Founders

Meet Julie and Shawn Warren, founders of Erie Design, a family-owned and operated sign company in Lakewood.

Questions with julie and shawn warren

Meet Lynde Vespoli, founder of Discover My Cleveland, a destination management company with nine part-time tour directors and one fulltime employee.

Questions with lynde vespoli

Meet Todd Pownell, owner of TAP by Todd Pownell, a designer jewelry firm in Midtown with a team of four.

Questions with todd pownell

Meet Fred Geis, founder of Geis Companies, a northeast Ohio design/build company with 140 employees.

Questions with fred geis

Meet Autumn Skoczen, founder of Auts Tipse Treats, a Broadview Heights maker of the first-ever cupcake shot.

Questions with autumn skoczen

Meet Jennifer Coleman, founder of CityProwl, which produces urban walking tours 

Questions with jennifer coleman

Meet Joan Soskin and Lauren Wyeth, co-founders of Lufthouse, a 2014 Flashstarts accelerator company.

Questions with joan soskin + lauren wyeth

Meet Stephen McHale, founder of Explorys, an innovation spinoff from Cleveland Clinic with 130 employees that provides the healthcare industry with a secure, cloud-based analytics platform.

Questions with stephen mchale

Meet Jeff Battershell, founder of Keepin’ it Fresh, an embroidered product company that focuses on water conservation and the brewery industry.

Questions with jeff battershell

Meet Lauren Steiner, founder of Grants Plus, a fundraising consulting firm with 14 employees.

Questions with lauren steiner

Meet Kurt Rote, founder of Western Oncolytics, a developer of novel cancer therapies.

Questions with kurt rote

Meet Moty Avisar and Alon Geri, co-founders of Surgical Theater, which applies flight simulation technology to brain surgery. 

Questions with moty avisar and alon geri

Meet Chuck Herman, founder of Specialty Fitness Equipment, a fitness equipment sales company in Bedford Heights with three employees.

Questions with chuck herman

Meet Steve deMoulpied, founder of PrestoFresh Grocery Delivery, a Cleveland Heights online grocer with 10 employees and plans to expand to 15-20 shortly. 

Questions with steve demoulpied

Meet Carolyn Klosowsky, co-founder of Frugal Fortune, a Lakewood shop with two employees that sells fine vintage and antiques, quality pre-owned, and handmade items. 

Questions with carolyn klosowsky