Cleveland tech companies attracted venture and angel investments in 2013 amounting to pre-recession levels, according to JumpStart and a report released by the Venture Capital Advisory Task Force. One hundred and eighteen companies spanning IT, healthcare, clean tech, and business and consumer products received $259 million in equity investments last year, a 15-percent increase over the previous year.

“$259 million puts us up where we were pre-recession,” says JumpStart’s principal of communications Samantha Fryberger. “So that’s really good.”
 
IT companies led the way in investments. Sixty-six IT firms attracted $116 million, followed by 32 healthcare companies bringing in $98 million, and 15 clean technology businesses getting $44 million. Consumer products raised $1 million.
 
Furthermore, 27 of the investors were first-timers to the Northeast Ohio business community. “Year after year, there are investors finding we have great companies here,” says Fryberger. “More than 50 percent of the companies had angels involved in their deals, which means there are wealthy investors here who see good deals and want to put their dollars into these promising businesses.”
 
Seed companies fared well, securing 70 percent of the $259 million, according to the report, while companies in the early stages of growth followed the national trend and did not fare as well in Series A funding. Fryberger attributes the number of accelerators in the area fostering early business as one of the reasons seed funding was up. “We have more seed companies than ever before,” says Fryberger.
 
The news overall is good for growing companies in the area. “There’s certainly a great deal of entrepreneurial activity in Northeast Ohio,” notes Fryberger. “While a national shortage of Series A dollars could make fundraising more of a challenge for early stage businesses in the year ahead, it’s exciting to see new startups getting off the ground and some of the more mature companies attracting the capital they need to expand their market share.”


Source: Samantha Fryberger
Writer: Karin Connelly

OnShift, which provides online staff scheduling and labor solutions in healthcare, recently closed $7 million in Series C investment financing. The investors include HLM Venture Partners and five previous investors in OnShift.
 
OnShift CEO Mark Woodka said the money will be used to expand the company’s sales and marketing, product development and customer service departments. “We doubled our customer base last year, and we’re getting out of the gate this year pretty strong as well,” he says.
 
In response to its rapid growth, OnShift last year added 23 employees, 15 of which were new positions. Woodka predicts he will add another 20 to 30 new staffers in 2014. In fact, the company currently has 18 open positions.
 
OnShift’s staff scheduling software caters primarily to long-term care and senior living facilities, helping prevent overtime and scheduling gaps and increase efficiency. With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, Woodka has seen a surge in business. He predicts that trend will continue as companies try to manage their costs and part-time employees.
 
OnShift is serving a virtually untapped market, with almost 85 percent of the senior living and long-term care industry lacking scheduling software. “They are mostly doing it on a piece of paper,” says Woodka. “The really advanced ones are doing it in Excel.”
 
Woodka continues to embrace Cleveland as the ideal home for OnShift. “Cleveland’s a great place,” he says. “We have access to great talent, with younger talent coming from Case and CSU, and the cost of doing business is one-third of what they are on the coasts. And we have the best view of downtown Cleveland.”

 
Source: Mark Woodka
Writer: Karin Connelly
 

Some storefronts sparkle with inviting merchandise, while others languish behind a layer of dust. For the latter, Cleveland's Storefront Renovation Program has been lending a helping hand to entrepreneurs for almost two decades with financial assistance for exterior improvements and signage.

Jonathon Sawyer, the award-winning chef behind Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat, is opening a new restaurant with his wife Amelia. The venue, to be called Trentina, will feature cuisine from the Trento region of northern Italy, where Amelia's family is from. It will open in the former Sergio's space in University Circle in the coming months.

Sawyer describes Trentina as a "passion project" that will allow him to pay tribute to his wife's heritage while introducing the cuisine of Northern Italy to a wider audience.

"I always had an affinity with 'the Boot,' as it were," he says. "When I started Bar Cento, it was really a Roman restaurant in the style of the street mongers of Rome. I didn’t want to repeat that, but I knew my wife’s family had tie-ins with Trento."
 
He traveled there and fell in love. "We subsequently returned -- more than 100 days in past four years, in fact. The thing I keep coming back to is how similar the growing seasons are in Trento and the Cuyahoga Valley. The indigenous people are very similar to the ethnic backgrounds of a lot of Clevelanders; there's Austrian, Swiss, Slovenian… so much more so than just straight-up Italian."

To help fund the restaurant and pay for some extras like a pasta extruder, wood-burning grill and double-sided hearth, Sawyer launched a Kickstarter campaign. The original goal was $21,999, but the project already has exceeded that amount by nearly $10,000 with 18 days still left to go.

So Sawyer set a new, loftier goal: "We want to be the most-funded hospitality Kickstarter campaign in Ohio, whatever that is," he jokes.

Sawyer certainly has earned his fan club, but the campaign rewards also don't hurt. For $100, you can take a cooking class that normally would cost $150. Three hundred bucks buys a cocktail named after you, while $600 gets you meals shipped to your home for six months. The list goes on and on, all the way up to dinner at your house for 20 of "your foodiest friends and family," cooked by the chef himself ($500).

Trentina will offer fine dining with showy tableside service like polenta seared over burning embers. Sawyer says, "For us, it will be the first time we'll be able to accurately portray cuisine with ingredients from just outside our back door."


Source: Jonathon Sawyer
Writer: Lee Chilcote

The historic Terminal Tower offices of the Van Sweringen brothers, the duo that built the iconic skyscraper and the streetcar suburb of Shaker Heights, will soon be occupied by a women-owned consulting firm that helps businesses and organizations embrace a more sustainable future.

BrownFlynn is relocating from Highland Heights to the tower's 36th floor. The firm, which provides sustainability consulting, communications and training, needs more space. The 7,000-square-foot office, boasting panoramic views of the city and located a few flights below the Observation Deck, will be completely renovated by the end of April.

"Clearly, we're committed to the city and want to be part of its vibrancy," says principal Margie Flynn. "We're committed to sustainability and want to make sure we're walking the talk in what we're doing. And the essence of sustainability is really historic preservation."

Flynn says her employees, many of whom live in the city, are very excited about being downtown. The office gives BrownFlynn room to grow, and the firm can welcome out-of-town guests via RTA's Red Line, which stops in Tower City.

"The space has a tremendous amount of natural light," Flynn comments. "We're going to adapt the space as a very open, collaborative work environment."

Vocon is helping to design the space, while Forest City, which owns the Terminal Tower and has been a major player in corporate sustainability nationwide, will facilitate renovations. Instead of reusing the massive corner offices as private suites, as the Vans once did, the principals plan to convert these spaces into open offices to encourage collaboration and stimulate creative thinking.

"The most important thing is to have a very open inviting environment for our team," says Flynn, adding that BrownFlynn could grow from 14 to 21 employees in the coming years to keep up with growing demand for its services.

BrownFlynn secured a job creation grant from the City of Cleveland to help facilitate the move.


Source: Margie Flynn
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Cleveland continues to gain momentum in leading the country and the Midwest in biomedical investments, according to BioEnterprise’s 2013 Midwest Healthcare Venture Investment Report. The report, released last month, shows that while overall investing is down nationwide, biomedical investments in health IT and medical devices in Northeast Ohio continue to be on the rise.

Ohio ranked number-one in healthcare venture investments. Cleveland earned the number-two regional ranking with $201.2 million invested in 50 companies, second only to Minneapolis. “It’s a very strong report, particularly for medical devices in the Midwest,” says Aram Nerpouni, president and CEO of BioEnterprise. “There is a strong pipeline of companies coming out of the Cleveland area.”
 
This is the second year the Cleveland area has seen $200 million in venture capital coming into the medical field, according to Nerpouni. But the ranking has taken years of effort. “As a region, it’s something we’ve been working toward for a decade now,” he says, crediting the area’s healthcare systems, universities and savvy entrepreneurs with the investment increase.
 
Ten years ago Cleveland’s leaders recognized the region’s assets in the biomedical field and have worked to create a reputation. But Nerpouni cautions we are only just beginning. “Look at it as a very good start,” he says. “We have to strike a balance of celebrating the progress but not getting too confident that it’s automatic.”
 
Nerpouni cites institutions like Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, and University Hospitals’ Harrington Discovery Institute, and now the Global Center for Health Innovation as just some of the contributors to the region’s growth in the biomedical field.
 
“Look at how much growth has happened, we’re just seeing this steady progress,” he says. “You begin to find there’s this flywheel gaining momentum.”

 
Source: Aram Nerpouni
Writer: Karin Connelly

Team NEO, the entity charged with marketing Northeast Ohio to the rest of the country and the world, brought a record 16 new businesses to the region in 2013, seven of which are in Cuyahoga County. The new companies add to the region almost 1,400 new jobs and more than $85 million in new annual payroll. The average salary in these companies is $62,000, which also is a record high. The majority of the companies are in manufacturing, healthcare and biomedical.  
 
“Obviously, we’re really happy about this,” says Tom Waltermire, Team NEO CEO. “The reasons the companies are here vary significantly, but they’re here because we have a whole bunch of resources available.” Three criteria attracted companies to Northeast Ohio, says Waltermire: close proximity to customers; low cost of doing business; and the ability to find and train the talent they need.
 
Team NEO has been promoting the 18-county Northeast Ohio region since 2007. In seven years, the organization has attracted 83 companies and 6,200 jobs to the area. The organization averaged nine to 12 new companies in each of its first five years. Last year, Team NEO brought 15 new companies to the area.
 
Waltermire attributes the rising interest in Northeast Ohio to increased awareness. “All of us as a community and a region are just getting better at this,” he says, adding that as consultants become more familiar with the region, they're more apt to promote it. “As we’ve been marketing the region for seven years, we’re becoming progressively better known.”
 
He also says both newcomers and lifelong residents have helped improve the region’s reputation. “Whether it’s a cocktail party or in a coffee shop, when you get that buzz going and get that informed ambassador effect going, then you’re really rolling.”
 
Of course, Team NEO alone does not take the credit for attracting the 16 companies. JobsOhio, the state and local communities all were involved in wooing new business to the region.

 
Source: Tom Waltermire
Writer: Karin Connelly

In Cleveland, you might recognize the work of Think Media Studios from the Cavs intro videos that they produce. The award-winning Mayfield Heights company also has produced videos for Ohio State University sports teams and companies like Nestle, Progressive Insurance and Parker-Hannifin.
 
But Think Media owner Brian Glazen recently achieved his ultimate goal of establishing a reputation as a filmmaker. His film Fishing Without Nets, a feature about Somali pirates, examined from the perspective of the pirates, went to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award. The movie was adapted from a 2012 short film version that also won a jury prize at Sundance.
 
Glazen, a Chagrin Falls native, worked in the film industry in Los Angeles for 10 years before returning to Cleveland in 2003. “When I moved back to Cleveland and started Think Media Studios, I wanted to get into original film work,” he explains. Glazen and his team spent 70 days in Kenya shooting the film using many first-time actors.
 
Glazen wants to continue to build up Cleveland’s reputation for turning out quality movies. “Cleveland’s not the first thing that comes to mind in the film industry,” he says. “But here we are playing Hollywood in our own backyard.”
 
While Think Media Studios continues to produce quality videos for sports teams and businesses, Glazen currently is in talks to shoot two movies and a television show. It’s all still top-secret, but the television project is slated to shoot in Cleveland this summer.
 
“My goal is to have a [film] production company with the work we do in Cleveland,” Glazen says. “We want to tap into original content that we could actually sell and still do the work we do for our clients.”

 
Source: Brian Glazen
Writer: Karin Connelly

The for-sale housing market remains tepid in many Cleveland neighborhoods, but it never really cooled down in Tremont. That's because this historic neighborhood remains popular, full of vitality and, frankly, small, which means there never is an abundance of houses on the market. When a properly priced Tremont house is listed, it usually sells.

And that's certainly true of the Cottages on Thurman, a new Tremont development. Developer (ARC) form of Tremont has pre-sold two detached, green-built townhomes off of plans. Principal and founder Jeffrey Eizember expects to break ground and go vertical within the next two months.

"It's a very efficient design," he says. "Our philosophy is that we want to help the buyer get a customized product that is not exorbitantly priced."

With starting prices at $379,900, the townhomes might become the first LEED-certified units in Tremont (the ratings are preliminary at this point) and the first to participate in the Department of Energy Home Challenge. Additionally, they have an unusual design feature: the bedrooms are located on the second level, while the living spaces are on the third level to best take advantage of the views.

"How often do you spend time in your bedroom other than going to sleep?" Eizember asks. "Why give all the good views to that area?" The benefits don't stop there. "This layout also puts the living level in closer proximity to the rooftop deck."

That rooftop deck will offer even better views of downtown Cleveland, the industrial Cuyahoga Valley and the church spires and steeples for which Tremont is well known.

The units, which are a little over 2,000 square feet, have attached two-car garages, two bedrooms, two and a half baths, 100-year-old reclaimed maple flooring, and tankless hot water heaters to maximize efficiency, among other features.

The developers also will harvest 60 percent of the rainwater accumulated on site. "It can be used for irrigation or to wash off your car," Eizember explains, adding that, "Ninety percent of the site is permeable."
 
(ARC) form is a design and construction firm that blends architectural services, contracting and interior design into one package. The firm specializes in "using conventional materials and techniques in unconventional means."

With just two lots available, the project already is sold out. "We didn't have a hard time selling them once they were listed," Eizember says. "They went pretty fast."


Source: Jeffrey Eizember
Writer: Lee Chilcote

From a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse in the Central neighborhood, Green City Growers Cooperative grows and sells a staggering three million heads of lettuce and another 300,000 pounds of herbs per year. All of those products are sold locally to grocery stores and food service companies within a 50-mile radius.

When Jeff Battershell and his wife lived in Ouray, Colorado, for six years, he fell in love with the numerous small town craft breweries in the area. A Cleveland native, Battershell moved back home a year and a half ago with the initial thought of starting a brewery.
 
“It was always kind of our plan to go out there and experience something different and move back,” Battershell explains. “But I felt like I was missing out on Cleveland’s renaissance.”
 
When he got back to Cleveland, Battershell’s environmental science and entrepreneurship education from BGSU kicked in. “Breweries seemed like a saturated market,” he says. “I was being honest with myself. I wasn’t good enough to compete with places like Great Lakes Brewery and Market Garden Brewery.”
 
Then Battershell got the idea to pair his environmental studies with his love for beer and start an apparel business that benefits water conservation groups while promoting breweries. He started Keepin’ it Fresh, a company that sells baseball caps and t-shirts with embroidered brewery logos. A portion of the proceeds will go to water conservation groups or projects; a percentage goes back to the brewery.
 
“I bounced the idea off of my friends in the industry and they really liked it because it was one more way to promote their business,” he says. “And beer depends on the quality of water they’re brewing with.”
 
Keepin’ it Fresh has four Southwest breweries signed on and is working with a number of well-known Cleveland breweries on agreements. Right now, Battershell is embroidering baseball caps on one machine out of his house. He plans to hire one part-time employee by 2015 and his five-year plan calls for five employees and additional embroidery machines.
 
Battershell’s site will be selling apparel by April. In the meantime he is working with organizations like the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Brewers for Clean Water Campaign and the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
 
Source: Jeff Battershell
Writer: Karin Connelly

A team of researchers at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute have developed a risk calculator for colorectal cancer, helping patients and physicians make better, more personalized decisions on whether or not to screen for the disease.

The tool, known as CRC-PRO, or Colorectal Cancer Predicted Risk Online, uses multiple factors to determine an individual person’s risk of developing cancer, instead of simply basing risk on general factors like age and weight. There are separate calculators for men and women.
 
“It’s less about the predictors and more about the way we put them together,” says Michael Kattan, one of the researchers on the team and chair of the Clinic’s department of Quantitative Health Sciences. “You take into account much more information.”
 
Kattan says the trade-off is that the risk is computed by an online calculator, so it’s less visual than running through a series of more generic questions.
 
Researchers, led by the Clinic’s Brian Wells, analyzed data on over 180,000 patients from a study conducted at the University of Hawaii. Patients were followed to determine which factors were highly associated with the development of colorectal cancer.
 
Kattan first saw the need for a more personalized formula more than 20 years ago when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. “We didn’t catch it early, I was in stage 4, with stage 5 being death,” he recalls. “You’re told you’re not really applicable to that stage, but how do you add and subtract factors? I want estimates tailored to me. Why isn’t there a website where I can enter stuff about myself? I can do that everywhere else.”
 
CRC-PRO is one of a series of risk prediction calculators Kattan and his team are rolling out at the Clinic, including tools for calculating the risk of heart disease and breast, prostate and thyroid cancers. Patients can use the tools online. The calculators will eventually be added to patients’ electronic health records.

 
Source: Michael Kattan
Writer: Karin Connelly