Entrepreneurs + Innovators
Entrepreneur James Levin, who has always balanced his arts and cultural impresario endeavors with a law career defending the poor and disenfranchised, has opened a legal clinic in Glenville.
When Jason Minter has fond memories of his grandmother, Connie Pugh, and her fascination with PBS programming. “Every Sunday we would go to my grandma’s after church and she was always watching PBS,” he recalls. “She would say, ‘PBS brings all these cultures to me right in my living room.’ My grandmother never left the city.”
Years later, in 2012, Minter was in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy as a teaching assistant with Texas A&M’s college of architecture study abroad program when he discovered affogatos – gelato topped with a shot of espresso. The experience reminded Minter of his grandmother’s travels via public television.
After duplicating the affogatos for some friends back home in Tremont, Minter was encouraged to start a business of it. He kept testing his recipe and attended Cleveland State’s Meet the Lenders program last summer, where he got additional encouragement, Minter started Connie’s Affogato.
Minter then decided to enter the Old Brooklyn business plan competition, and was one of three winners. “We approached the competition with the understanding that opening a bricks and mortar storefront would be unfeasible for Connie's Affogato at this point,” he explains. “Instead we proposed a new model for economic development with a substantially lower barrier to entry than existing models. The competition judges responded positively to our strategy.”
The mobile affogato shop will be equipped with a specially-made bicycle – complete with a freezer, stove and “storefront” – with help from Soulcraft Woodshop and CWRU’s ThinkBox. Espresso will be brewed on the bike, while he plans to get his ice cream from a local supplier.
Connie’s Affogato will serve Old Brooklyn, as well as area festivals and fairs. “The city of Cleveland is my canvas,” Minter says. “I see a Cleveland where people are spending a little less time in their homes and car and contributing to a vibrant street life.”
Minter plans to take growth one step at a time. He is on schedule to open May 1 next summer with just one mobile storefront, then grow accordingly. While he says it’s not necessary, his plan includes opening a bricks and mortar storefront in three years. “You got to let the market guide you,” he says.
Years later, in 2012, Minter was in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy as a teaching assistant with Texas A&M’s college of architecture study abroad program when he discovered affogatos – gelato topped with a shot of espresso. The experience reminded Minter of his grandmother’s travels via public television.
After duplicating the affogatos for some friends back home in Tremont, Minter was encouraged to start a business of it. He kept testing his recipe and attended Cleveland State’s Meet the Lenders program last summer, where he got additional encouragement, Minter started Connie’s Affogato.
Minter then decided to enter the Old Brooklyn business plan competition, and was one of three winners. “We approached the competition with the understanding that opening a bricks and mortar storefront would be unfeasible for Connie's Affogato at this point,” he explains. “Instead we proposed a new model for economic development with a substantially lower barrier to entry than existing models. The competition judges responded positively to our strategy.”
The mobile affogato shop will be equipped with a specially-made bicycle – complete with a freezer, stove and “storefront” – with help from Soulcraft Woodshop and CWRU’s ThinkBox. Espresso will be brewed on the bike, while he plans to get his ice cream from a local supplier.
Connie’s Affogato will serve Old Brooklyn, as well as area festivals and fairs. “The city of Cleveland is my canvas,” Minter says. “I see a Cleveland where people are spending a little less time in their homes and car and contributing to a vibrant street life.”
Minter plans to take growth one step at a time. He is on schedule to open May 1 next summer with just one mobile storefront, then grow accordingly. While he says it’s not necessary, his plan includes opening a bricks and mortar storefront in three years. “You got to let the market guide you,” he says.
Mark Morrison and the cofounders of Windrush, which provides a web publishing tool for nonprofits, were looking to take their company to the next level.
Morrison suggested the company go on the road to his hometown of Cleveland and join the FlashStarts 2015 summer accelerator program. So in May, Morrison and his two partners did just that.
Windrush helps social impact organizations produce more than just a white paper while trying to get their messages across. Using data visualization tools, Windrush makes it easy to create interactive and vibrant materials, copy and data to engage readers.
Morrison, Max Walker and Riley Alsmann were friends at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and about to graduate when they founded Windrush in 2013 based on a software development project Walker was working on for school.
Upon graduation, the Windrush team was looking to grow the company. “We were looking to enter an accelerator to help us grow,” Morrison says. “We applied all over the country and we were accepted to a few of them.”
Morrison, a native of Maple Heights and a graduate of St. Ignatius High School, urged the team to join FlashStarts’ accelerator program. “It was a great fit, plus Cleveland is like the origin of nonprofits,” he says. “We’re really young coming out of college and we wanted a relationship. We want to learn from our mistakes.”
FlashStarts gave Windrush an initial $25,000 investment and the company has set up shop in the FlashStarts offices, at least for the summer.
“Windrush was chosen for our accelerator because they have a product that will radically transform content marketing, journalism and the art of online storytelling,” says Grace Moenich, FlashStarts’ director of public relations. “Their platform allows organizations to easily showcase their data in beautiful and compelling ways -- a feat which would otherwise require an enormous amount of money to hire very rare talent. They solve a large and common problem for businesses.”
Windrush will also be eligible for follow-on funding when the 12-week program is over.
Morrison suggested the company go on the road to his hometown of Cleveland and join the FlashStarts 2015 summer accelerator program. So in May, Morrison and his two partners did just that.
Windrush helps social impact organizations produce more than just a white paper while trying to get their messages across. Using data visualization tools, Windrush makes it easy to create interactive and vibrant materials, copy and data to engage readers.
Morrison, Max Walker and Riley Alsmann were friends at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and about to graduate when they founded Windrush in 2013 based on a software development project Walker was working on for school.
Upon graduation, the Windrush team was looking to grow the company. “We were looking to enter an accelerator to help us grow,” Morrison says. “We applied all over the country and we were accepted to a few of them.”
Morrison, a native of Maple Heights and a graduate of St. Ignatius High School, urged the team to join FlashStarts’ accelerator program. “It was a great fit, plus Cleveland is like the origin of nonprofits,” he says. “We’re really young coming out of college and we wanted a relationship. We want to learn from our mistakes.”
FlashStarts gave Windrush an initial $25,000 investment and the company has set up shop in the FlashStarts offices, at least for the summer.
“Windrush was chosen for our accelerator because they have a product that will radically transform content marketing, journalism and the art of online storytelling,” says Grace Moenich, FlashStarts’ director of public relations. “Their platform allows organizations to easily showcase their data in beautiful and compelling ways -- a feat which would otherwise require an enormous amount of money to hire very rare talent. They solve a large and common problem for businesses.”
Windrush will also be eligible for follow-on funding when the 12-week program is over.
Eric Duong, an entrepreneur born in Vietnam, opened the Asian Town Center with just three tenants in the midst of the recession. Yet today, the development houses 20 businesses with more on the way.
This holiday weekend, go on a hot date to Mahall's for music, food and cocktails, visit Platform Brewing in celebration of their first anniversary, enjoy reggae by Carlos Jones at the kickoff of Lakewood’s porch concert series and more.
This weekend, feast on authentic Asian cuisine at the first-ever Night Market, celebrate LGBTQQA progress at Cleveland Pride, explore Waterloo Arts Fest, play free pinball in Coventry and more.
JumpStart's inaugural Startup Scaleup offered talks, networking and resources in a day-long event at Gordon Square.
This weekend, enjoy the kickoff of WOW’s free summer concert series, view 30 bands on 30 porches at PorchFest and dust off your dancing shoes for free vinyl dance parties at Beachland and B Side.
Inspired by a project in the Twin Cities, Waterloo Arts District leaders used art projects to draw new customers and keep businesses alive.
Mike Kister likes to look out for the little guy. As a veteran entrepreneur – having started four internet service, e-commerce and web companies – Kister’s latest venture, Acceleration Systems, offers faster internet speeds and enhanced bandwidth on a subscription basis to small companies that previously couldn’t afford such services.
With Acceleration Systems’ cloud-based tools, customers can see download speeds 10 times faster and uploads 17 times faster than a regular internet connection. “That’s a pretty dramatic kind of improvement,” Kister, president and CEO, says.
“Bandwidth optimization has been around for a while, but it’s only available in Fortune 1000 companies for the past decade,” says Kister. “With our cloud-based monthly subscription, now bandwidth optimization is affordable to small businesses.”
Kister and his team have been working on their technology for two years and filed patents in January 2013. A year ago, the group had its first working prototype. “We then went on a fundraising tour and two weeks later we were fully funded,” he says. “We took the prototype and had a working model in eight months.”
The company headquarters are in Northfield, just three miles from Kister’s home. Acceleration Systems also has offices in Philadelphia, R&D offices in Lexington, Kentucky and four sales offices throughout the eastern United States. The company recently hired two additional engineers to its team of 18.
“We’ll get them up to speed and then hire a couple of more,” says Kister of their recent hiring. “We’re just growing like gangbusters right now. We’re scrambling to keep up with demand. It’s a lot of fun.”
Kister envisions Acceleration Systems’ software will eventually be in all sorts of computer devices. “Ultimately, this technology will be embedded in your cable modem, embedded in your smart phone,” he says. “We have additional twists we put on the problem – businesses with multiple locations can tie together through private cloud services.”
With Acceleration Systems’ cloud-based tools, customers can see download speeds 10 times faster and uploads 17 times faster than a regular internet connection. “That’s a pretty dramatic kind of improvement,” Kister, president and CEO, says.
“Bandwidth optimization has been around for a while, but it’s only available in Fortune 1000 companies for the past decade,” says Kister. “With our cloud-based monthly subscription, now bandwidth optimization is affordable to small businesses.”
Kister and his team have been working on their technology for two years and filed patents in January 2013. A year ago, the group had its first working prototype. “We then went on a fundraising tour and two weeks later we were fully funded,” he says. “We took the prototype and had a working model in eight months.”
The company headquarters are in Northfield, just three miles from Kister’s home. Acceleration Systems also has offices in Philadelphia, R&D offices in Lexington, Kentucky and four sales offices throughout the eastern United States. The company recently hired two additional engineers to its team of 18.
“We’ll get them up to speed and then hire a couple of more,” says Kister of their recent hiring. “We’re just growing like gangbusters right now. We’re scrambling to keep up with demand. It’s a lot of fun.”
Kister envisions Acceleration Systems’ software will eventually be in all sorts of computer devices. “Ultimately, this technology will be embedded in your cable modem, embedded in your smart phone,” he says. “We have additional twists we put on the problem – businesses with multiple locations can tie together through private cloud services.”
This weekend, hold onto your humanity at MOCA’s summer exhibition opening, witness the vibrant beauty of Parade the Circle, watch Prince’s Purple Rain under the stars at a free movie night, shop the Flea and more.
The monthly open-air market, which is set for this weekend, brings together over 30 eclectic local makers and food purveyors.
Christine Howey, a local theater critic, poet and actor, decided to live as the woman she knew she was when transgender individuals were not so visible.
A group of civic hackers explored how transparency can be used to monitor the new consent decree and address disparity.
