Innovation News

OTR Line collects, posts wait times at popular downtown restaurants

By Newsroom

●

July 9, 2013

Scott Miller doesn’t like waiting in lines. Not for his driver’s license. Not at the doctor’s office. And not for a meal at one of his favorite restaurants in Over the Rhine. So Miller and fellow software geek Scott Avera designed a new mobile app to leverage the power of crowd-sourcing and help diners get a real-time sense of the minutes they could spend waiting for tables in the city’s popular urban restaurant scene. After calling OTR restaurants hourly for weeks to gather preliminary wait-time data, OTR Line launced last Friday to the public in both Apple and Android versions. It's a simple, streamlined app that offers information and a process for gathering in put in clear, easy-to-follow formats. “The app calculates average wait times based upon history,” explains Miller, who grew up in Anderson Township and now lives in Blue Ash. “But we really want people to report. As people report wait times, the app gets better. The more input you get, the better predictability.” Avera, a Springboro native who now lives in Hyde Park, brings his experience as former owner of Ascent Solutions to the new business venture. “We have been software entrepreneurs all of our lives,” says Miller, 52. The key to OTR Line’s success lies in users’ willingness to log wait times, he says. The app allows users to scroll through a list of eateries and compare wait times, and it also offers space for restaurants to place ads. “The restaurant will get to play the game as well,” he says. Miller and Avera plan to approach restaurateurs with OTR Line window stickers later this week; the free app is available for download now. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter.

Latest in Innovation News

Cincinnati Digital Xchange explores latest strategies, techniques in digital marketing

By Newsroom

●

Architecture + Design

●

July 9, 2013

Top digital marketing trends, techniques and strategies are ever-evolving. New tools, networks, devices and technologies make the rapidly changing space competitive and dynamic. You master one (or five) techniques, and then a new one comes along. Keeping up with those tools and getting the best out of them is the foundation of a new group, Cincinnati Digital Xchange, which meets downtown once a month to explore the ins and outs of the digital marketing space. The Xchange was founded by a group of local digital marketing experts as an open place where people can learn and swap ideas. It began as a web analytics group but expanded to include other dimensions of digital marketing as well. "We decided we wanted to bring in more people in the digital industry," says Xchange's co-founder Russ Shirley, a digital marketing consultant. "We'd focus on social, local, mobile—anything trending or coming up." The group meets the last Tuesday of each month at Cintrifuse, the region's newest corporate-backed startup investment fund and incubator. The group has had some impressive, on-trend speakers, including inaugural speaker J.B. Kropp, Brandery co-founder and Twitter V.P. of Strategic Partnerships (and Cincinnatian), who spoke about engagement and how brands are leveraging the platform. Other speakers include marketing pros from Cincinnati powerhouses like dunnhumby, Possible, Empower MediaMarketing, Rockfish Interactive and Procter & Gamble. The group has grown quickly—some months, meetings attract more than 100 people. The meetings are free, and Xchange receives major support from Cintrifuse, Empower MediaMarketing and CincyTech. "The main goal is kind of self-serving," Shirley says. "I wanted to get information that I want to learn, find out things that are not usually accessible to anyone who is outside of an agency." The next meeting is set for July 30. Stay connected with Cincinnati Digital Xchange through its Meetup page. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Covington Renaissance explores power of pop-ups

By Newsroom

●

Architecture + Design

●

July 9, 2013

Economic restructuring, or fostering the growth of new businesses, is high on the priority list for Katie Meyer, Covington’s 29-year-old Renaissance manager. Three years into a job in the town where she grew up, Meyer sees signs of success in the 15 new businesses that have opened in the city since January—retail and restaurant and gallery spaces that have taken up once-vacant spots. She’s the force behind “Make Covington Pop,” a community effort to support new small businesses and build excitement around the city by creating pop-up shops, or temporary business and event spaces, in unoccupied storefronts. The initiative launched last Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) with the opening of two pop-ups on Pike Street—one bookstore/coffee shop and one vintage clothing operation that has since evolved into District 78. This week, Make Covington Pop hosts “Big Talk Small Talk, a Syposium on Pop-Up Shops and Urban Vitality,” in an effort to keep the momentum going. The power of the pop-up, according to one guest speaker, is in its ability to build community. “You start turning places into destinations,” says Griffin VanMeter a Kick Ass Kentuckian of Kentucky for Kentucky, based out of Lexington. “You get people experiencing culture together. Kentucky for Kentucky has been successful at that. We get our fans and supporters to come out, and they see things they wouldn’t already see.” Joining VanMeter in Covington this week are Lisa Frisch of the Portland (Oregon) Business Alliance, who has supported a range of pop-ups in Portland since 2009; and Michael Forsythe of Detroit’s pop-up initiative, RevolveDetroit. Though the number of vacant storefronts in Covington has declined this year, Meyer can point to several spaces nearly move-in ready and others that need a boost from building owners to make them appealing investments for budding entrepreneurs. The symposium offers information designed to engage property owners as well as potential business owners, Meyer says. If entrepreneurs get a healthy start in Covington, they may, like District 78, decide to make a more permanent investment and stay. “We do want to do another round of pop up shops this fall,” Meyer says. “It’s all about continuing the movement.” Interested in finding out more about "Make Covington Pop"? Find the group on Facebook or register for this week’s symposium. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter. Photos of a recent pop-up event in Lexington hosted by Kentucky for Kentucky: The Mounting of the Colonel, a celebration of the installation of a Colonel Sanders weather vane on a newly restored event space. Photos by Frank Döring.

Design Impact for Change Makers uses design thinking to help nonprofits

By Newsroom

●

Entrepreneurship

●

June 25, 2013

Design isn't just about how something—like a mobile phone or a vacuum cleaner—looks, but how it works and how users receive and interact with it. Creative design is most often applied in the consumer marketing world in product development, including packaging and marketing. But a Cincinnati couple is taking design thinking into the nonprofit world through their own nonprofit, Design Impact. The organization works with social change organizations to help address local and global social issues through creative design thinking. Design Impact has applied this concept to organizations both here in Cincinnati and in rural India where the founders first began testing their ideas. Design Impact was founded by husband-and-wife team Kate Hanisian and Ramsey Ford. Hanisian's background is in the nonprofit and education sectors, and Ford is a designer with extensive consumer product experience. Design thinking can help nonprofits meet challenges by giving them a different way to solve, test and measure ideas, says Ford. There are several key aspects to Design thinking: Identify opportunities to innovate Apply empathy and creativity to change problems into breakthroughsUncover hidden insights and unarticulated needs from your customersQuickly and inexpensively prototype new ideasInitiate design thinking in your business, organization or communityDesign Impact is holding a two-day seminar for nonprofits that are interested in learning more about incorporating design thinking in their own solving challenges. Design Impact for Change Makers is Aug. 1 and 2, at the Kaleidoscope building downtown, which is located at 205 W. Fourth St., Suite 1140. Design Impact for Change Makers will be workshop-based and participants are being asked to bring a real challenge they'd like to solve or idea they'd like to explore. It could be anything from offering a new service to better engaging donors, Ford says. "It's about idea generation, and staying in a creative state of mind so you don't always rely on the same old solutions," he says. "We'll be working through the entire creative process from discovery to creation and verification." You can register for the event here, and the cost is $275 for both days. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Share local history with Touritz

By Sean M. Peters

●

Entrepreneurship

●

June 25, 2013

Created by two local entrepreneurs with a passion for history, Touritz aims to help increase interest in local lore.

Blegalbloss takes on clunky office document storage with innovative design

By Newsroom

●

Architecture + Design

●

June 25, 2013

The old cardboard document storage box is getting a makeover, complete with ergonomic design, through the work of a Cincinnati startup. Blegalbloss founder and president Will Scott has created a line of office products that make document storage, organization and use easier. The company's signature product, BOXIE, is an ergonomic, lockable file box. The tough, rip-resistant boxes have a handle that is curved and slanted to make the box easy to pick up and carry. The box also has a locking feature, is made from 65 percent recycled materials, and is 100 percent recyclable. Scott, a Northern Kentuckian, previously owned a record management company, and had worked in the financial service industry in sales and accounting. "When I was in the record management industry, I had some time to think about how people use these storage items, and had a little black book of ideas," Scott says. "Looking at the boxes themselves, I realize they hadn't changed in nearly 100 years." That's when he went to work and began making the boxes better through design. "I went about the task to redesign these sorts of things, and to make them stronger," he says. "It wasn't until I watched someone carrying the box that I realized that had been designed totally wrong." Blegalbloss (pronounced Blee-guhl-bloss) was launched in early 2011, and the BOXIE was first delivered in January. In addition to boxes, the company sells Roo brand document organizers and DominoTwin office supply organizers. The products are sold through 2,700 retailers. The company's goal is to be in 4,000 retail stores by year's end and 10,000 by 2014, Scott says. Blegalbloss is working to expand the brand globally, and launch other products. Among Blegalbloss retailers are GoEvolved.com, Amazon, eBay and Office Depot. Since most of the innovation is in the products' design, their costs are competitive with traditional storage boxes, Scott says. His company currently has about 45 patents pending and 10 already issued. "We've built a better mousetrap," Scott says. "We're selling this at the same pricing (as competitors) in the marketplace, with better value and features." By Feoshia H. Davis

Zooted Delivery now available every day

By Sean M. Peters

●

Move to Cincinnati

●

June 18, 2013

Zooted Delivery brings food to your front door from restaurants around the city that don’t typically deliver.

Empower MediaMarketing creates Disruptive Media Fellowship

By Newsroom

●

Entrepreneurship

●

June 18, 2013

Independent media agency Empower MediaMarketing recently created a new Disruptive Media Fellowship at The Brandery, Cincinnati's consumer brand business accelerator. The $10,000 fellowship will go to a Brandery startup whose idea is most disruptive to the media landscape. The fellowship recipient will be announced later this month, as The Brandery's incoming 2013 class begins, says Empower MediaMarketing's Director of Content Strategy Kevin Dugan. "It seems that disruptions are taking place almost every day as consumer habits change," Dugan says. "We feel that for companies reacting to that is really more of an opportunity than anything else. If you are helping create the disruptions, it can become a competitive advantage." Empower MediaMarketing is an independent media agency that plans, buys, creates and proves media impact for its clients. Dugan and CEO Jim Price are also Brandery mentors. The Brandery launched in 2010 to offer funding, mentoring and partnerships for consumer marketing businesses. Brandery companies receive $20,000 in startup funding, and pitch their companies to potential investors at a Demo Day at the end of the four-month program. The Brandery is a member of the Global Accelerator Network, and companies from across the country apply to the emerging accelerator. It is annually recognized as one of the elite startup accelerators in the country. More than 60 mentors work with the companies, which each receive $20,000 in seed money. Leading Cincinnati-based agencies offer free marketing and media guidance to each of the startups. "As a company, we have been mentoring startups since 2010," Dugan says. "We really enjoy the process and wanted to increase our support (of The Brandery). This allows us to increase commitment and help startups." By Feoshia H. Davis

RocketHub campaign spurs Zest Tea founders to launch

By Newsroom

●

Entrepreneurship

●

June 18, 2013

When James Fayal and Ricky Ishida moved to Cincinnati last summer to focus on start-ups, they had given little thought to launching their own. But, before a year has passed, the Milton Street housemates have embarked on one of eight national Venture for America initiatives (two from Cincinnati) that demonstrate just how much they have come to embody the entrepreneurial spirit. As members of the inaugural Venture for America class of fellows, the Zest Tea founders exemplify the essence of the national, startup-generating project designed to attract top collegiate talent to and retain them in “flyover” cities like Cincinnati. Both moved to Cincinnati to work for start-ups that intrigued them. Fayal, a University of Maryland grad, chose to work with CincyTech, while Ishida of Cornell landed at ZipScene. Given the intense work schedules of start-ups, it’s no surprise that their idea for their own start-up grew out of a blend of personal experiences and frustration. Both preferred tea to coffee—Ishida based on experience dating to his childhood in Japan and Fayal from his high school days. Still, neither could locate traditional teas with enough caffeinated punch to help them get through the extended days of the start-up world. Instead of complaining, they started on a search for a coffee-caffeine alternative. They found no tasty tea product on the market that provided coffee caffeine levels. That's when Fayal and Ishida knew they were on to something. They just didn’t know what. “We started developing our own [tea] blends,” Fayal says. There was Cinnamon Apple Black Tea and Pomegranate Mojito Green Tea; Blue Lady Black Tea and Moroccan Mint Green Tea. “We started playing around with some tea extracts, with additional antioxidants, and caffeine,” Fayal says. By blending tea extracts with high quality teas, they focused on good (read: not bitter) taste while boosting caffeine levels. What began as a beverage born of personal interest became a business plan very quickly over the last month thanks to another VFA innovation. The non-profit launched a national awareness campaign through RocketHub aimed at nurturing their young Fellows’ community involvement and start-up aspirations. Members of the first class of VFA fellows were encouraged to enter a start-up competition of their own, with cash prizes awarded to the top three already crowd-funded ideas. They created a RocketHub site for “Zest Tea - Bold Teas With An Energizing Kick,” and started raising money. To sweeten the pot, they turned the very funding process into a bit of a game—folks who donate get to help decide which teas will make it to market first. "We figured we’d let the funders make the final decision on the first four," says Fayal, who enjoys all eight of the blends on the ballot, but admits to a particular fondness for Pomegranate Mojito and Cinnamon Apple blends as well as the more traditional Earl Grey. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter.