talent : Featured Stories

Thanks to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, entrepreneurs often overlooked by traditional investment sources are securing much-needed capital to launch their startups. In addition to raising cash, these sites are proving invaluable for testing new ideas, developing a customer base, gaining exposure, and launching ideas into a larger marketplace.

Akron-based digital marketing company Knotice counts major international companies among its clients and will soon hire its 100th employee. Knotice has been able to attract and retain talent because of its market innovation, an open office environment that encourages creativity and the strong, growing tech scene in Northeast Ohio.

Toledo's tech entrepreneurs say that Northwest Ohio is nourishing startups by offering funding, business support and peer-to-peer collaboration. Can the growing entrepreneurial scene here bring new life to this traditional manufacturing town? Here's a look at three Toledo companies -- Classbag, Netronex and Seed Coworking -- shaking things up in The Glass City.

How does an incorrect soda price at a retailer lead to an emerging tech company? Just ask Case student Mark Lorkowski, who came up with the idea for an electronic shelf display system while shopping for a case of Mountain Dew. With Lorktech, he hopes to drink up a portion of the $250 billion flexible electronics market.

The Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education is leading the region's efforts to increase college attainment levels. Their efforts, called The Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend, has three primary goals: improve college readiness of high school and adult students, increase student retention through degree completion, and increase degree attainment among adults with some college experience but no degree.

Equity-based crowdfunding will allow everyone the opportunity to become a venture capitalist. But is this a good thing? Remember the dot-com bubble that burst in the 1990s? Yet while crowdfunding brings a certain amount of risk, even skeptics say that it has the potential to bring an important source of new capital to Ohio. The emerging phenomenon could also empower a new class of investors.

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.