Entrepreneurship : Featured Stories

Recently, a group of self-proclaimed hackers, hustlers and hipsters traveled on a Startup Bus from Ohio to Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Interactive conference. They had 72 hours to create a great product idea. Recently, hiVelocity caught up with Greg Svitak, the Bus Conductor, to talk about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and the growth of Ohio's tech community.

Derek Brown and Don Hunter both know something about the value of acceptance. They excelled in the Honors-PLUS program at the Carl Lindner H. College of Business at the University of Cincinnati with the help of critical scholarships. Last year, they also launched an online platform that helps fine arts administrators and applicants to simplify the college admissions process. They're living proof that the entrepreneurial ecosystem is alive and well across Ohio.

Imagine if a traumatic event like a car accident fundamentally changed its shape (like shooting victim Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords). That kind of trauma has both a physical and aesthetic affect on the victim, and it takes many delicate surgeries to restore a person’s looks and healthy brain functioning. A growing Cleveland area startup OsteoSymbionics is working to improve that process, by developing a range of skull implants designed to help those recovering from skull trauma. 

The 2011 boom of the mobile eatery is not only feeding Ohioans' bellies, but it's feeding the economy and local entrepreneurs as well.

What's the best thing a city can do to achieve more economic success? Increase its number of college graduates. The most prosperous cities have the highest number of college grads. Read how the Talent Dividend calculates just how much college degrees add to a city's bottom line--think billions--and why cities from Cleveland to Cincinnati are among the 57 cities competing for the million dollar prize to boost college attainment.

This holiday season, Columbus is thankful for one of its most savvy and influential business owners--Liz Lessner.

Country singer Jeff Best cuts a unique figure among Ohio's start-up entrepreneurs. Rather than sporting horn-rimmed glasses and a MacBook, the founder of CountryMusicRadio.com is just as likely to walk into his Youngstown Business Incubator office carrying a guitar and rocking a cowboy hat.

On Sept. 23, 2009, hiVelocity debuted with the goal of highlighting businesses and individuals who are propelling Ohio's high-tech economy forward. Now, we're moving forward, too.