Featured Stories

Mike Figliuolo is a former Army officer, McKinsey and Company consultant, Capital One Financial strategist, and a VP for Scotts Lawn Service. Today, he runs a practitioner-led leadership training firm, is an angel investor for tech startups, heads several web-based businesses and is a principal at a Dublin business accelerator. Oh, and he's writing a book. It's an unwieldy job description, but Figliuolo makes it simple: "I'm a parallel entrepreneur."

Last year, the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) announced a long-term plan to develop wind power in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie -- the first freshwater offshore wind farm in North America. The initial 20-megawatt wind farm is expected to be completed in late 2013 and followed by subsequent projects. The long-term goal: 1,000 megawatts by 2020. HiVelocity spoke with Dr. Lorry Wagner, president of LEEDCo and the driving force behind the 20-megawatt pilot project, about the future of offshore wind power in Ohio.

Lurking deep beneath Ohio's fields, forests and neighborhoods are vast shale formations believed to hold a virtual goldmine of natural gas and oil. Nobody knows for sure how much. But gas and oil companies are betting billions on a potential payoff that could start flowing within the decade.

Wil Schroter was only 19 and a student at Ohio State University when he started his first company: Blue Diesel. Since then, he has blazed a trail of business creation that has resulted in more than half a dozen companies. We caught up with Schroter to ask him about entrepreneurship and his views on Ohio as a place to do business.

Young job recruits today want more than a paycheck, says Cincinnati business consultant Chuck Proudfit. They want a chance to make a difference in the world and they want their company to help give them that chance.

The Neighborhood Connections program provides small financial gifts to community organizations focused on enhancing neighborhoods and engaging residents. Recipients must connect residents in meaningful ways through grass roots projects. Though the grants are small -- from $500 to $5,000 -- they can make a huge difference in the destiny of a neighborhood and its citizens.

A 100-kilowatt, community-scale wind turbine was erected on the Case Western Reserve University campus in November. Funded by the Ohio Third Frontier initiative, it is the first among three turbines planned for the campus. Watch it go up -- and the bravery of those who climb over the top of the turbine -- in this video.