Innovation News

SoMoLend, CircleUp investment sites team to extend reach

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Diversity
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August 14, 2012

Two innovative online investment startups, one in Ohio and one in California, are teaming to expand each other's reach. Cincinnati-founded SoMoLend (short for Social Mobile Lending) and CircleUp, based in San Francisco, are among the newest places where smaller investors and company owners can meet to do business. They both offer alternative financing and investment opportunities outside of traditional banking and investment arenas. Through SoMoLend, a peer-to-peer lending site, entrepreneurs can borrow up to $35,000 through the secure, patent-pending platform. Borrowers create a profile and loan application through the SoMoLend site. SoMoLend is the brainchild of Cincinnati attorney Candace Klein, also founder of Bad Girl Ventures, a micro-financing organization geared toward women-owned businesses. CircleUp is a similar platform, but for businesses willing to also offer equity in their companies. Co-founders Ryan Caldbeck and Rory Eakin, who have backgrounds in finance and business consulting, launched CircleUp in April. CircleUp focuses on retail and consumer businesses. "We work with companies that have tangible products on the shelf, and are looking to scale their businesses," Eakin says. The companies' founders met through their mutual work in supporting the recently approved federal JOBS Act. Among other things, the law allows non-accredited investors to invest or spend small amounts of money to businesses with some restrictions. The legislation was vital to the growth of sites like SoMoLend and CircleUp. "CircleUp is one of the first players in this space," Klein says. "We found ourselves in the same places; we were approached by some of the same investors. When 30 people tell you tell you should be talking to someone, you start to listen."  Initially the partnership will be more informal and consist of both companies referring potential investors and companies to one another, depending on which funding mechanism works best. "We have complementary services, and want to work with SoMoLend because we were looking to partner with a great company with similar technology and services," Eakin says. Eventually, the companies plan to serve investors and business owners through a single site, sharing resources on the back end. "We have a strategic alliance, with an eye toward aligning as many products and services as possible," Klein says. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

Latest in Innovation News
Fashion design project includes medical innovation
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Diversity
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August 14, 2012

When you think “compression garments,” you normally think “grandma hose,” not “high fashion.” But a team of fashion designers at UC have joined with medical professionals that treat a genetic disease that affects connective tissue to change not only those perceptions, but the lives of those suffering from the condition.  Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) affects hundreds of thousands of Americans, limiting their mobility and endurance. The multi-system disease creates joint instability, dizziness and unrelenting severe pain. Even pulling on jeans can cause someone with EDS to dislocate a shoulder. When physical therapists approached Margaret Voelker-Ferrier, of UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, with the problems that people with EDS experience when simply putting on clothes, she knew she could put her 30 years of bodywear design experience to good use. "I started as bra designer," says Voelker-Ferrier. "That has always been a passion for me, engineering things to solve a problem. Making things that are both beautiful and functional." She gave the project to fashion design students in her bodywear class, explaining the challenges of EDS sufferers as well as the basics of clothing design. "The students loved the project and I think they did a marvelous job," she says. Voelker-Ferrier worked with Brooke Brandewie on design solutions, which have been highlighted as part of the Cincinnati Innovates competition. The clothes they designed – from dresses and pants to an evening gown -- support and stabilize body joints and ligaments. Made from high-tech materials, they provide comfort and style simultaneously. One shirt, for example, has adjustable straps that help hold shoulders in place.  “The fact that they are designing clothing that is functional and therapeutic and beautiful and doesn’t look like a medical device is exciting,” says Candace Ireton, MD, who suffers from EDS. She saw the clothes during the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation Learning Conference, which was held in Cincinnati this month.  Both Brandewie and Voelker-Ferrier attended the conference to gather measurements of EDS patients and collect data as they continue to develop their designs. While designed for EDS, the same fashions could be adapted for use by people with autism, MS and arthritis.  "It was really wonderful to be able to meet people and talk with them about this," Voelker-Ferrier says. "It’s kind of amazing."  For now, she's working on collecting more data, finding some popular sizes to work with and eventually leading an interdisciplinary studio at UC to design prototypes. Eventually, the design maven hopes to turn her problem-solving fashion sense into a small business that will target the needs of people with chronic medical conditions as well as Baby Boomers.  Fashion, after all, can provide a mental, as well as physical, boost, says EDSer Ireton. “Some of the clothing is sexy,” she says. “You can feel better, keep your ribs in place and look cute, too.”   For more information about the design project, visit their Cincinnati Innovates submission. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter

Camp Washington artist salvages, creates stained glass
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Architecture + Design
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August 7, 2012

Whether you realize it or not, Cincinnati is full of stained glass. It's part of our German heritage, says Gillian Thompson, the proprietor of Gillian Thompson Glass. She meets with property owners throughout the Cincinnati area, restoring old glass designs, repairing age-damaged leading and designing new stained glass projects. Stained glass can encompass either colored or clear designs and projects can be artistically complex or as simple as a clear patterned glass that provides privacy. Repairs to stained glass are typically needed to salvage old pieces or repair cracks. After decades, window bowing, called deflection, can occur as the soft light between glass disintegrates as it is exposed to moisture. Thompson says this deflection can be mistaken for an artistic style; actually, it's just damage. Thompson began her career as an apprentice for Architecture Art Glass in Pleasant Ridge (now located in Milford) and worked her way up, eventually launching her own studio a little more than four years ago, when a Camp Washington studio space opened up. She says the neighborhood's old factory buildings offer her the perfect combination of natural light and space. "My style is all over the place," she says. "I really love traditional styles, but also have fun with contemporary work." Although Thompson took advantage of a SCORE mentor, she raves most about the entrepreneurial support she gained through the SpringBoard program. "Springboard focused me," she says of the ArtWorks-sponsored business development program. "(What) I really got from them, was learning to turn on the knowledge base in my community, just looking around at the people I know. Through friends, I've just got a web developer.” Her next stop, she says, is using that website to grow her client base. By Robin Donovan

Gigit’s local job search targets tech-savvy creatives
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Architecture + Design
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August 7, 2012

Jay Hopper originally got involved in web design through a journalism job in the newspaper business. He eventually left his career as a newsman to join a local startup, Trivantis, as a web editor. He eventually became the company’s vice president of product management. Then, he launched a social network for automotive enthusiasts before finally deciding it was time to get what he calls "a real job." After failing at the traditional avenues, like Monster, CareerBuilder and LinkedIn, and doing some networking, Hopper says, “I just found that process really frustrating. I was looking for companies that would fit my skill set, passion and personality. I just started thinking, ‘Where are all these companies – the agencies, the software companies, the tech companies?’ I wished there was one place I could go and see all that.” He set out to create a website to meet those needs. The result, Gigit Jobs, lists tech, start up, creative and design job openings in the Cincinnati, Dayton Northern Kentucky and tri-state regions. The Gigit team manually reviews jobs that are posted, and while any company will be considered, positions posted must either come from a company that fits Gigit’s criteria or be a good fit in themselves. That means a web design job at the bank could work just as well as a business development position with a creative agency. The site is aggregator-friendly, which means that jobs posted there will also show up in job-search aggregators. The site's landing pages are currently active, with a full launch planned this fall. Hopper says he hopes the site will encourage techies and creatives to stay in Cincinnati rather than flee to stereotypically tech-friendly locales on either coast. By Robin Donovan

MamaDoc designs products to ease pregnancy discomforts
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Architecture + Design
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July 31, 2012

A friendship between two Cincinnati mamas led to new doctor-designed garments and products designed to help other mamas more comfortably get through their pregnancies. MamaDoc, founded in 2009, is the effort of Dr. Somi Javaid, an ob/gyn at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine and Kim Howell, a certified yoga instructor with a sales and marketing background. The company was born out of Dr. Javaid's everyday interactions with women suffering from various pregnancy-related discomforts like lower back pain, swollen feet and ankles and breastfeeding issues. "Day in and day out, she was hearing the same complaints," says her business partner Howell. "She knew what was on the market to address (those problems), and their shortcomings." The catalyst for their first product, the Nox compression bra, was a conversation between the two friends, who'd met through their daughters. Howell was having problems weaning her son. In particular, she found the conventional chest compression process to suppresses lactation very uncomfortable. Dr. Javaid told Howell about her idea for a full-coverage compression bra with adjustable straps ($59.99). The bra has pockets to hold speciality ice packs and is made out of moisture-wicking bamboo. Howell encouraged her to make the product a reality. Howell says this product, like their others, have been designed with a women's curvature and anatomy in mind. For instance, the compression bra is designed to support the often sore suspensory ligament of the breast under the armpit. "There's nothing like it on the market. It's a very user-friendly garment," Howell says. Among their other products is the BellyUpIt, a maternity support band aimed a relieving back pain. The adjustable band ($49.95) wraps around the belly and lower back, giving women compressed support. It's also made of bamboo. MamaDoc also sells speciality ice and heat packs, pregnancy socks, a gown that can be worn through pregnancy and delivery and Organic Bamboo Fleece diapers. MamaDoc was the most recent Bad Girl Ventures (BGV) microloan recipient. BGV awards loans and provides business support to women-owned companies across Ohio in a competitive process that includes a nine-week business course. MamaDoc sells to some individuals, but most of their buyers are wholesalers. MamaDoc is working to expand that network and get their products on more shelves. Howell says the loan will allow the company to revamp its website, stock more product for fast delivery and improve its marketing. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Cincinnati State offers new Health IT degree this fall
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Education + Learning
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July 31, 2012

Cincinnati State Community and Technical College is adding a new Health IT associate degree program this fall. The program will offer two majors: Healthcare Programming and Systems Analysis, a software development and analysis program.Healthcare Informatics, which trains students to understand, mine, analyze, report and support healthcare data throughout the continuum of care.Cincinnati State is the latest regional university to create Health IT-focused programs. Demand for them is largely a response to a federal requirement that providers move from paper-based to electronic health records by 2014. That mandate is part of the wide reaching Affordable Care Act recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. "The degree is geared toward a hybrid talent set," says Dr. Lawra Baumann, director of grants administration at Cincinnati State. "It's for people who understand the healthcare industry, as well as those familiar with programing, data mining and analysis." Cincinnati State has one of the largest nursing training programs in the region. Many area nurses are showing interest in the program, adds Baumann, who is also executive director of the Health Careers Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati. It's estimated that there will be between 50,000 and 200,000 new health IT jobs nationally by 2015, Baumann says. According to the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, there will be a shortfall of about 50,000 qualified health IT workers for the next three to five years. Cincinnati State is taking a tech approach to the degree program. Classes will be offered both online and in the classroom. "A very significant portion of the degree can be earned online," Baumann says. Cincinnati State is also offering the program at its Middletown campus, and teaming up with Miami University in Oxford. Students who earn an associate's degree at Cincinnati State can go on to pursue a four-year degree at Miami. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

Cincinnati company developing new ADHD drug
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Education + Learning
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July 31, 2012

A small pharmaceutical development company is in the process of developing a new ADHD drug, which could net over $1 billion per year, if it makes it to market. P2D Bioscience was started in 2005 by a former University of Cincinnati psychiatry professor, Dr. Frank Zemlan. P2D partnered with Advinus, a drug discovery company based in Bangalore, India. The two companies are working on developing a drug, which was once used for cocaine addiction, to treat ADHD, but with fewer side affects and no addiction liability.  ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, with symptoms continuing into adulthood in up to 50 percent of cases. Recent estimates show that approximately 4.7 percent of American adults live with ADHD. In the U.S. alone, the rate has grown from 12 per 1,000 children in the 1970s to 34 per 1,000 in the 1990s. "This drug has a big advantage over similar drugs," says Zemlan, CEO of P2D. "Without the risk of addiction liability, there is potential for a huge market." The drug was designed not to be addictive because it had been used for cocaine addicts. The drug has passed the first round of pre-clinical testing, and Zemlan says it will be able to begin testing on humans in eight to 12 months, if all goes as planned. Currently, the drug is undergoing safety tests. "It's a big boom for Cincinnati to have drug development company based here," Zemlan says. "It gives a lot of opportunity for hiring high-tech and highly skilled employees."  In its short existence, P2D has had great success and already has patents around the globe. Much of the work is through a partnership with the National Institute of Health, which is where P2D obtains many of its grants for research.  "This year alone we have received $4.5 million in grants from the NIH," Zemlan says. "We hope to keep growing." By Evan Wallis

CrowdHall takes social engagement to the next level
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Entrepreneurship
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July 24, 2012

A trio of tech entrepreneurs "from everywhere" are in Cincinnati to perfect a new online social platform that aims to transform large-group communication. CrowdHall, set for a soft Beta launch within the week, allows a person or organization with a large group of followers to communicate with that group in a more organized way. It works like this: a person -- like a politician, celebrity or blogger -- who has hundreds or thousands of online followers creates a profile on CrowdHall. Fans can ask questions that get voted on or followed by fellow fans. Questions that have the highest number of votes or interest get pushed to the top and the politician or celebrity can respond. It sounds pretty simple, and that's the point, says CrowdHall co-founder and CEO Austin Hackett, who left New York's Columbia Medical School to perfect the site through The Brandery incubator here in Cincinnati. "This is a platform that helps organize large audience communication. It gives people and organizations a real time list of what is on the minds of greatest number of people. It makes the whole two-way conversation more efficient," Hackett says. The company has been in The Brandery program about four weeks, and co-founders Hatchett and Jordan Menzel, along with developer Nick Wientge, came from different parts of the country to participate in the Brandery's 16-week program. CrowdHall will be most valuable for those who have more than 20,000 followers, he adds. "The current social tools are great for one-way communication. If Justin Bieber wants to deliver a message to millions of followers through Twitter or Facebook, it works. But when people talk back, it gets overwhelming. He can't respond to everyone, and it wouldn't be a good use of time," Hackett says. Users connect to the site with their Facebook or Twitter accounts so they don't have to create a new profile. The service will debut free, but CrowdHall plans to unveil a paid, premium service in the future. CrowdHall is an idea with local appeal. The company won the first Startup Pitch Wars at the inaugural Bunbury Music Festival. CincyTech and the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association sponsored the Pitch Wars that pitted 16 local startups against each other in a rapid fire pitch contest. CrowdHall won $1,000 and "a gaudy trophy." Hackett is enjoying Cincinnati and the Brandery experience, but is unsure if he'll stay in the area once the program is over. He is open to it, however. "It depends on which city supports us, and the level of partnerships and investment they provide. We are in Cincinnati and we are happy for now," he says. By Feoshia Henderson Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

BudgetSketch charts projected expenses to tame overspending
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Entrepreneurship
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July 24, 2012

“If you’re not paying for a service, then you’re the product,” says Bill Barnett, founder, BudgetSketch. He should know – his product, which he describes as the antithesis of the popular budgeting website Mint, helps people plan spending in advance, rather than tracking dollars spent after the fact. Like many of today’s lean startups and lean programmers, Barnett created the cloud-based BudgetSketch program for himself first, and tested it by rolling it out as soon as possible, then tweaking features and design for a layout that, he reports, currently gets rave reviews. But why use BudgetSketch instead of the larger, more feature-heavy Mint? “Most financial tools on the web are backward looking: what you’ve spent, what you’ve done, your history,” Barnett says. He cites American consumers’ habitual overspending as evidence that tracking money spent doesn’t work. Instead, his program helps consumers shift their focus to planning future spending; if you don’t plan to spend money in a given category, you don’t spend it that month. Talking to Barnett, it’s clear that he’d be a good financial advisor if he hadn’t chosen software programming as his second career (he was a mechanic for Delta Air Lines in years past). He hates to watch today’s “get it now” spenders rack up extra expenses by purchasing over-budget items, and says he’s changed his own spending habits, driving older cars while saving enough to purchase new vehicles outright. His advice for today’s hardship-driven spenders is offered in earnest. “The solution to your problems lies in the future. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve always gotten. Change your future behavior you’re going to end up in a different place and, hopefully, a better place.” By Robin Donovan

BudgetSketch charts projected expenses to tame overspending
By
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Entrepreneurship
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July 24, 2012

“If you’re not paying for a service, then you’re the product,” says Bill Barnett, founder, BudgetSketch. He should know – his product, which he describes as the antithesis of the popular budgeting website Mint, helps people plan spending in advance, rather than tracking dollars spent after the fact. Like many of today’s lean startups and lean programmers, Barnett created the cloud-based BudgetSketch program for himself first, and tested it by rolling it out as soon as possible, then tweaking features and design for a layout that, he reports, currently gets rave reviews. But why use BudgetSketch instead of the larger, more feature-heavy Mint? “Most financial tools on the web are backward looking: what you’ve spent, what you’ve done, your history,” Barnett says. He cites American consumers’ habitual overspending as evidence that tracking money spent doesn’t work. Instead, his program helps consumers shift their focus to planning future spending; if you don’t plan to spend money in a given category, you don’t spend it that month. Talking to Barnett, it’s clear that he’d be a good financial advisor if he hadn’t chosen software programming as his second career (he was a mechanic for Delta Air Lines in years past). He hates to watch today’s “get it now” spenders rack up extra expenses by purchasing over-budget items, and says he’s changed his own spending habits, driving older cars while saving enough to purchase new vehicles outright. His advice for today’s hardship-driven spenders is offered in earnest. “The solution to your problems lies in the future. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve always gotten. Change your future behavior you’re going to end up in a different place and, hopefully, a better place.” By Robin Donovan

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