Akron : Innovation + Job News

This week, Detroit-based Digerati launched its Intern in Ohio program to the public, which is sponsored by the University of Toledo. Like eHarmony, the program uses an advanced matching algorithm to match students with internship opportunities.
 
Intern in Ohio is free to both students who are looking for internships and businesses who want to post internships. To register, students and employers visit Intern in Ohio’s website to sign up and create a profile or post internship opportunities. Students fill out a short questionnaire about their preferences, and employers share information about the position. The system then identifies the top seven matches for each student, as well as for each position. When the match is made, both the student and employer are notified, and they must show interest before any contact information is shared.
 
“We encourage diverse companies—large and small, for-profit and nonprofit, government and corporate,” says Wendy Pittman, director of Digerati’s Classroom to Career. “It’s a great chance for employers to broadcast their company and internship program across the state and reach a larger pool of applicants.”
 
Only companies in Ohio can post opportunities to the Intern in Ohio website, but all types of internships are welcome. There are posts for marketing, engineering and social media, among others, says Pittman.
 
The program is open to all students who live in Ohio, whether they’re in-state or out-of-state students. Research shows that not only do internships often lead employment offers after graduation, but that students are more likely to remain in an area where they held and internship.
 
“This is the first replication of the Classroom to Career technology from Michigan to Ohio,” says Pittman. “Experiential learning is a game-changer; and we’re looking forward to working with smaller communities to make a difference.”
 
In 2011, Digerati launched its Intern in Michigan program, which has resulted in more than 127,000 matches and introductions between students and employers. Over 1,000 Michigan businesses have posted 4,824 internship opportunities, and 1,049 colleges and universities in the state use the site.
 
Full disclosure: hiVelocity's parent company, IMG, supplies content to Intern in Ohio on a contractual basis.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Akron-based Insight Market Data (IMD) has partnered with a family-run grocery store in Lorain County to create a more convenient, efficient and sustainable method of distributing coupons through a new smartphone app, Ringside Shopper.
 
Jim Wilson, formerly the B2B technical architect of Avon Lake-based PolyOne and senior application developer for Schwab and Key Corp., says the idea was borne out of his wife’s frustration with not being able to find diaper coupons on the internet following the birth of their daughter. The frustration led to serendipity.
 
“All of my varied programming experiences allowed me to see the whole system in a moment of inspiration,” Wilson says, recalling the moment from 1999 when pagers were common and smartphones weren’t on the radar yet. “Having played with early handheld computers, it was obvious to me what was coming and how it would make this system possible.” The long-brewing idea became a patent a decade later and is now a reality.
 
“The Ringside Shopper app itself is incredibly simple,” Wilson explains, adding user information is protected. “While in the store aisle, a shopper just scans the UPC barcode of a product they’re interested in, and the app will display a discount coupon for that product and a few others from competing brands.” The entire process takes no more than a few seconds, allowing the shopper to continue as normal until checkout. “Then at the checkout register, the shopper simply scans the ‘Point of Sale ID’ barcode stuck to the register [Ringside’s logo is on it], and like magic, their coupons will be applied and deducted from their bill as the items are scanned in,” says Wilson. A demo of the process is available at their website.
 
Wilson is proud to note that development has been an “all-Ohio” effort. “In addition to friends and family, the Lorain County Community Innovation Fund supported IMD early on with grant money and helped conduct a successful trial of the prototype system on the Lorain County Community College campus,” he says. Now Wilson is looking for more partners and investors as he continues developing relationships with Kent State University, Lean Dog in Cleveland, and LaGrange IGA to complete a variety of company tasks, including data mining, analytics support and programming.
 
Meantime, curious shoppers are invited by Wilson to download the free app and try it themselves at the LaGrange IGA. “With a little luck, the money saving system you see there will soon be coming to every store near you.”
 
 
Source: Jim Wilson
Writer: Joe Baur

The University of Akron is investing in more solar panels as part of the school’s commitment to comply with a pending energy bill to cut 20-percent of all consumed energy by 2014.
 
The project comes at the end of Akron’s search for a project with high visibility that required little to no infrastructure changes while making a noticeable impact the school’s sustainability habits. “This new array will offset one percent of all energy consumed and nearly five percent of our demand profile during peak grid congestion,” explains Ralph Morrone, Manager of University Sustainability.
 
Akron’s investment is a marked improvement on the campus’ lone 28KW array. Morrone says the new array is 650KW – more than 23 times the installed capacity. “The existing array is barely enough to light one floor of the building that it currently resides atop,” quips Morrone, adding the initial project was created simply to promote the technology.
 
The project is also a win for nearby Carbon Vision, a Shaker Heights-based renewable energy analysis and project development firm that won the bid to produce Akron’s solar arrays. Carbon Vision offered the “turnkey solution” for the university’s needs, including a plan to design, fund, install, and maintain the solar array at their cost for the duration of the contract and Power Purchase Agreement. “The only cost to the university during the contract is the cost of power generated from the array, which will be entirely consumed by the university’s electrical demand on its internal electrical grid,” says Morrone, who will be working with Carbon Vision to ensure their contract is met and that the project is properly coordinated.
 
For Morrone, the solar arrays project is also an investment in education, illustrating to current and future students that the university is “committed to thinking outside of the box to employ new strategies to lessen our burden on the environment and its carbon footprint.” He concludes, “In allowing students to see, touch, and measure the capabilities of green and energy producing technologies, the University of Akron is directly influencing students’ experiences and further enriching skillsets needed to compete in a global and technologically advanced labor market.”
 
 
Source: Ralph Morrone
Writer: Joe Baur

NorTech received one of seven Regional Innovation Cluster contracts from the Small Business Administration to grow its flexible electronics cluster FlexMatters. The four-year, $385,000 contract will allow NorTech to train and assist small companies in the FlexMatters cluster in attracting larger market leaders as customers through its Anchor Customer Engagement (ACE) Academy.
 
“One of the really important things about this contract is it gives us recognition on a federal basis,” says NorTech vice president Byron Clayton. “Being nationally recognized as an emerging cluster helps us bring more federal funding to the region.”
 
This is the fourth time the FlexMatters cluster has been recognized on a national level. The ACE Academy will help give the region an upper hand in terms of both jobs and securing the first customers for new technologies.
 
“It’s designed to help small, emerging businesses capture the first significant customers,” says Clayton of the academy. “It helps them be prepared so if they do get that opportunity to present themselves, they put their best foot forward. The goal is to go away with something concrete.”
 
Success of these businesses translates into more jobs in the region. “It really helps small businesses grow and create high paying jobs in growth industries,” says Clayton. “We’re already seeing success, and we’re just getting started.”

The SBA award is for one year, with a four year renewal option.

 
Source: Byron Clayton
Writer: Karin Connelly

Thanks to an influx of new capital, the Wooster Opportunities Loan Fund (WOLF) is expanding to offer business loans to technology startups throughout Wayne County.

Established in late 2010 to provide capital to small and emerging tech companies with high growth potential, WOLF started out as a $220,000 hyper-local fund. “The city of Wooster, Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce and Wooster Community Hospital put up the dollars for the fund, so loans were available only to those businesses willing to locate within the corporation limits of the city of Wooster,” says Justin Starlin, Development Manager for the City of Wooster.
 
That has changed thanks to a $100,000 investment from Cascade Capital of Akron that will be used to help startups grow and create jobs. “We now have $100,000 in direct loan money available for businesses throughout Wayne County and $150,000 remaining for businesses within the city of Wooster,” Starlin notes, explaining that the hyper-local fund awarded two $35,000 loans in 2011.
 
The recipients of those loans were ManuscriptTracker and the JNP Group. ManuScript Tracker’s software organizes and automates the peer review process for academics. The JNP Group engineers and manufactures acoustic products for the construction and building industry.
 
Applications for the next round of funding from WOLF are due December 17th. JumpStart will perform the initial vetting. Applicants who make it through the process will be considered for funding by a local committee administered by the nonprofit Wooster Growth Corporation. Loans of up to $35,000 are available.
 
 
Source:   Justin Starlin
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

Developing Cleveland area businesses showed off their ideas, technologies and talents at the 2012 Northeast Ohio Entrepreneurial Expo and JumpStart Community Meeting on Tuesday, November 13 from 1 to 5:40 p.m. at CSU’s Wolstein Center.
 
“The theme is, ‘What’s next Northeast Ohio,’” says Samantha Fryberger, JumpStart director of communications. “The idea being, a lot of companies are really early in their development.”
 
The expo featured 96 area tech startups as well as 32 support organizations, such as Bizdom, Youngstown Business Incubator, Shaker LaunchHouse, Akron ARCHAngels and Ohio Aerospace Institute. Nine student companies were also featured, one of which will be presented with an award at the event’s close.
 
The showcase was followed by a panel discussion featuring success stories of area companies that have grown into multi-million dollar businesses. “[These are] some of the biggest success stories who have merged, sold, been bought out or exited,” explains Fryberger.
 
Goldman Sachs representatives talked about its 10,000 Small Businesses program, followed by an announcement of JumpStart’s newest portfolio companies.
 
And of course, investors were also on hand to see what the next great thing is in the region. Fryberger says 25 investors attended the event last year, and she expected the same this year.
 
“It’s a little bit of everything,” says Fryberger. “It’s an opportunity to network. There are some of these companies who could help each other quite a bit. And if you’re very early in development, this is your first opportunity for exposure.”

 
Source: Samantha Fryberger
Writer: Karin Connelly

Mixed polymer and rubber waste represent the most robust source of energy available in our waste stream today. Yet, astonishingly, we landfill more than 90 percent of these materials annually.
 
Akron’s Polyflow, LLC, has an environmentally responsible solution. “We design and manufacture energy-recovery systems that convert mixed-polymer waste to fuels and petrochemicals before the waste reaches landfills,” explains CEO Jay Schabel.

The company, which was just established in June of 2012, recently struck a deal with private equity firm Ambassador Enterprises of Fort Wayne, Indiana, to form a new business to commercialize Polyflow’s systems. The new company – RES Polyflow, LLC -- will remain in Akron. The “RES” stands for renewable energy solutions.
 
“The influx of capital will help us scale up efforts to commercialize our technology and create new jobs in the renewable-energy industry in Ohio,” Schabel states.
 
He explains that Polyflow will be producing renewable energy locally and profitably. “Our fuel-conversion equipment doesn’t require excessive sorting, handling or cleaning of mixed-polymer waste and will significantly reduce the need to landfill or incinerate millions of tons of plastic waste annually.”
 
Polyflow’s pilot unit is in Akron, and the company used it over the past four years to prove its process, validate the chemistry involved and provide end-product liquid samples for testing and verification. “We conducted 80 test runs and successfully converted eight tons of mixed-plastic waste into crude oil,” Schabel says.
 
The company is completing fabrication of its first full-scale, continuous-feed processor. The facility is in Perry, Ohio, in Lake County, and will be able to convert polymer feed into the same fuels as the pilot-scale processor but in large volumes.  A grant from Ohio’s Third Frontier Advanced Energy Program in 2011 made this project possible, Schabel notes.
 
“Our goal is to provide licensors of our technology, such as landfill operators, recyclers,  organizations managing large polymer-waste streams and energy-park developers, with the most profitable, efficient and scalable solution for plastic-to-oil conversion. “Energy-park developers put together funding, find a location and jump through the approval hoops to get permits to vet technology for investors in the park,” Schabel explains. “They then build the entire energy park.”
 
The company plans to add technical support staff in 2013.

Source:  Jay Schabel, RES Polyflow, LLC

TiE Ohio will recognize international entrepreneurs at its awards ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 20. Two Cleveland business executives, Jose Feliciano and Wayne Duigan, will be honored.
 
TiE Ohio is a resource for entrepreneurs to network and find mentors for their businesses. This event recognizes immigrant and American-born entrepreneurs who have taken their businesses to an international level.

“Entrepreneurs have the passion, the dream and they are willing to put themselves all in,” says Joe Cole, executive director of TiE Ohio. “We want to reward the entrepreneurs who are going global.”
 
Jose Feliciano, a trial lawyer with BakerHostetler, will receive the Community Catalyst Award. The award recognizes people who have supported immigrant entrepreneurs. “He’s really been in the forefront of advocacy of the immigrant entrepreneur,” adds Cole. “He has a predisposition to being an entrepreneur.”
 
Feliciano is the founder and chair of the Hispanic Roundtable, is former chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Development Program, founder of the Hispanic Community Forum and was a founder of the Ohio Hispanic Bar Association. He also hosts the monthly talk show, El Sol de Cleveland. “He’s really been out in the forefront,” says Cole.
 
Wayne Duigan, director international sales for Horizons, Inc. is nominated for the Global Entrepreneur award. “He has significantly grown Horizons’ global presence,” Cole notes. “They’ve really done a great job in establishing an international presence.”
 
The event will be held at the Ariel International Center at 5:30 p.m. Mark Kvamme, president and CIO of JobsOhio, will be the keynote speaker. 

 
Source: Joe Cole
Writer: Karin Connelly

The LaunchHouse Accelerator kicked off its inaugural program on September 4 with 10 technology startup companies eager to move to the next level. The program is funded through a $200,000 ONEFund grant and a $50,000 grant from Clarion Direct Investment. Each company will receive a $25,000 investment from LaunchHouse to grow their business.
 
“We’re quite excited,” says LaunchHouse CEO Todd Goldstein. “It’s changing the way investments are made in Northeast Ohio. With a little bit of capital we work with them to go from idea to validation.”
 
Goldstein describes the accelerator program as “customer-centric,” emphasizing the identification and needs of potential customers to grow the business. The 12-week program will provide mentors and instruction to the startup owners, guiding them through set goals.

“We’re hitting the ground running,” says Goldstein. “We’re not starting from scratch. We’re looking at the best innovators and how the company has grown.”
 
More than 60 companies from around the world applied for the accelerator. Twenty were selected to make their pitches to a panel of experts. From there, 10 companies were chosen, nine of which are from Northeast Ohio. The hope is that these 10 businesses will remain in Northeast Ohio once they are better established.

“The goal is to keep these companies in the region,” says Goldstein. “We believe Northeast Ohio is prime for an explosion of entrepreneurs.”

 
Source: Todd Goldstein
Writer: Karin Connelly

The Ohio Department of Development wants to help companies and organizations buy and sell their products locally across the state. 

Check Ohio First is a free and easy-to-use online program to promote contracting with and between Ohio businesses. “Both suppliers and buyers enter brief profiles into the Check Ohio First directory, which can then be searched by Check Ohio First members,” explains Wendy Boortz, Program Manager. “The program automatically matches buyers and suppliers by industry codes.”

“Check Ohio First celebrates the strength of Ohio businesses,” said Christine Schmenk, Director of ODOD, in a news release. “Ohio buyers like to do business with local companies, and this partnership is perfect for job creation.”

Check Ohio First was launched in October 2011 as a virtual, year-round extension of the Ohio Department of Development’s annual Ohio Business Matchmaker program, an annual procurement event now going into its eighth year.

According to Boortz, Check Ohio First recently added free webinars to the mix. “Buyers educate suppliers on how to do business with their organization, and procurement counselors provide webinars that help businesses get ready for contracting opportunities,” she says.  Most of the webinars are recorded and stored in the resource library located on the Check Ohio First website.

“The website also contains a list of upcoming events, and visitors can browse our resource library and link to procurement training and opportunities,” she states.

Boortz notes that Check Ohio First is building a database to reflect private and public users. “We currently have about 350 profiles, including 100 companies that have registered as both buyers and suppliers and 20 as buyers only.”


Source:  Wendy Boortz
Writer: Lynne Meyer

The inaugural Great Lakes Venture Fair will take place at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown October 17-18, on the heels of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual conference. The fair is a collaborative effort  between  JumpStart, Ohio Capital Fund, Ohio Venture Association, TiE Ohio, CincyTech and TechColumbus and will bring together investors and startups from across the Midwest.
 
“It’s a chance for the venture capital community to come together and see some of the most promising startups,” explains Carolyn Pione Micheli, director of communications for CincyTech. “According to a study by the Kauffman Foundation, in 2007 all net news job growth came from companies that are less than five years old.” The event is the successor to the Ohio Capital Fund’s Early Stage Summit, which was held in Columbus for seven years.
 
The GLVF will only accept 18 startup companies in bioscience and IT to pitch their companies to investors. Other activities at the event include presentations on regional investment activity, and conversations about building future growth in startups and investing.
 
“In terms of growing fresh new jobs, small companies are the key, “ says Micheli. “The startup community is really important to our economic future.”
 
Keynote speaker will be Jeff Weedman, vice president of global business development for Proctor & Gamble. The application deadline for companies looking for funding is Aug. 12. Registration to attend is $200 before Sep. 15, $250 after that.

 
Source: Carolyn Pione Micheli
Writer: Karin Connelly

Youngstown will once again become a hub for advanced manufacturing -- this time with the 21st century firmly in mind -- thanks to a $30 million federal grant that was announced last week.
 
Surrounded by White House officials, Congressman Tim Ryan and Senator Sherrod Brown,  M7 Technologies President and CEO Mike Garvey announced a $60 million 3D printing hub to be built on the campus of the Youngstown Business Incubator in downtown Youngstown.
 
Thirty million dollars of the project’s total budget will stem from a competitive White House grant, while public and private partners will pick up the other $30 million. The strategic partnership will develop additive manufacturing (3D printing) for the defense, aerospace and automotive industries. The 3D printing process consists of making three dimensional, solid objects from digital models.
 
“M7 Technologies was established in 2004 to build strategic partnerships and skillsets to enable our community to participate in 21^st century manufacturing,” Garvey told a room full of business owners, students and media. “Because of this mission, we have devoted ourselves to helping to transition the skillsets of one of our most important resources here at M7 – the people who work here.”
 
Senator Brown of Cleveland characterized the announcement as a “highly competitive” win, dubbing the Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown-Pittsburgh region as the Tech Belt.
 
“Youngstown wasn’t competing against Akron,” added Congressman Ryan of Youngstown. “We were all competing against Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, and if we didn’t all come together locally as a region, then we would never be able to compete globally.”
 
Ryan doubled down on Brown’s remarks, saying Youngstown beat out competitors at MIT and Georgia Tech. “I think it is absolutely a signal that this community and this region is back to play and play hard.”


Writer: Joe Baur

Kent State University (KSU) is attempting to go where no project has gone before. In collaboration with AlphaMicron Inc. (AMI), Akron Polymer Systems (APS), Crystal Diagnostics (CDx), the Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI) and Kent Displays Inc. (KDI), KSU was awarded $3 million for its “New Concept Devices Based on Nanoscale Engineering of Polymer-Liquid Crystal Interface” project.

If it is successful, the research project could have very wide-ranging consumer benefit. “The project ultimately aims to develop consumer electronic products that make the life of ordinary people better, just like the liquid crystal TVs have positively changed our lives in a manner completely unimaginable 40 years ago," explains the Director of LCI, Hiroshi Yokoyama. He lists a slew of new inventions that could be generated by the end of the three-year project, including new electronic tablet capabilities.
 
“The $3 million grant was awarded under the Innovation Platform Program, one of the support programs run by the Ohio Department of Development under the umbrella of the Ohio Third Frontier,” adds Yokoyama. The grant will be used to hire research staff to form a dedicated team in each partner and to purchase necessary supplies.

Each of the project partners has a different goal. “In close collaboration with Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute, KDI will develop and commercialize the next generation Boogie Board [zero-power electronic notepad using liquid crystals] with narrower line and select erase capability," says Yokoyama.

AMI’s goal will be to perfect the optical clarity of the Special Warfare Electronic Eyewear program to meet the stringent specifications required by Navy SEALs in battlefield.
 
For CDx, Yokoyama explains they will “advance their strength in pathogen detection systems by developing a robust design of liquid crystal interface that allows them to manufacture the device by roll-to-roll process.” 

Meanwhile, APS will develop specialty polymers tailored for the target products of KDI, AMI and CDx with mass manufacturing compatible synthetic routes. “The LCI will work together with all of them to analyze their technical issues and develop solutions.”
 
Yet overall, the project aims to advance technology that may soon find its way into consumers' hands while also benefiting the environment. “We are looking into lighter, energy efficient, human and environment friendly electronics products, taking full advantage of liquid crystals and polymers.”


Source: Hiroshi Yokoyama
Writer: Joe Baur

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation is taking significant steps towards making Northeast Ohio a hub for entrepreneurship. The foundation recently awarded $482,000 in grants to various organizations, including the Akron Urban League, BioEnterprise, Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio and others that are dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education throughout the region.
 
“The mission of the foundation is to strengthen the free enterprise system,” explains Deborah Hoover, President and CEO of the foundation. “We provide grants to organizations that support entrepreneurship education and activity among youth, college, students and adults, primarily in Northeast Ohio.”

The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron aims to accomplish just that with their $50,000 grant to support internships in 2012-13 for graduate-level students to assist with assessment, development, and commercialization of novel biomedical technologies. The Hudson-based foundation also renewed their support for Lemonade Day, which targets young people and exposes them to entrepreneurship, granting $20,000 to support the 2013 effort.
 
According to the foundation's website, “Lemonade Day is a free, community-wide program dedicated to teaching children how to start and operate their own business through the simple act of creating and running a lemonade stand."

“This year, more than 1,500 children have participated in the program, creating and operating lemonade stands with the support of a national curriculum design by Prepared4Life, which is based in Houston,” says Hoover, who believes you can never start a career in entrepreneurship too early. “Through Lemonade Day, parents and teachers have become engaged in the larger dialogue around the importance of financial literacy and entrepreneurship education.”
 

Source: Deborah Hoover
Writer: Joe Baur