideas, but gaining financing might be the hardest obstacle they face," says Klein in an announcement. "We want to encourage innovation and recognize small business owners and their hard work. This is our way of lending a hand to the entrepreneurial community.” The prize can be used for business expansion, equipment upgrades, promotional materials or other growth needs. Eligibility is based on a number of factors. Applicant businesses must be incorporated as a corporation or LLC, and submit a loan application. Other entry requirements include a fully developed business plan, completion of all sections of the SoMoLend application with contributions from all company owners, completed financial statements and financial projections, a viable business model and evidence of research. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

BANDI takes style for a run

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Entrepreneurship

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August 28, 2012

It’s a familiar problem for runners, especially distance runners. You’re about to embark on a long run, and you want your credit card, a tissueor a house key. But with your arms swinging and feet slapping the pavement, where exactly is this stuff supposed to go? Women tend to tuck small items against their back, held in place by a sports bra, and both genders can be observed tugging damp, just-in-case cache out of sweaty socks. Cliftonites Bev Perrea and Beth Koenig, chatting at their sons’ sports events, decided there had to be a better way for athletes to carry essentials. Starting with the fanny pack in mind, they came up with a few ground rules: no zippers, no Velcro, no trim. In other words, a more chic way to carry essentials while working up a sweat. The pair launched BANDI, offering its signature sleek, stretchy brands without Velcro, zippers or trim to ladies (and some guys) on the move. “We were determined not to have any of those bulky, cumbersome trims on our product, and we wanted something very low profile," Perrea says. "That’s what makes our product so unique.” The product – now available as a waistband or headband in a number of solid and print patterns -- took some 18 months to develop, including sourcing a manufacturer. “We had looked in many different places,and we had found somebody in New York who would work with us. She sent samples out to the Dominican Republic, and we had some samples sent to China and different places in the U.S., but when it came down to it, we got the best price and quality here in our backyard,” Koening says, reporting that BANDI is fabricated at a factory in Kentucky. BANDI is currently available online, as well as at Findlay Market on Saturdays, and during the 2012 Columbus, Ohio and Chicago marathons. By Robin Donovan

Developers outsource server headaches with Modulus

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Entrepreneurship

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August 28, 2012

Charlie Key has one question for software developers: “How do you want to spend your time?” A developer himself, he discovered there wasn’t a good place to gather information about apps that he built while creating a Facebook game with his college roommate and co-founder Brandon Cannaday. Key’s brother, Richard Key, is the business’ third partner. This trio of techies is trying to help software developers spend less time messing with servers and more time building applications. They built their company, Modulus, on Amazon’s cloud to offer scalable, reliable hosting for developers. While the company’s services are almost business-to-business – developer to developer, if you will -- they nonetheless attracted the attention of The Brandery, an Over-the-Rhine start-up accelerator. “We’re different from the other companies at The Brandery," Key says. "We’re very technically heavy, and I think they were interested in looking at companies like us because they’re getting so many consumer products companies coming in – people who make iPhone apps, for example. Modulus presented a different challenge for them.” The company helps developers follow time-consuming best practices they might otherwise skip, such as tracking analytics for usage and information requests and alerting developers if a site starts to misbehave. Modulus is built on Node.js, a JavaScript platform whose self-defined function is “easily building fast, scalable network options.” In lay terms, this means that when you access a site like LinkedIn on your smart phone, a server running on Node.js acts as a link, transferring data from the website to your mobile app. For developers who make living writing code, having a fast, functional way to track this transfer of information (and what happens when it’s not transferring) is critical to keeping clients happy. But with such a technical product, where do clients come from? “Grassroots marketing,” says Key, who attends conferences about cloud computing and Node.js, and even launched a Node.js Meetup group. “We found that actively getting out there and helping people learn is the best way to find new customers.” By Robin Donovan

AI Software evolves with tech marketing trends

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Entrepreneurship

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August 21, 2012

In tech time, 10 years is forever, and if a privately owned software company reaches that milestone, it's through hard work and adaptivity. AI Software, in Kenwood, recently passed that 10-year mark, meeting market and economic challenges along the way. The company, headquartered in Cincinnati with another office in Arizona, was founded by high school buddies and Cincinnati natives Dave Ebbesmeyer and Ed Buringrud. The pair ran into each other after college and found they both were trying to start web development companies. Teaming up, they began AI Software, offering development services including a signature content management system. They developed the system for non-coders at a time when those systems were far less ubiquitous than today. Now, AI Software has six full-time employees, two part-time employees and occasionally hires subcontractors. They continue to sell their SiteManager v5.0 content management system, but have added a full array of digital marketing products to meet client demand. In the last 18 months, the company has started offering content services as well. "Clients want a single point of contact for their web development and web and social media campaigns," Ebbesmeyer says. "We've become a place that handles companies' entire online web strategies. That could include an online web store or video," Expanding AI Software's services also has helped them compete against a crowd of freelancers, Ebbesmeyer says. "Freelance competitions still continues to be a bit of a challenge, but it's difficult for freelancers to offer everything," he says. This service shift has helped the company weather the economic downturn and subsequent sluggish rebound since 2008. "We do offer a great content management system, but our clients are less concerned about tech than they are about managing their web presence," Ebbesmeyer says. "We've really seen a lot of that in the last year. And because of the growth of that demand, we are adding talent to deliver things outside the scope of ones and zeros (the bedrock of computer coding language)." By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Cybervise fixes web development impasses

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Diversity

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August 21, 2012

Small businesses looking to maximize their marketing often invest in professional web development. But what happens when the developer steps away and the business takes over? All too often, it’s complete inaction, says Carmen Krupar, web developer and founder of Cybervise. (She advises revisiting your website content at least quarterly, by the way.) Before the launch, Krupar was working with a company that rolled out website after website, shrugging off client requests for ongoing maintenance and updates. Krupar began doing the work herself, first during the evenings after work and, later, out of her Hamilton County Business Center office, where she says she already networks enough each month to cover the rent -- and then some. Cybervise fills the gap between the creation of a website and the ongoing maintenance needed to keep it ranking well on search engines and up-to-date for clients and customers. Sometimes, this means creating new pages or reorganizing a site, but it might also mean simply fixing glitches left behind by other web developers. It can even involve some interpersonal work. “Folks that call us have an existing website, but their web developer has let them down,” Krupar explains. “Usually, the project’s taking too long to finish; they’re at an impasse where nobody can compromise – everyone’s stuck on their own idea of what the website should be, or they’ve lost touch with developer. We’re doing things like updating information, fixing broken functionality and creating graphics (like buttons added to the site), as well as code cleanups for search engine optimization.” Krupar, who is available on retainer, says the best way to avoid needing her services is to build your initial site with room for expansion, and to avoid free, quick-fix tools. Her favorite content management system is WordPress, though her team can handle nearly any system, she says, noting that most people with computer skills can learn to use it, and it’s search-engine friendly. “Ranking for search engine optimization is hard enough -- don’t make a site that search engines aren’t going to move through easily,” she says. By Robin Donovan

The Business Backer helps entrepreneurs find financing alternatives

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Entrepreneurship

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August 21, 2012

Today it's tough for entrepreneurs to finance businesses growth. Banks have tightened lending standards since the 2008 financial crisis, and some business owners don't have the credit or collateral to score a loan for even small projects. There are some alternative and creative funding options, though, and one Cincinnati-based company has built a growing business on financing small projects that banks won't take a chance on. The Business Backer, in Mason, has provided more than 3,000 businesses across the country access to $60 million in working capital since its founding in 2007. The Business Backer is privately funded, and finances small business projects up to $75,000. In turn, the Business Backer receives a percentage of the borrowing company's future earnings, says Business Development Manager Daniel Royce. The funding is repaid, often in a year or less. "Our industry is not new, but it fills a void," Royce says. "This is for business owners who may not have the collateral (for a traditional loan). They may be unbankable, but that doesn't mean they are a horrible business." The Business Baker looks at financial information and the growth potential of each applying business. The relationship between The Business Backer and clients is an important aspect of the financing process, Royce says. "We look at the whole picture. We ask, 'Who is the businessperson, what services are they providing?' We see the value that lies beneath that (traditional financial) information, weighing that information and the risk to determine if we can do something," Royce says. Some financing companies have a bad rep for high interest rates that take advantage of customers, Royce acknowledges. The Business Baker, from the start, aimed to keep rates at "a half or a third of competitors," he says. The Business Backer was founded by software and business services entreprenuers Scott Avera and Mark Deeter. CEO Jim Salters, a turnaround consultant, joined in 2009. The company has about 40 employees. "We want to provide extremely affordable capital, and provide a service based on a relationship with clients," Royce says. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

Lifelong Reds fan creates Lineup app

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Entrepreneurship

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August 21, 2012

Like many Gen Y Cincinnatians, Hendrixson remembers when the Reds grabbed a World Series title in 1990. Today, his company’s (Blue Seat Media) signature Cincy Lineup app delivers Reds’ batting and pitching lineups as they’re posted, typically three to four hours before each game. “It’s interesting to know who’s leading off and who’s sitting that day,” says Hendrixson, who describes the lineup as a trailer for the game. “The Reds have had some injuries lately -- Scott Rolen has been in and out of the lineup -- so it’s always interesting to me to see if he’s playing that night, who’s catching and who might be playing in his place.” Beyond fandom, Hendrixson says he’s inspired by companies like Apple and Pixar whose seamless marriage of tech functionality and intuitive design create products that seem “magic.” When he’s not at the ballpark, he works to create apps that leverage these same strengths. “Developers are a unique breed just like designers are a unique breed,” he says. “I have a place in my heart for this idea of designers and developers working together really efficiently; it's not something many companies do well.” Hendrixson is also the founder of the tech development company Inkdryer Creative. By Robin Donovan

NKY Community Action Commission ‘Rekindles’ micro-enterprise development

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Diversity

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August 14, 2012

By its very definition, entrepreneurship involves personal and financial risk. But it doesn't take millions to make every entrepreneurs' self-employment dreams come true. An emerging program of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission (NKCAC) aims to support entrepreneurship and small business ownership: the Rekindle Micro-Enterprise Development Program. NKCAC supports micro-enterprise -- generally a business with five or fewer employees -- by offering technical, financial, marketing and other resources to Northern Kentuckians who want to create their own economic opportunities. "We started the program about a year ago, with a focus on low-income people," says Robert Yoder, NKYAC Micro-Enterprise/Small Business Development project director. "This is a place where they can test their ideas, understand what it means to run a business and see the challenges they could face ahead of time." The program is free for those who meet income eligibility requirements, with a $35 material fee for others. After an assessment, applicants go through a six-week business development course that includes training in entrepreneurship skills, obtaining financing, learning about accounting and tax issues, financial literacy and marketing and writing a business plan. Program graduates can apply for $5,000 in low-interest loans to start or expand their businesses. Potentially, grads can access up to $500,000 in financing though Rekindle financing partners. The program has worked with new and existing businesses, Yoder says. He mentions the success story of barber Devin Pinkelton, who came through the program after first cutting hair in his home, then moving to a 10-foot by 12-foot space that held a single barber chair. "We worked with Devin to update his business plan, develop cash flow projections and provided advice on site selection for his new location that had excellent visibility and parking. Once everything was in place, Devin applied for $5,000 from the Rekindle Micro-Enterprise Revolving Loan Fund to remodel and purchase fixtures for the barber shop," Yoder says. In June, Pinkelton opened a three-chair shop in Florence. "His new location has much better visibility and his business is really growing," Yoder says. New Covington eatery WhackBurger, fast becoming a local favorite, is also a Rekindle graduate, Yoder adds. The next class starts Aug. 16. Find out more at the Rekindle website. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.