| Follow Us:

Software : Innovation + Job News

54 Software Articles | Page: | Show All

Gigfinity links job seekers and small businesses

As the owner of a small consulting firm, James Gasparatos knows all too well the struggles of running a small business, including promoting the company and finding the right talent among other things. The challenges gave Gasparatos the idea to start Gigfinity, an interactive website designed to help small and mid-size Cleveland businesses connect with customers, promote their companies and find local talent. The site also allows job seekers to peruse and apply for jobs with Gigfinity businesses.

“Gigfinity is a social commerce site focused on marketing and hiring for small businesses,” explains Gasparatos. “My business partner, Eric McGarvey, and I were running our own small consulting companies when we had this idea a few years ago. We saw a gap where there were a lot of opportunities here for both small businesses and for job seekers. We connect them.”
 
Small businesses can post their profiles on Gigfinity -- free of charge -- detailing their services, job openings and even work samples. The businesses only pay a fee if they fill a job or get customers from their listings on Gigfinity.
 
“We only want them to pay if there’s something of value for them,” says Gasparatos. “Here, people who are looking at your profile most likely need your service.” Additionally, Gigfinity is offering small businesses a free credit for signing up on the site. Simply put in offer code “G1000” to get the free credit when signing up.
 
Service seekers can search the database for companies that fulfill their needs. And job seekers, or “gig seekers” can search for open positions or post their resumes and profiles.
 
It’s all about keeping it local and supporting the little guy, says Gasparatos. The site, which officially launched in the beginning of 2013, already has more than 60 small business listings and around 10 open jobs.
 
Gasparatos plans to team up with local high school and colleges in the area to attract and retain new talent to the growing small businesses. “Nothing brings everyone together as a region like small businesses and jobs,” he says.
 

Source: James Gasparatos
Writer: Karin Connelly

Profile verification service brings trust, familiarity to online interactions

Many personal interactions that start online are based simply on trust—buying and selling on Craigslist, picking up discarded items from Freecyle, attending a brand new Meetup or even going out on a date.

But what if you could find out a bit more about someone before going out on that first date? Or maybe you'd like to alleviate a buyer's concerns before selling them your old Xbox. A Cincinnati couple started an online profile verification service that allows users to verify and share their identities, photos and background checks with other users.

Co-founders Michael and BreeAnna Bergman are set to launch their service, REPP, in public beta in April. The idea came from the newlyweds' own life. BreeAnna unsuccessfully tried to do a little detective work on her soon-to-be husband before their first date.

They met speed dating, and before their first night out, she had wanted to learn more about Michael. BreeAnna says she couldn't be sure if she had found the right Michael Bergman on social media, and when she tried to run a background check (not uncommon nowadays) more than 100 Michael Bergman's popped up. "It was hopeless," she says.

Luckily, she didn't let her fruitless search deter her. A few months into their relationship, she told Michael about what she had done. He was a little shocked at first but understood. Then came the business idea.

"I found out that every girl does this," Michael says with a chuckle. "There are lots of situations where we meet up with total strangers, and we try to do our due diligence. REPP will give the end result right away."

REPP is a 2012 graduate of The Brandery. Michael has a background in marketing and law, and BreeAnna has a marketing background.

The REPP process starts by providing a name, birthdate and address. The user is asked questions relevant to his or her life that are based on information culled from databases to verify identity. REPP also runs a background check, and the user can provide notes on anything that comes up in it.

Through REPP, users can also connect social media accounts,which gives another level of identity verification. Once a profile is created, anyone can be invited to view it. Users control what they can and cannot view, as well and when they can view the profile. The profile will also have a public link, and viewers can request access. The profile's owner keeps control over who sees what.

Michael sees REPP as the next step in creating higher quality virtual connections.

"It can be used in dating, networking, the peer-to-peer area, or to get to know someone better in a professional capacity," he says. "It's a way to set yourself apart, and it's an easy way for people to get to know each other better."

By Feoshia H. Davis
Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Cincinnati-based Infintech partners with Liturgical Publications to grow client base

At the end of last year, Liturgical Publications acquired Infintech’s PledgeConnect service, which is the company’s online donation division for the religious world. Through the partnership, Infintech will continue its work with its current clients, but will also be offering credit card processing to the 100,000 businesses that advertise in LPi publications (mainly church bulletins).
 
Over the next eight months, Infintech will be converting its customers from PledgeConnect to LPi’s WeShare, which has more bells and whistles than PledgeConnect, says Ryan Rybolt, president of Infintech.
 
“We want to see our company grow through marketing our services and getting into the organizations that LPi supports,” says Rybolt. “It’s the perfect partnership because it allows Infintech to do what we’re best at—credit card processing—and it allows LPi to do what they do best, which is its new donation platform.”
 
WeShare doesn’t just allow for donations to multiple bank accounts, but it also allows churches and other nonprofits to sell event tickets, to accept credit or debit cards without the cost and risk associated with managing a merchant account, and to simplify financial reporting for the church and the individual who made the donation.
 
Milwaukee-based LPi was founded in 1972, and since then has offered churches and nonprofits across the United States custom communication solutions. It has worked with over 4,000 congregations and organizations, plus 100,000 businesses around the country.
 
Infintech, founded in 2005, is ranked as one of Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Companies. Infintech’s payment processing solutions include retail, commercial card, mobile and online processing, and supports integration with nearly all POS systems, smartphone payments and e-commerce and shopping cart integration.
 
If you’re a current PledgeConnect customer or you’re interested in learning more about online donations, visit LPi’s website, where you can sign up to attend a webinar about WeShare.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Ringside shopper app helps customers download instant coupons

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 UniversityLean 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

Software development firm urbancode to double its staff (again) this year

What began as a game and website development company in 1996 has blossomed into a thriving developer of software products.

After creating internal software that allowed UrbanCode to track the progress of its own software development projects, the company began developing similar products for its customers. UrbanCode products help their customers get their software to production faster -- decreasing time to market and ultimately getting their technology to the end users quickly and easily.
 
“One trait that unites all our customers is that they realize the strategic importance of their technology,” says Maciej Zawadzki, UrbanCode cofounder and CEO. “They need to get their technology into the hands of end users as quickly as possible. Our products facilitate the adoption of Agile methodologies in development and DevOps practices in operations."
 
Last year, UrbanCode was a finalist for Tech Company of the Year in NEOSA’s Best of Tech Awards, and its AnthillPro product won Best Software Product, Impact in 2008.
 
By recognizing their clients’ needs, UrbanCode has been growing by leaps and bounds. “Recently, we have been focused on DevOps releasing three new products: uDeploy, uBuild and uRelease,” says Tracy Gavlak, UrbanCode’s office manager. “We have been able to increase our growth rate to 70 percent over the last two years, with no signs of slowing down.”
 
UrbanCode has grown from 25 employees to 55 in the past year. Gavlak cites finding the right talent as one of the company’s biggest challenges. The company is currently recruiting sales engineers, field sales executives and software developers.

“We have the energy and informal atmosphere of a start-up, with the customers and financial security of a much larger firm” says Gavlak.
 
Company officials expect to double in size again this year. Plans are underway to move to a larger space in the Halle Building later this year.

 
Source: Maciej Zawadzki and Tracy Gavlak
Writer: Karin Connelly

This story was originally published in Fresh Water Cleveland, hiVelocity's sister publication in Northeast Ohio.

huddlewoo seeks to connect entrepreneurs with inspiring conversations

A challenge issued at a White House awards ceremony in 2011 led Will Zell of Columbus to create Huddlewoo. The fledgling company will connect what he calls “extraordinary people” --- authors, leaders, entrepreneurs, speakers, personal heroes, athletes, coaches, celebrities and YouTube sensations -- to have real face-to-face video conversations with people who admire and follow them.

The ceremony was the 2011 Empact Summit, and Zell was recognized for his company, Providence Holdings, which specializes in helping foster entrepreneurial startups, partnerships and acquisitions. Empact works with colleges and universities, workforce development organizations, chambers of commerce and small business development centers to promote entrepreneurship among young, aspiring entrepreneurs.  

Summit keynote speaker Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline.com, challenged award recipients to come up with innovative ways for people to connect, Zell explains. “I’m constantly reading articles, stories and books about and written by fascinating people, including entrepreneurs, and I’ve often thought it would be awesome to connect and have a conversation with them.”
 
Zell came up with the concept of Huddlewoo to make those connections possible. Users request a “huddle” with someone they consider extraordinary and pay to have an hour of that individual’s time via a video meeting, he says. The so-called “extraordinary people” who participate in video meet ups with users through Huddlewoo establish their own rates. “Huddlewoo presents an opportunity for them to engage their followers in a unique way, potentially changing people’s lives through inspiring conversations,” Zell notes.

“Extraordinary people” are busy people who aren’t easy to access, however. Aware of the marketing challenge, Zell says he’s working diligently to spread the word and build brand recognition. “We’re sharing the value of Huddlewoo’s platform with these individuals as a way for them to engage their fans, make money and change people’s lives. It’s definitely a value-for-value proposition. The extraordinary people who participate provide the value of their time, knowledge and experience, and users who request a huddle with them bring the value of their money to the table.”
 
According to Zell, while there are online skill-sharing and mentoring platforms and companies that work to connect people with those they admire, Huddlewoo is unique. “No one has our comprehensive technology platform, which includes the request, payment, scheduling the conversation and providing the video components for it.”
 
Now about that funny name. The first part – “huddle” – refers to people huddling together, according to Zell. “The ‘woo’ part reflects an individual’s response to meeting someone extraordinary they admire,” he says. “It’s the scream of joy, jumping up and down and running around the room all excited about having made that connection.”
 
Source:  Will Zell
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

the learning egg receives $50,000 from innovation fund to enhance lightning grader web app

The Innovation Fund has awarded $50,000 to North Jackson-based The Learning Egg. Funds will be used to improve their web-based application, Lightning Grader.
 
“[Lightning Grader] allows teachers to quickly and easily create a learning assessment, grade 100 pages a minute, and generate an analysis of student performance,” explains Elijah Stambaugh, CEO at The Learning Egg.
 
He says he got the idea when he was teaching middle school math at National Heritage Academy in Youngstown. “I was frustrated with reaching kids, understanding what they knew and what they didn’t.” Stambaugh’s frustration led to a meeting with the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) during the summer break of 2010. “With YBI’s amazing encouragement and business acumen, I was able to take my dream of making teaching more effective into reality.”
 
Feedback from teachers has been equally amazing. With teachers subscribing to the app from Alaska to Texas (32 states in total), Stambaugh says learning professionals are “finding they rely on the 14 real-time reports as a way to measure and improve achievement among students, teachers and their respective states.” Lake Catholic High School in Lake County, Green Local Schools in Summit County, Lorain County Educational Service Center and Canfield Middle School in Mahoning County are among Ohio schools currently using Lightning Grader.
 
Now Stambaugh hopes to use the Innovation Fund award to make some improvements on his product.
 
“The Learning Egg will enhance its feature set and continue school integration across the country,” he explains. “[We’ll] also continue to integrate with other educational applications, such as books, content providers, professional development groups, and assessment solutions.”
 
Before long, Stambaugh hopes to refocus on building web assessment technology, so teachers can use any means to assess students. “The Lightning Grader solution is the only all in one solution for assessment.”
 
 
Source: Elijah Stambaugh
Writer: Joe Baur

big river improves online giving, gets boost from jumpstart to expand

Big River helps organizations get the most out of their online giving campaigns with a simple theory: Appeal to what the potential donors react to and they will donate. The theory apparently proves correct. The 18-month-old cloud-based online fundraising platform has won accolades from clients such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and Lorain County Metro Parks in Big River’s ability to increase online giving.
 
“It’s almost like the last 17 years of e-commerce hasn’t made itself accessible to nonprofits,” says Big River founder and CEO Ron Cass. “Nonprofits haven’t done more than PayPal. The Big River product puts the most effective appeal in front of the donor at the right time to maximize that donation.”
 
The key is telling donors what the impact of their donations will be. “They want to know what their money does,” explains Cass. “They want to know what impact their gift is going to have. We allow organizations to create donation products, and then target those asks based on the donor’s history with the organization.”
 
Big River has eight customers of varying sizes and is already generating revenue. The Cleveland Museum of Art is one fan of Big River, reporting that membership has doubled since they hired Big River.
 
One of the first companies to be a part of Bizdom’s Cleveland operation, Big River is expanding within the Bizdom offices. JumpStart announced on Tuesday, November 13th a $250,000 investment in Big River to further expand.
 
“Any time you get an investment it changes the slope of the company,” says Cass. “We are going to focus on sales, marketing and product development.”
 
In addition to adding some new tools and bringing some ideas to reality, Cass also hopes to expand his staff. “A big part of the investment is hiring -- rapidly,” he says. “Around the order of four people in marketing and development.”
 
In the meantime, Cass was impressed with the connections he made at JumpStart’s Entrepreneur Expo this week. “I spoke to a lot of people who said, ‘I know someone with this organization,’” he says. “I got about 20 leads. I was very impressed.”

 
Source: Ron Cass
Writer: Karin Connelly

sharethis founder offers advice for entrepreneurs at startup grind event

Tim Schigel is the chairman and founder of ShareThis, a sharing and engagement platform. He served as the director of Blue Chip Venture Company and was involved with the growth of Nielsen Buzzmetrics, a leading platform for measuring blog sentiment and forums, and Third Screen Media, the first mobile advertising platform.
 
Schigel will be sharing his experience and tips with other entrepreneurs at the first Startup Grind event in Cincinnati, Dec. 6 at The Brandery.
 
What was your first startup in Cincinnati?

My first job out of college (CWRU BSEE) was with Pharos Technologies. I was employee number 11. The company grew and became Digineer. I created a pioneering product for remote computer management for the Mac at the time. I also built P&G’s world-wide network. This was all in the early 90s.
 
Where did you get your idea for that first startup?

I’ve always enjoyed pursuing new ideas. At Pharos, I grew and transitioned from a technical role into the VP of Sales and Marketing, and eventually left to do my own thing. I was also fascinated with venture capital and the fast-paced tech lifestyle of Silicon Valley. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, albeit mostly small business.
 
Why do you think startups are important to the community?

Startups are the engine of innovation. There is so much freedom to explore technology, business management and business models. This creates a great environment for unanticipated results.

Often great innovations are accidental. It takes the right environment, however, to let those accidents happen. The other factor that is a driving force for startups is time—they don’t have any. It forces the entrepreneur to adapt quickly in all respects.
 
Do you regularly attend Startup Grind meetings?

No, this is the first one. I’m excited, and anyone who knows me knows that I love to help startups and explore new ideas.
 
Where do you draw your inspiration from when coming up with new ideas?

Everywhere. I’m a big believer in the cross-pollination of ideas. The next answer to a software problem might come from biology or some other completely different domain.

We should put everything on the table and encourage people to develop a natural curiosity and well-rounded perspective. I also think innovation comes from constraints. Some of the most interesting products have emerged from very constrained environments that act as a forcing function for creativity. Open-ended creativity is actually hard and doesn’t always lead to the most interesting solution.

Finally, I like taking a contrarian point of view. If everyone thought about a problem the same way, you would lack new ideas. Sometimes the biggest disruptive ideas are viewed as out of touch, misunderstood or not even recognized until after they’ve become disruptive.

This is an interesting balancing act for an entrepreneur because you need to be a good listener and respond to feedback, but also stay true to your convictions. The more informed those convictions are, the better. Some people stick to convictions regardless of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Ultimately, the evidence should hopefully support your thesis and when that happens, you know you’ve done something new and special.
 

By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

new app uses amazon rewards, a virtual pet and health savings contributions to motivate diabetics

Teenage diabetics often believe they are invulnerable to future health problems from their disease. That’s what Jennifer Shine Dyer, a pediatric endocrinologist and Founder and CEO of the Columbus-based startup EndoGoddess, LLC, discovered in her practice and through texting with her teenage patients.

“They block out that they have this disease,” Dyer explains. “Warning them they could be on dialysis when they’re 30 if they don’t monitor their glucose levels and take their medication simply doesn’t register. They can’t relate to potential dire future consequences.”
 
To address this problem, Dr. Dyer developed the EndoGoal app for iPhone and Android. EndoGoal makes tracking glucose levels easy and rewarding for teens.

“EndoGoal is a mobile software engagement program with rewards and a virtual pet named Cooper, the diabetes dog,” she says. “You check your blood sugar and record four glucose tests a day to earn points you can spend on Amazon. Every time you record your level, you get to feed Cooper, too.”

Dr. Dyer recently expanded the EndoGoal app to include adults as well. She’s contacting employers to subscribe to what she calls the EndoGoal Wellness Program, promoting the concept of rewarding health savings account contributions to diabetic employees who participate.
 
EndoGoal doesn’t cost users anything. “It’s all about positives, with nothing negative, like price, to interfere with use,” the physician notes. “It’s meant to increases people’s engagement with their health. We’re not telling you what to do or giving medical advice of any kind. Our goal is to encourage you to take care of yourself.”

The diabetes software program is being funded by investors, the ONE Fund of Ohio Third Frontier and Dr. Dyer. EndoGoal earns revenue through selling subscriptions to corporations who offer the program to their employees.
 

Source:   Jennifer Shine Dyer
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

instagram-inspired booth fx launches in cincinnati

“A digital spin on the traditional photo booth” is Kelley Andersen’s super-short explanation of Booth FX Photo Booth Company, which she launched with her partner, Allison Gates, last month. The pair built the idea for their company on a love of photo booths, two creative personalities and their vision for a photo booth that was more than a traditional, space-limited box.

“We first looked at the booths you can buy, and they were nice, but not what we were looking for," Andersen says. "We wanted something that was more digital. I love Instagram, and was trying to figure out how we could do that as a photo booth."

The booth they custom-built  – “with a lot of time and a lot of mistakes,” Andersen adds – measures 1.5 ft. by 1.5 ft., is 5.5 feet tall and incorporates software that allows photos to be viewed, edited and shared.

Rather than expecting participants to hop inside, the booth houses the photography equipment. Participants gather in the space around the booth to snap a photo in front of customized backdrops the women create for each event with input from hosts.

Features of the booth include a wireless remote and a touchscreen for viewing images on the back of the booth. That allows attendees to view photos, use filter effects (much in the same way as one would with Instagram) and upload images to social media immediately. The co-founders provide wireless internet with a mobile hotspot.

Booth FX launched last month, and both founders still have full-time day jobs, Gates as a designer and Andersen as an insurance analyst. So far, they’ve been commissioned for fundraising events and they plan to reach out to local brides- and grooms-to-be to expand their business into weddings.

By Robin Donovan
 

innovative startups will soon launch from the brandery in cincinnati

Two recent graduates of The Brandery shared how to pitch a startup idea to investors and potential employees at on of the Digital Non Conference’s breakout sessions last week. Hunter Hammonds and Freddie Pikovsky recently pitched their startup ideas at The Brandery’s Demo Day and are now in the process of procuring funds and building teams.

Hammonds is the CEO and co-founder of Impulcity, a city app that makes a night on the town a breeze. Users can buy tickets to shows and view the specials at bars all in one place. Originally from Louisville, Hammonds came to Cincinnati because of The Brandery.

While searching for employees, he realized Cincinnati has a lot of local talent—he hasn’t needed to hire anyone from outside Ohio yet because of the wealth of designers here.

Pikovsky, originally from Brooklyn, is the CEO and founder of Off Track Planet. His startup began as a travel blog three years ago and is now a travel site and mobile app geared toward people in their mid-20s and early 30s. Pikovsky was drawn to The Brandery like Hammonds was, and wanted to be part of the startup ecosystem.

“Right now is an amazing time to be part of The Brandery,” Pikovsky says.

Hammonds and Pikovsky know it’s important to sell their ideas, whether it’s to a potential investor or new hires. In both cases, they have to make sure the startup’s roadmap is clear and focused; otherwise, investors might not be interested and employees won’t know which way is up.

Off Track Planet recently launched its beta version, and in three months, Pikovsky and his team hope to have the full release out. Impulcity will be launching soon and focusing solely on Cincinnati to start with, but Hammonds’ goal is to have it be an app for those living outside of the Tri-State area too.

By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Caitlin is an Associate Editor for Barefoot Proximity


myhealthytale app's interactive, digital stories teach diabetic children

Like all with an entrepreneurial spirit, Xavier University junior Anthony Breen is a problem solver.

While he was spending a few days at a local hospital visiting a friend, he met some young children who'd been diagnosed with illnesses. He immediately saw a challenge that he could meet.

"When kids are diagnosed, they are given pamphlets written for adults and by adults. It's not in any way engaging. It's scary," says Breen, a finance and entrepreneurship major, with a minor in accounting.

It was from that experience that Breen developed a web-based app that uses storytelling to teach diabetic children about their disease in an understandable way. It's aimed at ages 2 to 12.

The app, MyHealthyTale, follows a diabetic character through a 15-minute story where the child can answer questions about their chronic disease by following the character through the story. The story pulls from a database of questions, mixing them up. So each time children read the story, they get different questions.

"The can name a bear that goes through the story and customize it," Breen says. "It's a fun way to learn that's not scary."

MyHealthyTale is the inaugural offering of Breen's Minerva Health Learning Systems, one of the winning companies for the new Innov8 for health Startup Accelerator.

MyHealthyTale will soon be available at the iPhone App store, and available on Android in the next three months. In addition to the story book, there's also information and support resources for parents, including the ability to direct email caregivers and other parents with diabetic children.

Breen is working with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and diabetic educators at Cincinnati Children's and The Christ hospitals. Eventually, he wants to expand the app, with stories that cover a range of illnesses.

"Really, this can be used for any medical condition," he says."Right now we're just entering the market, and we want to move this into asthma and obesity."

By Feoshia H. Davis
Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

renter's boom helps property managers show and fill vacancies using social media

Lindsay Sims has been a lifelong renter and knows the headaches involved with trying to reach a property management office for leasing information. She also knows that property managers are not using social media effectively to promote their properties.

So, in 2011 Sims founded Renter’s Boom, a resource for property managers to use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as leasing portals.
 
“We are a software and service company smashed together,” says Sims. “We offer three apps: refer a friend, a listings app, and a make an appointment to see an apartment app. It makes it easy because that’s where some users spend five to 10 hours of their day.”
 
Sims originally designed a maintenance app where renters could text the property managers. But after going through the Bizdom U program, she refocused her businesses. “I figured out what business was going to work,” she says. “The feedback was property managers wanted to know how to handle social media.”
 
With that feedback, Sims developed Renter’s Boom. “For the past six months we were really running as fast as we can, figuring out the silver bullet that works,” she says. Originally working out the Beta Space at MAGNET, Sims recently moved into new offices at E. 55th and Euclid.
 
Business is good. Sims has a solid client base and hopes to start hiring around the first of the year. “I want to make sure our revenue strategy is okay,” she explains. “But I’ll be looking for people to get our clients serviced -- sales and marketing people.” In the meantime, Sims is looking for a fall intern to help with the daily operations.

 
Source: Lindsay Sims
Writer: Karin Connelly

offenberger & white launch ed.it2 content management application

Offenberger & White (OffWhite) has launched the fifth generation of their content management application, Ed.it2.
 
The Marietta-based company is a marketing consulting firm dating back to 1985. Bill White, CEO and co-founder, says the product was conceived, funded and developed by Marietta College alumni working for OffWhite. “It is a 100 percent Ohio-generated solution to the global problem of cost-effective website management and integration.”
 
Ed.it2 is a digital media dashboard that includes a content management system developed for browser-based website management and editing. White says this latest iteration of the application permits management of digital media and websites from personal devices, such as iPhones, iPads, PCs and other computers with access to a conventional Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
 
“Central to the Ed.it2 is a ‘Simple Edit’ function that provides real-time editing on live pages whenever the user is logged in,” explains White. “If you see a typo, simply click the icon, make the change and save.” The changes are immediate, and mistakes can be undone just as quickly.
 
Looking ahead, OffWhite will be demonstrating live website applications of Ed.it2 at webinars. They’ll be hosting “lunch and learn” sessions, highlighting the products features to clients. “Ed.it2 provides easy access and a secure user interface for setting multiple access privileges, managing databases, quick content editing, content optimization to improve search engine rankings, analytics, social media and more.”


Source: Bill White
Writer: Joe Baur
54 Software Articles | Page: | Show All
Share this page
0
Email
Print