Innovation News

Workshop gives companies tips on government grants

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Diversity
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March 6, 2012

The Environmental Protection Agency, CincyTech and Dayton Development Coalition are teaming up to host a workshop to inform small businesses how to apply and obtain Small Business Innovation Research grants.  The SBIR is a government-wide organization, coordinated by the Small Business Administration, that has more than $2 billion in funds to assist small business to stimulate innovation and increase small businesses in federal research and development through the SBIR grants.  The SBIR grants come in two phases. The first phase is the Proof of Concept, which gives companies $80,000 to prove the feasibility of their approach or concept over a six-month period. Successful phase one companies can then apply for phase two grants, which are grants of up to $300,000 for up to two years. Phase two looks to continue research and development and ultimately, commercialization of the environmental technology.  The workshop will be held March 26 and is geared toward businesses that are creating environmental technologies that address high-priority EPA needs. Those needs range from water to green building, to waste monitoring. A new area being added this year is a Sensor App for air pollution control, which could come in the form of an app that can monitor air quality and send data back to be studied.  The workshop gives companies the opportunity to discuss their proposals and improve their chances of obtaining SBIR grants. Companies will also learn from the review process and past vendor experiences. Last year, the EPA's SBIR gave out 25 grants to a pool of more than 400 applications -- three were to companies in Greater Cincinnati, all of which attended the workshop.  "This is a huge opportunity for small businesses," says April Richards, program manager of the EPA's SBIR program. "It's a fairly complicated application process, and this workshop can help people not make silly mistakes."  Applications for grants open after March 15 and typically close around two months after. The applications are normally accepted once each year.  More information on the workshop can be found here. By Evan Wallis

Latest in Innovation News
Permaganic meets Kickstarter goal, pedal-powered cart a go
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Architecture + Design
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March 6, 2012

Dozens of donors have spoken, contributing more than $4,000 to a Cincinnati urban gardening program for a custom, pedal-powered produce cart that will move food from the garden to the market. The nonprofit Permaganic Eco Garden has just exceeded its $4,000 goal through the Kickstarter fundraiser website. The organization's Eco Garden Youth Internship Program pays youth in Cincinnati's urban core to grow, harvest and market produce in the city. The program aims to help youth develop job skills like punctuality, self-motivation, focus and accountability. The program takes on about 20 student interns each year, who take ownership of the garden, from planning and planting to maintenance and marketing. The harvest is sold Saturdays from 8 am to 2:30 pm in the Findlay Market Local Farm Shed, and Wednesdays from 4 to 7 pm at the Northside Farmers' Market. Husband and wife Angela and Luke Ebner, DAAP grads, operate the program. The idea of a tricycle-powered cart has been about two years in the making, and is finally becoming a reality. The cart is being designed and built by Robert Grossman, a freelance designer and governing member of MoBo Bicycle Cooperative. "We wanted to find a way to reduce the carbon footprint of our organization, and we spend a lot of money on many trips getting produce from here to Findlay Market," Angela Ebner says. "My husband really wanted a fossil-fuel-free alternative, and he wanted to work through MoBo, so that's how we got linked up." The heavy-duty, tricked-out tricycle holds a insulated box that can handle about 200 pounds of produce. It will also have a collapsible display stand, retractable awning, drawers and a signage display, creating a space where the produce can be sold once it gets to market. The Kickstarter fundraiser had 67 donors from Cincinnati and as far away as Guadalajara, Mexico. Donations came from individuals and groups including Fuel Cincinnati, which donated $1,000 to the project. Many of the donations were in the $25 to $50 range. The organization hopes the design will serve as a template for others who want to use this type of transportation, and the cart should be out on the streets by May, Abner says. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

MobileX Cincy features cutting edge apps
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Entrepreneurship
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February 28, 2012

The fledgling MobileX conference created by Lexington's Awesome Inc. is headed to Northern Kentucky University on March 5 with MobileX Cincy. MobileX features what's new, hot and working in the emerging mobile application space, where consumers are increasingly turning to interact with each and with companies. Mobile apps have exploded with the ubiquitous smart phones, which now serve as pocket computers that employ technology that is ever cheaper and faster. "The Awesome Inc. incubator is run by these cool guys, really young with lots of energy," says Bill Cunningham, of the Greater Cincinnati Venture Association. "I was a speaker at the first MobileX, and said, 'We have to do this in Cincinnati.' " Cunningham worked along with conference chairman Vance VanDrake, a patent attorney at Ulmer & Berne LLP to bring the conference to the region. Ulmer & Berne is one of conference sponsors, along with more than a dozen local businesses and entrepreneurial organizations. The day-long conference has four tracks: investors and entrepreneurs, corporate and enterprise, PR and social media and technical. "We kind of kicked it up a notch," Cunningham says. "MobileX (originally) did not have a corporate track, and in working with NKU, we got some corporate feedback from people saying, 'Every meeting we go to has all been about mobile.' So we decided to add a corporate track about mobile security, application and integration. That has really energized (the conference) a lot." Keynote speaker Nihal Mehta is from Local Response, which helps companies reach consumers through use of various real-time social media tools. The second keynote speaker is Daniel Odio, CEO of Socialize, Inc., which allows companies to make their own apps through a software development kit. Additional speakers include Dave Knox of Rockfish, Rahul Bawa and Bob Gilbreath of CincyTech, Lisa Braun of the Cincinnati Reds, Krista Neher of Boot Camp Digital and Chris Downie and Dave Heilmann of Sparkpeople and Robb Moretti of Verizon Wireless. You can register for event or find out more on the MobileX Cincy website. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Read more Ohio innovation news
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Innovation News
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February 28, 2012

Find more stories about innovation and jobs in Ohio at HiVelocity.

Read more Ohio innovation news
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Innovation News
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February 28, 2012

Find more stories about innovation and jobs in Ohio at HiVelocity.

Cincinnati water sports fan creates boating games
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Entrepreneurship
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February 28, 2012

Cincinnati entrepreneur Al Buchweitz has spent his life in product and service development and sales. His latest endeavor is a personal, and fun, one, a line of games designed for family play in the water. Buchweitz's new company, BoatFun Sports, targets casual boaters looking for activities while they're anchored and lounging in the water. That's something Buchweitz, a longtime boater, and his family enjoyed, playing games to pass the time. "We would water ski and tube and wake board, then go party on the boat. We'd just hang out in the water, but were an active bunch," he says. They'd throw tennis balls, and even played a modified version of water-bound baseball where batters hit from the boat, and took a quick jump in the water to round two bases. "We would have a lot of fun, and I realized that this idea of having fun in the water is pretty common," especially with rising gas prices, he says. "People all over the country tie boats together and hang out in the water." His first product, boat basketball, launches this spring. A plastic hoop attaches to the side or back of the boat or a dock. Strap on a life jacket, and users can play hoops. It's a simple idea, but one Buchweitz hopes is the first of many that BoatFun Sports will add to the market. "It's the first of its kind, and we've filed provisional patents (for its design)," Buchweitz says. The product is set for sale directly to consumers through the web in April. In the meantime, Buchweitz has been attending boat shows across the country, pitching the product. "I've been making contacts and getting market feedback and it's been awesome. The number of people that park boats is huge, and they really love the idea of having something for their families to do," he says. After this spring, Buchweitz wants to release more products, but he declined to say what's up next. "But they're pretty common sense ideas if you just think about it," he says. BoatFun Sports isn't his first foray into entrepreneurship. He also invented the STAX 80, a line of desktop computer support stands and trays. Before starting his current, self-funded business, Buchweitz held several positions at LexisNexis and was an associate pastor at Vineyard Community Church. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Local startup bridges gaps between tech, business
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Diversity
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February 28, 2012

Beth Robeson and Sharon Hall have been working on a business that drives innovation in Cincinnati since last year. In January, they launched Bridge2Tec. Pairing their experience in both IT and consulting, Robeson and Hall plan on helping businesses use the technology they already have while finding technology to give them the highest return on investments. “We run into situations where companies aren’t taking full advantage of the technologies they have,” Robeson says. “Business can be harmed, in terms of opportunities and wasted resources, because the pace of technology is changing so rapidly.” Bridge2Tec is designed to help businesses by first finding out what kinds of challenges they face when adapting to new technologies. The company plans on establishing a resource portal to help create and support collaborations, while also hosting inspirational and educational events. The TecTuneUp on April 17 will bring together local tech companies such as Boot Camp Digital and Mindbox Studios, as well as global companies like IBM and Microsoft, so businesses can hear about the most up to date technological trends and ideas. “What we are most passionate about is helping businesses to adopt more agile business models,” Hall says. “The only way to stay on top of those trends is to have the technology community involved in the conversation.” Bridge2Tec will also serve as a conduit between the businesses and the tech world to help tech companies understand what businesses need. A perfect example is a recent conversation Hall had with a data center company that helps startup incubators and their companies have a place to store and transfer data. Hall asked the data center if they take the time to inform the startups they work with exactly why and how the data center is beneficial to their companies. The idea never occurred to them. “That’s exactly what we want to do for both communities,” Hall says. “We have to help find gaps that can be filled and benefit both the technology industry in the region and give businesses a chance to find technologies that suit their needs at the lowest possible cost.” By Evan Wallis

Local Writer Initiative Network’s outsourced medical writers team grows
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Entrepreneurship
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February 21, 2012

Cincinnati-based Writer Initiative Network, a highly skilled team of medical writers, is growing with more than 300 writers in the WIN network since its 2009 founding. WIN is part of Keith Kleeman's Medical Communication Consultants company founded in 2004. Based in Mt. Lookout, the company provides a wide variety of contract writing services for medical device and pharmaceutical clients. MCC relies on a network of highly educated, experienced writers with medical backgrounds who write clinical reports, patient narratives, risk benefit analysis and more. WIN writers are currently working with five to 15 companies at a time; most clients are referrals. Writers work remotely from across the country and are all contract employees. Kleeman's low-overhead, expertise-based model allows him to match writers with skills specific to client needs quickly and efficiently, he says. He maintains the writers' abilities to work on everything from pre-clinical to marketing trials can shave months off the drug development process and save a company up to $100 million in development costs. The company vets its writers in a 3-stage, rigorous process. The first stage details every aspect of medical writing experience in the last 5 years. If that experience is sufficient, the writers then take an online writing exam. If they pass, they move on to a battery of personal interviews. Only if they pass all phases of the vetting process are they fully approved and available for projects. “We have over 300 writers in the WIN Network, with over 100 of those fully vetted, and the rest at some stage of approval,” Kleeman says. WIN is growing as the drug and medical device development process is changing; companies are outsourcing more processes to experts in this labor-intensive industry. But that trend is just part of WIN's growth, Kleeman says. “We differentiate ourselves greatly from other vendors or suppliers by our unique company structure, which leads to the best writers for a very competitive, if not better, price. So, while outsourcing in the pharma world has grown, our growth has been larger than that of our competitors,” he says. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Infintech gains national partnership
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Entrepreneurship
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February 21, 2012

Ryan Rybolt started his payment processing company, Infintech, almost eight years ago. As a former banker, Rybolt thought small to medium businesses were taken advantage of and underserved. Today, his business levels the playing field through partnerships with chambers of commerce all over the country.   He put together a business plan with a focus on being fair and transparent by not overcharging on credit card processing fees. Rybolt, who was already connected with the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, began to form a partnership five years ago by offering payment-processing rates much lower than other companies. Many chambers offer members discounted group rates on things like offices supplies and health care by leveraging their collective buying power. By doing that with payment processing, Infintech saves chambers and their members around 40 percent on credit card processing costs.   “There’s no reason why a business should pay almost twice what it costs to process a payment,” Rybolt says.   Infintech provides services for in-store retail, mobile, online and phone purchases. With pre-negotiated rates and no long-term contracts, Infintech gives companies worry-free service.   That service won Infintech the endorsement of the state of Kentucky’s Chamber of Commerce Executives three years ago, and the business started serving 90 chambers across the state. Earlier this month, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, which is a non-profit that helps manage chambers all over the country, announced their partnership with Infintech.   “The took notice of our program and approached us about becoming a partner,” Rybolt says. “This will allow us to grow into any markets we want and at a speed we want.”   Already, Rybolt says he has been approached by as far away as Anchorage, Alaska. In the past few years, Infintech has grown by 30 percent or more, and Rybolt expects that to be matched again this year.   “This opportunity is going to give us the opportunity to serve clients all over the country,” Rybolt says. “We will really be able to control our own growth.”   By Evan Wallis

Mobile coupon innovator Samplesaint gains traction, creates jobs
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Diversity
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February 21, 2012

Just six months after moving from Chicago to Cincinnati, mobile coupon innovator Samplesaint continues to catch major consumer brand and retailer attention. The startup's evolving technology is fueling its growth from eight to 25 employees since coming to the Queen City. “We've had tremendous growth in product development. In terms of hiring, we've brought on a lot of IT and marketing folks. We have 25 employees, but we're not done yet,” says company founder and CEO Lawrence Griffith, a Cincinnati native. Samplesaint was built on its mobile phone couponing technology that allows coupons to be easily scanned. It bypasses the more cumbersome process of printing digital coupons or requiring retailers to manually enter coupon codes from a phone. Samplesaint is more than couponing. It offers a range of mobile marketing, consumer insight, research and experience services. Samplesaint's technology also includes access to a database that ties to retailers' point-of-service, allowing then to immediately identify and determine the redemption and expiration dates of coupons. The company has already worked with major consumer brands, including Lipton, Breyers, Dove, Hellann's and Ragu, Griffith says. “The integration of three pieces are what companies are most excited about: our ability to acquire content, geotargeting and data collection,” Griffith says. “And we can work within their existing systems.” Samplesaint, which still has an office in Chicago, moved to Cincinnati after a $250,000 investment from CincyTech. It was one of the first companies that CincyTech investment attracted from out of state, as well as the first African-American owned company in which CincyTech has invested. Rahul Bawa, director of digital/IT for CincyTech, says the venture development firm recruited Samplesaint from Chicago because of its unique approach to mobile marketing. “Samplesaint has pioneered innovative mobile technologies,” says Bawa. “The company offers new ways of delivering content for consumer-focused companies and their brands. There’s a growing need in the marketplace for mobile-based marketing, and Samplesaint continues to explore ways to serve it. And with our emphasis on consumer marketing in this region, a company like Samplesaint belongs here.” By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

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