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."

Elizabeth Edwards is a former venture investor who believes there is no lack of innovation or entrepreneurial spirit in the greater Cincinnati region. What's needed, she says, are more ways to connect great ideas with resources. That's why Edwards left Neyer Holdings to form her own company, Metro Innovation -- and why she initiated programs like InOneWeekend three years ago and the Cincinnati Innovates contest, now it its second year. hiVelocity spoke to Edwards about Cincinnati's entrepreneurial climate.