Well over a decade into his career, Roger Federer has achieved the rare sort of successes that surpass even childhood dreams. “When I was a kid, I wasn’t thinking of winning five Cincinnatis,” Federer said after his semifinal win Saturday over his Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka. “But then again, here I am in this great situation being able to do it — the first man ever.” Read the full story here.
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
“Tell me something unique or quirky about you. Something nobody knows.” Candace Klein, the founder of Bad Girl Ventures andSoMoLend, an online lending platform, was still in high energy last night after presenting her live pitch strategies to several hundred entrepreneurs in Salt Lake. The small dinner group was the denouement of an intense evening. She’d flown in earlier in the day to give her presentation at the University of Utah for Grow America and the local Entrepreneur Circle Meetup. Response was so overwhelming, Grow America EVP Richard Swart had moved the event to a bigger facility. Twice. Read the full story here.
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.
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
Sarah Evans can’t imagine how other high school students figure out what they want to study in college. Evans has Cincinnati Museum Center to thank for the ease of her choice. The 2012 Madeira High School graduate will study archeology when she start classes this fall at the University of Cincinnati. Evan has been involved in the Museum Center’s Youth Program since was 13 years old, logging an incredible 6,000 or so hours working in each of the center’s three museums. The program is intended to teach teens about museum work and prepare them for college. “I’m what they call a regular,’’ she says. “I just love our staff. It’s really a place of opportunity and friendship. It’s become a huge part of my life. It has definitely influenced 100 percent of what I want to study in college.” The youth program was one of two programs specifically lauded as a national model by the American Association of Museums in its recent accreditation of the Museum Center at the historic Union Terminal in the West End. The Learning Through Play annual conference that brings parents and teachers to the museum to discuss the importance of play in education was also singled out as a model of excellence. The recognition puts the center in elite company. Just 4.5 percent of the nation’s 17,000 have won accreditation, which is voluntary and is the highest recognition for a museum. The three-year process examined every facet of the Museum Center’s operation, including finances, governance, programs and programming, stewardship of its vast collection as well as its professional standards. “It’s really the best news for us. It’s a validation of our peers that we are doing things right,’’ says Elizabeth Pierce, museum vice president of marketing and communications. “We are delighted.” The Museum Center had to wait to apply for accreditation after the merger of the Museum of Natural History and Science, which had been accredited. And while accreditation is on a five-year cycle, the Museum Center will be reviewed in 2014 due to the merger with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, she says. “Accreditation assures the people of Cincinnati that their museum is among the finest in the nation,’’ says Ford W. Bell, president of the AAM. “Citizens can take considerable pride in their homegrown institution, for its commitment to excellence and for the value it brings to the community.” The distinction comes just three years after the Museum Center was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, making it only one of 16 organizations in the United States to have both. “We really are in good company,” Pierce says. “I hope this reinforces to the community that we are an organization of quality; that we are doing our job well, and we are respectful of donations and we invest in this organization.” Evans, who is also the outgoing president of the center’s youth advisory council, hopes the accreditation will mean continued success for the Youth Program. “I would say to youth: The more you give to the program, the more the museum can give back to you,” she says. “You will be repaid far more in your future.” Do Good: • Watch a video of teens involved in the Youth Program. • Join or renew your membership. • Plan a visit. • Follow them on Facebook. Chris Graves is the assistant vice president of digital and social media at the Powers Agency.
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
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.
Find out how a new generation of entrepreneurs, from farmers and artisans to digital app developers, are making history as they build the future of Cincinnati, one idea at a time. Video courtesy of The Queen City Project.
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.
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