After several years in the making, a $7.6 million multi-faceted health science education facility opened its doors to students. Greentree Academy is part of a five-partner private-public project who include the city of Middletown, Atrium Medical Center, Miami University, Warren County Career Center, Warren County and Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. Read the full story here.
Xavier University will offer a wealth of support to Brad Roger’s start-up company Urban Harvest. Rogers won the Xavier Launch-A-Business (X-LAB) Competition, sponsored by the university’s Williams College of Business and Sedler Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Judges announce the complete list of winners 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, in the Grand Atrium of Smith Hall. Winners, such as Rogers, will develop a business plan and receive consulting services, networking opportunities and a meeting with possible investors. The competition included a questionnaire submission, and 30- and 60-minute interviews with panels of experts. In a preview interview with Soapbox, Rogers, a project manager for a home remodeling company, explained that Urban Harvest aims to bring more fresh fish and produce, and employment, to area communities. He says the company plans to use an innovative, cost-effective system called aquaponics, a hybrid of aquafarming (fish raising) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil). In this system, when fish are fed, he says, fish waste provides nutrients that are circulated into the planting beds. The plants, in turn, filter the water for the fish. “It’s like a mini eco-system.” “Ideally, with the system I want to setup, ” he adds, “it will produce 10,000 heads of lettuce and some herbs every week, and produce about 10,000 pounds of fish a year.” Rogers was the local expert behind the development of an aquaponics system at H.J. Benken Florist & Garden Center in Blue Ash. Launched in November, it was treated as a beta test for an aquaponics system planned for a village outside Jos, Nigeria. The local, faith-based company Self-Sustaining Enterprises (SSE) helped install the system there in March. Pete West, a Procter & Gamble engineer, was among the locals who traveled to Nigeria. “The idea was twofold,” he says. “To provide gainful employment for people in the village area, and to provide food that village will eat.” Rogers and SSE hope to expand that idea in the Greater Cincinnati area, employing community members and engaging farmers. “The goal is to have a main campus, where I teach people about aquaponics, but then I want to establish other aquaponic centers in neighborhoods,” he says. “Some communities have to hop on three buses to get to a grocery store.” By Rich Shivener
For most kids there is no getting around chores. Whether it's cleaning their bedrooms, mowing the yard or taking out the trash, they are part of family life.While the tedious tasks may never make it on the list of things kids look forward to, two Cincinnati entrepreneurs are developing a web-based and mobile application that can make them more enjoyable.ChoreMonster, now under development, connects chores and rewards through a point system. The application, which can be accessed by parents and their children, gives kids points based on the type of chore they complete. Once they garner enough points, kids can cash them in for real-life rewards like a Christmastime gaming system or $25 for a night out at the movies. The parent decides how to award points and what rewards to associate with them.ChoreMonster is the brainchild of Chris Bergman and Paul Armstrong, digital marketing consultants at WiseAcre Digital in Over-The-Rhine."I grew up in a household where chores had a negative connotation," says Bergman, whose first child is due in December. "ChoreMonster is a way to enjoy daily chores. We wanted to create an experience where parents could interact with their children in a unique and engaging way. This gives them an opportunity to do that."ChoreMonster is one of eight startups that are part of The Brandery's 2011 class. The seed stage consumer marketing venture accelerator offers a 12-week course that includes mentoring, 20K in financing upon completion and access to potential investors."We already have a lot of strengths (in business) but we want to learn more about strategic partnerships and fundraising. It's a great opportunity to access the network, mentors and the collective wisdom of The Brandeary," says Bergman, of College Hill.ChoreMonster will be ready for private Beta when The Brandery class finishes this fall, Bergman says. As with each class, the application will be unveiled during a demo day before the public and the local investor community.By Feoshia HendersonYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
Dave Knox of the Brandery: "When we select our companies, we're trying to get a feel for who the entrepreneurs themselves are. Are they ones who would benefit from a mentorship-driven network, in terms of being coachable and being open to change? "The final thing is just looking at the team's – for lack of a better term – hustle, drive, and passion for creating a meaningful company. "Going through an accelerator is a very stressful thing and something you have to have your hearts and nerves and sinew into."Read the full story here.
Resource: Morning Mentoring at HCBC Need a mentor for your startup? Help is on the way. Morning Mentoring is an entrepreneurial coaching program that leverages the Queen City Angels, C-Cap, the Hamilton County Business Center and local professional advisors for the benefit of Greater Cincinnati's entrepreneurs. Each month, Morning Mentoring accepts four companies to participate in this networking and mentoring session. The format of the event allows each of the selected companies to make up to a five-minute overview presentation about their company. The angels and professional advisors then have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions about the company's market, product or service, business model, stage of development and management team. After all the presentations are completed, companies have the opportunity to have one-on-one 45-minute mentoring sessions with a participating angel from the Queen City Angels and a knowledgeable business service professional. Each company rotates to visit with two local angel investors from the Queen City Angels. Morning Mentoring is an opportunity to present, network and receive excellent feedback and is open to those seeking equity investment as well as entrepreneurs just looking for a place to get good free advice. Entrepreneurs are also welcome to come watch the company presentations and network. To apply for one of the four monthly spots, fill out a simple online form. Upcoming Morning Mentoring dates in 2011: • August 26 • September 23 • November 4 • December 1 (Thursday)
Fifteen years after opening its doors, BIOSTART, Cincinnati's life sciences start-up center, is changing the way it does business. In order to remain competitive in a fast-changing business market, it is closing its lab space and moving from its location near the University of Cincinnati.BIOSTART President Carol Frankenstein says the organization will focus exclusively on business services, making the hard shift as its closes its current facility at the Hoxworth Blood Center in September. She says the change was both a business and a strategic decision."Today, companies, even at the very early stages, are outsourcing their commercialization and development activity. That includes clinical and preclinical work, development and manufacturing," Frankenstein says. "That increase in outsourcing reduces the cost of getting a product to market. That makes lab space less necessary. Because of the economy, there is so much low-cost and even free space available; our companies have the ability to benefit from that."BIOSTART serves life sciences entrepreneurs in health care service and product development. Since 1996, it's helped 125 companies launch their business and raise $180 million. Three-fourths of those businesses have had successful exits or are currently in business, the organization reports.BIOSTART is working with local business advocates, including the Hamilton County Business Center, Uptown Consortium and CincinnatiUSA Regional Chamber to help its 18 tenant companies (which occupy about 65 percent of its space) to relocate. Frankenstein said BIOSTART is looking for a new space downtown. She will remain with the organization as will three entrepreneurs in residence. The organization has received $500,000 in funding, half from the Ohio Department of Development and half from private sources, to aid in the transition."We're using the grant for the next 12 months to explore new service delivery models," she says.BIOSTART's current business services include helping companies put together a management team and connecting with and applying for funding sources.By Feoshia HendersonYou can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
Entrepreneurs want to know exactly what's necessary from a legal standpoint and how much it costs. And attorneys are notoriously bad at providing that kind of information. Enter Thompson Hine's new legal resource for startups: QUICKLaunch."Entrepreneurs are the business equivalent of artists - and often starving artists," says David Willbrand, partner at Thompson Hine and chair of the Early Stage & Emerging Company Practice. QUICKLaunch packages the typical legal services required by startup companies into a low fee that is spread over time, helping entrepreneurs finance their legal needs.The QUICKLaunch program provides filing of articles of organization with the state to form an LLC, a tax ID from the IRS, a nondisclosure/confidentiality agreement for use with third parties, an operating agreement for governance, documentation of founders equity, documentation of employment and contractor relationships (including compensation, equity, non-competition, etc) and a high-level trademark search.The bottom line: for $3,000 ($500 paid up front and $2,500 when the company has financing or revenue), startups get all the initial legal help they need."I love working with startups because I love the passion of entrepreneurs," Willbrand says. "They are fully committed. It's not just a job. When you work with people who care so deeply about what they are doing, who are living it and breathing it, you can't help but get swept up by that energy. It's awesome."
Scott Bailey, CEO of Loveland-based localgreatdeals.com, says the web company will reach 75 cities by December. The company has a network of city-based websites that offers free coupons and deals from small and medium businesses, primarily those that are not chains. Coupons and deals include discounts on auto, entertainment and pet services; in Cincinnati, dining is the largest category, with more than 200 coupons available."I saw an opportunity for three clusters of the market: Online consumers looking to save, businesses looking to promote themselves and uniquely advertise themselves; and media companies that could present an offering that will drive traffic to their website," Bailey says.The Indian Hill resident launched the Cincinnati installation of localgreatdeals.com in March 2010. To date, the company has installations in 40 cities, including Cleveland and Columbus. It partners with radio stations and affiliates of NBC and Fox. Its Cincinnati partner is WLWT-TV (Channel 5). "In terms of metrics, we have served over 7,000 businesses, and created over half a million leads for businesses," he says.Bailey recently launched dealsthatgiveback.com, an offshoot of localgreatdeals.com. When a consumer purchases a deal, 10 percent of the sale goes to a local charity. Cincinnati Public Radio and Drake Planetarium are among the 80 participating charities in Cincinnati."We're very focused on local businesses and local charities," Bailey says. "They are places that need the help most."Localgreatdeals.com and dealsthatgiveback.com are relatively new faces in the world of Groupon, LivingSocial and Half Price Fun. Allison Kulage of Cincinnati's Bare Knuckle Marketing says businesses are advertising on these high-traffic sites "to create recognition, drive traffic to a storefront or move a large quantity of a specific product."But there are risks for some businesses, she says. "If the lawn care guy that has one guy, one truck and one mower gets 500 calls, he's not going to look very good to the majority of those people because he can't service all of them." By Rich Shivener
Today when computer technology has streamlined everything from business filings to banking, many health records are still paper-based. But most hospitals and doctors' offices in the tri-state area are ahead of the curve, thanks to a Blue Ash nonprofit. HealthBridge is one of the country's largest electronic health information exchange organizations, serving 80 to 90 percent of physicians and acute care hospitals in southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. "Because of HealthBridge, and participating doctors and hospitals, we're among the nation's leaders in using electronic tools to make healthcare more efficient and secure," says Trudi Matthews, company director of policy and public relations. The system not only makes healthcare delivery quicker and more secure, but also cuts down on medical mistakes. HealthBridge helps medical centers quickly and simply share information for 2.5 million patients in the region. More than 24 hospitals and 5,000 physicians use the company's health IT services in Greater Cincinnati, saving the region an estimated $20 million a year. HealthBridge is working to expand its system into other parts of the region under several federally-funded initiatives. The nonprofit is expanding its services through the Tri-State Regional Extension Center. "There is a big move to adopt electronic health records (nationwide) and one of the new services we offer, through a $10.1 million grant, is to help more than 1,700 physicians adopt electronic health records," Matthew says. Another program aimed at improving care is funded through a $13.75 million federal Beacon Community Grant. The grant will use health IT to measure and detail healthcare delivery improvement in three areas: quality, cost-efficiency and population health. HealthBridge is growing along with the demand for its services. From 2008, it's grown from 22 employees to more than 40 full-time and contract workers. By Feoshia Henderson You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites
When the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati cuts the ribbon Aug. 20 to open its Green Learning Station, it will do more than add a new exhibit to its facility on Reading Road. The nonprofit center, which has provided horticultural education and resources to green-thumbed Cincinnatians since the 1940s, will offer new services, education and scientific information.The $1.2 million Green Learning station showcases a wide range of environmentally friendly technology, including a composting facility, a green roof and pervious pavers to control water runoff."We've got all of this technology concentrated in a very small area," says CGC program manager Ryan Mooney-Bullock. The technology allows the CGC to expand its educational offerings. Along with its traditional programs focused on growing flowers, fruits and vegetables, the center can now offer courses on composting, rainwater management as well as other environmental topics that shape quality of life. Consequently, the center's long-standing field-trip programming now includes options for middle-and high-school students, and Mooney-Bullock says professional development courses are being created for landscape architects, builders and green professionals.CGC board member and Green Learning Station project manager Betsy Townsend says this spirit of going above and beyond springs from the very process that launched the station. Input from the variety of granting agencies that funded the project, such as the Metropolitan Sewer District, which supported the project through a $400,000 grant, helped determine its final focus."The details of the project expanded," Townsend says. "We were able to incorporate elements that weren't in our original budget." Some of those elements include research, a new avenue for CGC to pursue with its facilities. Environmental sensor supplier UrbanAlta provided equipment and expertise that turned the Green Learning Station's exhibits into measurable test pieces for environmental technology. Mooney-Bullock explains that students from the University of Cincinnati and environmental engineers are using the sensors to track how the station's green roof, pervious pavers and other rainwater control measures perform on a near-real-time basis. The data collected could help improve the city's runoff management, a major issue for the MSD. "They really need that data to make the case to install the technology on a wide scale, and to support policy changes," she says.Townsend adds that the Green Learning Station will continue the CGC's mission of public education as well, through self-guided tours. And as this year's plants take root and begin to flourish in 2012, she says the CGC will work to reach out to more members of the public than ever."That's a piece we will really be pushing next spring," she says. By Matt Cunningham Follow Matt on Twitter @cunningcontent
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