What began as a friendly rivalry between Busken and Frisch's pumpkin pies has been whipped up into an escalating tit for tat, playing out in billboards, social media stunts and live-action high jinks. Read the full story here.
“A digital spin on the traditional photo booth” is Kelley Andersen’s super-short explanation of Booth FX Photo Booth Company, which she launched with her partner, Allison Gates, last month. The pair built the idea for their company on a love of photo booths, two creative personalities and their vision for a photo booth that was more than a traditional, space-limited box. “We first looked at the booths you can buy, and they were nice, but not what we were looking for," Andersen says. "We wanted something that was more digital. I love Instagram, and was trying to figure out how we could do that as a photo booth." The booth they custom-built – “with a lot of time and a lot of mistakes,” Andersen adds – measures 1.5 ft. by 1.5 ft., is 5.5 feet tall and incorporates software that allows photos to be viewed, edited and shared. Rather expecting participants to hop inside, the booth houses the photography equipment. Participants gather in the space around the booth to snap a photo in front of customized backdrops the women create for each event with input from hosts. Features of the booth include a wireless remote and a touchscreen for viewing images on the back of the booth. That allows attendees to view photos, use filter effects (much in the same way as one would with Instagram) and upload images to social media immediately. The co-founders provide wireless internet with a mobile hotspot. Booth FX launched last month, and both founders still have full-time day jobs, Gates as a designer and Andersen as an insurance analyst. So far, they’ve been commissioned for fundraising events and they plan to reach out to local brides- and grooms-to-be to expand their business into weddings. By Robin Donovan
Entrepreneurship isn't just for startups. That's the tagline and philosophy behind The Garage Group, a Cincinnati-based consultancy that helps large, established companies tap into their entrepreneurial spirit. The Hyde Park-based company was co-founded by Jason Hauer and Ann Lauer, two business colleagues who left their jobs at a small innovation firm to start their own businesses. "The concept for The Garage Group reflects what we've liked to do across the lifetime of our careers, unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup, along with the discipline and focus of a larger, established organization," Lauer says. "Our skill sets complemented one another." Lauer spent 17 years working in the corporate and nonprofit worlds. She's experienced in strategic planning, leadership and business development in addition to marketing and research. Hauer's experience lies in business model creation and scale up, entrepreneurial and growth strategy, idea creation and project movement. More companies are turning to this type of internal entrepreneurship to create new products and services, as economic pressures force them to do more with less, Lauer says. The Garage Group offers one-on-one business consulting as well as workshops that help companies address specific innovation challenges. "We work in three main areas: strategy, ideas and organizational development," Lauer says. "We help organizations develop a platform to support innovation. We look at how the organization assigns roles, how people interact with each other and company culture. There are seven different elements we look at in developing an entrepreneurship structure within a company." The company's clients have included Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Greater Cincinnati Health Council, Nationwide Insurance, Kantar, a consumer insight company and LPK. "Most companies don't have an entrepreneurial strategy, or if they do, it's too short-term or too experimental," Hauer says. "We can help them come up with a pipeline of ideas, drive focus and create a process for testing those ideas." The Garage Group's ultimate goal is to help its clients create a process that allows a constant stream of innovation, tapping internal talent to grow. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
The Brandery is known for its 14-week program that prepares entrepreneurs for the launch of their startups. But for the next two months, they’re trying something a little different. The Brandery will be offering community classes that cross a spectrum of themes. The classes are relevant to anyone with an idea, working for a startup or with the goal of re-envisioning some of the work they do, says Chelsea Koglmeier, program coordinator at The Brandery. The sessions will be from 5:30 to 7 pm and will include a presentation followed by a Q&A. Each class is $20 per person, per event. Sign up for a class below: Monday, Nov. 12: Branding 101—the basics of startup technology, Mike Bott, general manager of The BranderyMonday, Nov. 26: Gamification—how real game design is much more than a point system, Chris Bergmann, cofounder of ChoreMonsterWednesday, Dec. 5: Social Media for Startups—learnings from the ground, Tatiana Danger, RoadtrippersMonday, Dec. 10: Inspiration is All Around—taking ideas and creating an enterprise, Micheal Bergman, CEO of REPPMonday, Dec. 17: Financing a Small Business—different avenues to finance a small business, from traditional loans to SocStock, Jay Finch, SocStockMonday, Jan. 7: Technology for Your Company—choosing the right tool for the job, Charlie Key, CEO at ModulusTuesday, Jan. 8: Tweet About It #startups—how to best utilize Twitter to make your startup pop, JB Kropp, TwitterMonday, Jan. 14: Top 10 Legal Mistakes that Kill Companies, Rob McDonald, Taft LawTuesday, Jan. 22: Nerd Wisperer—how to speak intelligently about your vision to developers, Matt Duch, OntractWednesday, Jan. 23: How to Get Startup Famous—a cautionary tale, Julian Miller, OntractBy Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
The Queen City Project offers its unique perspective of September's Midpoint Music Festival, which filled the streets of Over the Rhine and downtown with music and entertainment for all ages. Video courtesy The Queen City Project.
A bright, smiling face—it's electric, really—greets diners at today's opening of Metropole on Walnut, the 21c Museum Hotel restaurant downtown. The art installation, created by New York-based Sanford Biggers, serves as a cultural tease for the more than 8,000 square feet of exhibit space set to open with the 21c before the end of the year. "We have eight site-specific commissions that are in various stages of being installed," says Molly Swyers, SVP of design and communications for 21c Museum Hotels. The Cincinnati location is the company's second site, with a flagship in Louisville and a third site slated to open next year in Bentonville, Arkansas. The boutique hotel serves as a free museum open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, Swyers says. Though the iconic 21c penguin sculptures (red in Louisville, yellow in Cincinnati) will remain on-site, curated exhibits within the museum hotel will change regularly. "On any given visit, you'll see something different or new." Guests won't even have to enter the 21c to experience the art. Last week, workers began installing a sound installation by Austrian artist Werner Reiterer; it's the same one that used to hang outside 21c's Louisville restaurant, Proof on Main. "There's a trigger for chandelier inside the hotel," Swyers says."It's been adjusted some and we had to do some engineering around constructing the sidewalk to support it." The opening of the 21c isn't just a boon for art lovers and foodies. Swyers says the company hired 160 employees property-wide, including a mix of 21c-seasoned pros from Louisville and newcomers from Cincinnati. "You have a good mix of people who have been with 21c for some time and people who are just joining the team," she says. Metropole chef Michael Paley is one of the Louisville transplants, as is the site's food and beverage manager. "I'm excited just to open the doors and see people's reactions to the space," says Swyers, who has been working on the project for two years. As she plans the full opening in the next few weeks, she notes that 21c's historic predecessor, the Metropole Hotel, opened its doors on New Year's Eve in 1912. "It's exciting to make this a public space again, and it's nice to be inviting the public back in." Follow 21c and Metropole on Walnut on Facebook to find out more about the opening, enter a yellow-penguin-spotting contest and sign up for regular email updates. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter.
Tim Schigel is the chairman and founder of ShareThis, a sharing and engagement platform. He served as the director of Blue Chip Venture Company and was involved with the growth of Nielsen Buzzmetrics, a leading platform for measuring blog sentiment and forums, and Third Screen Media, the first mobile advertising platform. Schigel will be sharing his experience and tips with other entrepreneurs at the first Startup Grind event in Cincinnati, Dec. 6 at The Brandery. What was your first startup in Cincinnati? My first job out of college (CWRU BSEE) was with Pharos Technologies. I was employee number 11. The company grew and became Digineer. I created a pioneering product for remote computer management for the Mac at the time. I also built P&G’s world-wide network. This was all in the early 90s. Where did you get your idea for that first startup? I’ve always enjoyed pursuing new ideas. At Pharos, I grew and transitioned from a technical role into the VP of Sales and Marketing, and eventually left to do my own thing. I was also fascinated with venture capital and the fast-paced tech lifestyle of Silicon Valley. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, albeit mostly small business. Why do you think startups are important to the community? Startups are the engine of innovation. There is so much freedom to explore technology, business management and business models. This creates a great environment for unanticipated results. Often great innovations are accidental. It takes the right environment, however, to let those accidents happen. The other factor that is a driving force for startups is time—they don’t have any. It forces the entrepreneur to adapt quickly in all respects. Do you regularly attend Startup Grind meetings? No, this is the first one. I’m excited, and anyone who knows me knows that I love to help startups and explore new ideas. Where do you draw your inspiration from when coming up with new ideas? Everywhere. I’m a big believer in the cross-pollination of ideas. The next answer to a software problem might come from biology or some other completely different domain. We should put everything on the table and encourage people to develop a natural curiosity and well-rounded perspective. I also think innovation comes from constraints. Some of the most interesting products have emerged from very constrained environments that act as a forcing function for creativity. Open-ended creativity is actually hard and doesn’t always lead to the most interesting solution. Finally, I like taking a contrarian point of view. If everyone thought about a problem the same way, you would lack new ideas. Sometimes the biggest disruptive ideas are viewed as out of touch, misunderstood or not even recognized until after they’ve become disruptive. This is an interesting balancing act for an entrepreneur because you need to be a good listener and respond to feedback, but also stay true to your convictions. The more informed those convictions are, the better. Some people stick to convictions regardless of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Ultimately, the evidence should hopefully support your thesis and when that happens, you know you’ve done something new and special. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Northern Kentucky University grad students Sean Thomas and Steve Oldfield took a classroom idea into the real world with a tech-spin on telling small-town history. Thomas and Oldfield created a way for small historical organizations to share their unique pasts with a wider audience though multimedia, self-guided walking tours. They've created Instant Access Tours, and their mobile walking tours are now in two small river cities. Instant Access Tours works with existing historical content to create interactive apps that users can access through their smart phones. Users not on-site can take virtual tours through their home computers. "Our goal is to revive old or ineffective walking tours and bring them into the modern age, with the hopes that they will educate and inspire learners for generations to come," the Instant Access website proclaims. Thomas and Oldfield created Instant Access Tours after coming up with the idea as a capstone project for NKU's Master of Arts in Public History program. Thomas, a former videographer and editor for the Army, is a self-described "history nut." The idea for the tours came after Thomas had done with work on the Fort Thomas Military and Community Museum. "I realized that these small museums really have a hard time marketing themselves," he says. "Then they lose visitors and they lose money. I thought 'how could I help museums keep there doors open?' He and Oldfield, a broadcast journalist, decided on a project that would help small towns use technology to present great historical moments in a cost-effective way. The pair began by working in New Richmond to update its Underground Railroad Freedom Trail tour for their capstone project. Their first business client was the Walking Tour for the Battle of Augusta. They hope soon to collaborate on tours in Covington. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
Some people work four 10-hour days for perks like saving on gas and three-day weekends. Others, like Sara Cormier, cram in a second job on the side. Until last April, Cormier was juggling a design gig with Cincinnati Magazine and healthy freelance traffic. When her daughter, Carmen, entered preschool, she decided it was time for a change. “I was kind of going crazy,” she says, noting that she doesn’t regret those hyper-scheduled days: “At least for me, I couldn’t quit my job without having built [my business] up. I wasn’t financially in a place to do that.” Cormier, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning in 2002, launched Cormier Creative in April, and specializes in helping small businesses with branding, logos and promotions. Her services can help young companies, or those without a budget for an in-house designer, she says. “I’ve always really liked working with a business that’s just getting off the ground and starting from scratch," she says. "Once they invest in that initially, then they’re really excited about how their stuff looks." She encourages businesses not to wait to start branding themselves. “You need a logo right off the bat. It doesn’t take long to get one, and I think the sooner, the better.” Because she’s worked with so many newly launched businesses, Cormier has curated a few tips for proprietors, too. Along with advising that any business that is doing business needs a logo immediately, she advises businesspeople to find a designer they trust and then relinquish control. “You’re not hiring a professional designer to recreate your sketch so much as to help you with the entire identity.” Cormier offers custom design services for all sizes of businesses as well as custom stationary – she calls herself “a paper snob” – that’s popular among local brides. Her design aesthetic favors clean lines and clever graphics. "I love all my brides, they’re really really fun," Cormier says. "We try to come up with something really custom." By Robin Donovan
Fans of Poco a Poco who were saddened by the restaurant’s recent closing may be comforted to learn that a new venture—Alfio’s Buon Cibo, which boasts veteran Cincy chefs and Italian-Argentine fusion—will soon occupy the vacated spot on Hyde Park Square. Alfio’s is the product of 18 months of collaboration between owners Scott Lambert, Alfio Gulisano and Ken Arlinghaus. The trio aims for an affordable-yet-upscale dining experience to showcase the distinct culinary style that head chef Gulisano has been fine-tuning since growing up in an Italian section of Buenos Aires. With a résumé that includes stints at Bella Luna and VIEW Cucina, Gulisano brings his multi-ethnic expertise to his namesake endeavor, which he describes as, “probably 75 percent Italian and 25 percent Argentine.” Alfio’s Buon Cibo, with a planned opening of Nov. 5, has a menu that features modern twists on classics: meat-and-cheese-stuffed empanadas, short-rib ravioli and traditional Argentine beef soup with potatoes, corn, tomatoes and onion. A carefully selected yet deliberately modest wine list rounds out Alfio’s offerings, with Argentine, Italian and North American bottles ranging from $26-42. The owners plan to introduce a variety of events and promotions in the coming weeks, including half-price wine and specialty martini nights. “There are a lot of places that are more for special occasions, like birthdays and promotions,” says Lambert. “But we want people to be able to come in here just because it’s a Tuesday or a Thursday. It’s affordable, and it’ll be a relaxed, fun atmosphere.” By Hannah Purnell Follow Hannah on Twitter.
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