Columbia Tusculum : Innovation + Startup News

CincyMusic Spotlight is a new radio show dedicated to highlighting new and exciting music in the Queen City. Featured on The Project 100.7 and 106.3, the show’s format provides a much-needed outlet for local musicians. Hosted by veteran band promoters and DJs Venomous Valdez and Joe Long, the show’s end goal is to help expose new local artists to the general public.

“The Project already has added a handful of bands hailing from Cincinnati in their established playlist," says Valdez. "If a song does really well on the show, it has the ability to live in regular rotation. The Project would love nothing more than to help break a Cincinnati band."

Valdez, who is known by just about every venue owner as the booking agent and promoter for Wussy and The Sundresses, is a longtime ally to Cincinnati musicians.

“Cincinnati has a deep, rich musical history," she says. "For many generations, this has been a music town, so it’s in our blood. We have more genres available, more venues catering to original music than most cities larger than us. Overall, I think we have a great support system with musicians, promoters, booking agents and venues that encourages and nurtures the creative outlet."

Listeners can tune in Sunday nights at midnight on The Project 100.7 FM and 106.3 FM. Podcasts will be available on cincymusic.com and cincinnatiproject.com.

By Sean Peters

Today, Detroit-based Digerati launches its Intern in Ohio program to the public, which is sponsored by the University of Toledo. Like eHarmony, the program uses an advanced matching algorithm to match students with internship opportunities.
 
Intern in Ohio is free to both students who are looking for internships and businesses who want to post internships. To register, students and employers visit Intern in Ohio’s website to sign up and create a profile or post internship opportunities. Students fill out a short questionnaire about their preferences, and employers share information about the position. The system then identifies the top seven matches for each student, as well as for each position. When the match is made, both the student and employer are notified, and they must show interest before any contact information is shared.
 
“We encourage diverse companies—large and small, for-profit and nonprofit, government and corporate,” says Wendy Pittman, director of Digerati’s Classroom to Career. “It’s a great chance for employers to broadcast their company and internship program across the state and reach a larger pool of applicants.”
 
Only companies in Ohio can post opportunities to the Intern in Ohio website, but all types of internships are welcome. There are posts for marketing, engineering and social media, among others, says Pittman.
 
The program is open to all students who live in Ohio, whether they’re in-state or out-of-state students. Research shows that not only do internships often lead employment offers after graduation, but that students are more likely to remain in an area where they held and internship.
 
“This is the first replication of the Classroom to Career technology from Michigan to Ohio,” says Pittman. “Experiential learning is a game-changer; and we’re looking forward to working with smaller communities to make a difference.”
 
In 2011, Digerati launched its Intern in Michigan program, which has resulted in more than 127,000 matches and introductions between students and employers. Over 1,000 Michigan businesses have posted 4,824 internship opportunities, and 1,049 colleges and universities in the state use the site.
 
Full disclosure: Soapbox’s parent company, IMG, supplies content to Intern in Ohio on a contractual basis.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
Follow Caitlin on Twitter

Going on maternity leave changed Gail Yisreal’s life in more ways than having a new baby to take care of.
 
When she returned to work, Yisreal says she learned her position was no longer there, so she began to look for a different job.

As wife and mother to a blended family of nine children, she might bake up to 11 birthday cakes in a year. But she hadn’t considered turning her knack for kneading dough into earning dough until she baked a wedding cake for a couple from her family’s place of worship. Not only did they like the cake, they suggested she start selling them.
 
Listening to her fans, Yisreal founded A “Mother’s Touch” Cakes with the nurturing tagline, “Making fresh homemade cakes when you don’t have the time.” Celebrating her two-year anniversary as a registered business in August 2012, A “Mother’s Touch” features signature and custom made flavors of fresh, savory gourmet, organic and vegan cakes and cupcakes that are good—and good for you.
 
“I didn’t know anything about decorating, so I took a class to learn more decorating skills," Yisreal says. "And I was shocked to find out that 95 percent of the cakes you buy are box cakes—because everybody wants the decoration. I started doing some research about the trans-fats and artificial ingredients, and I vowed that everything I baked would always be natural and from scratch.”  
 
After working as a waitress for two years and in management at Starbucks for six years, Yisreal developed a love for coffee. She jokes that most ex-Starbucks managers feel they know enough about coffee to create their own line, which she actually did for A “Mother’s Touch.”
 
Having tried organic coffees with weak flavor profiles, she researched and found Dean’s Beans, a fair-trade pioneer that allowed her to design her own custom blends. Her signature A “Mother’s Touch” blend is made with Mexican and Indonesian beans and pairs with her carrot cake as an after-dinner coffee.
 
“I’m really proud of my coffee and the fact that it really was custom blended for what I wanted to complement my desserts,” Yisreal says. And, true to her mission to serve natural, sustainable goods, she says that her blends are 100 percent organic, fair-trade certified and are shade grown.
 
Being on the scene without a storefront hasn’t stopped Yisreal. Instead, she’s building her brand as the “cupcake lady” who networks everywhere and invites people to taste samples of her creations. Yisreal also tapped into hidden markets by hosting deals through social media.
 
“I did a Living Social promotion last year, which was huge,” Yisreal says. “That first day, I think I got 1,500 hits on my website, and probably about 85 deals, which I thought was really good for people who didn’t know who I was.”
 
And even though she sells more cakes today, the ease of transporting cupcakes built her clientele.
 
“When I first came out, because of my financial situation, literally, cupcakes were paying my rent,” she says. After she and her husband separated, she remembers what it was like to go from making an annual salary of $60,000 to less than $20,000 a year. But she doesn’t do it all alone.
 
“I have three almost-teenage girls; 12, soon to be 15 and 17, so they are my preppers,” Yisreal explains. “It’s hilarious because we’ll be in the kitchen and everybody has their big bonnets on, and they’re scraping carrots, mashing fruit, lining the liners. I have a girlfriend who I’ll sometimes sub-contract out to do deliveries. And if it’s a huge event—like for the Autism Foundation, I had to knock out 40 dozen cupcakes—I have two sisters, and at the time I had just split up with my husband so we were in literally an 800-square-foot apartment. The kitchen was all of maybe 150-square-feet, we put out six-foot tables and we were like an assembly line! It was hilarious, but we got it done. It was like an I Love Lucy episode!”
 
By Mildred Fallen

Donna Browning was a fitness teacher with an annoying problem: hair in her face and headbands that would not stay put. Today, she’s selling her solution to that problem, dubbed “Sweaty Bands,” to women who’ve embraced her company’s tagline: “OMG…they don’t slip!”

An endorphin addict—she’s taught everything from Pilates and yoga to sculpting classes and cardio sessions—Browning loved to exercise, but hated hair accessories that didn’t work with the microphone she wore to teach.

Sure she could solve the problem, she borrowed a sewing machine from a friend, grabbed supplies from a craft store and churned out headband after headband until she found an adjustable, elastic band that stayed in place.

Soon, she was toting a bag full of the headbands in her gym bag and selling them to friends at the gym. After driving up to Cleveland for some training from Ladies Who Launch, an organization that helps women become entrepreneurs, she launched Sweaty Bands.

“I didn’t want it to be a preppy ribbon-in-the-hair thing," Browning says. "I wanted it to be a kick your butt, sporty accessory." With a range of styles, including custom options, she says the company’s product has become so popular that now they’re noticing knockoffs popping up.

Still, Browning says, few competitors rival her team of in-house designers: “We’re constantly meeting, looking at magazines, going to the mall, and checking out upcoming trends so that what we have, nobody else will have.” These days, she’s focusing on custom orders for clients as large as John Freida, Pantene and Skinny Girl—or as small as a single headband.

By Robin Donovan

There literally are millions of blogs with hundreds of thousands created dailcy. As any avid blogger already knows, not all blogs are created equal. Some are as professional, well-written and relevant as any glossy magazine. Others are, well, not.

Social media channels like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter can help somewhat cull the best content, but it's still not a great way to find good content about specific topics.

A small group of Cincinnati entrepreneurs are working to do their part to make the fashion blogging space more manageable and efficient for bloggers, readers and brands.

The Canopi startup is aimed at the fashion blogging community and billed as an "An All Access Pass to Top Blog Content." It's working to amass the best content, help readers and bloggers connect, and better match bloggers and brands.

Erin Flynn, a blogger who lives in Columbia Tusculum, started Canopi in July 2011. Formerly known as Righting Style, Canopi is just launching the site in Beta, and seeking blogger content.

The site will have a system that divides content by specific topics, and allows bloggers to use the platform to grow their influence. Readers can vote up their favorite content, and brands can tap into a system that sets pay rates for bloggers based on influence and content.

Flynn, who has a background in marketing, started Canopi in response to problems she saw as a style blogger. She's the author of Reality Chic, devoted to real-world style tips for young women transitioning to work from college.

"I graduated from college in 2009, and the economy crashed. I decided I wanted to do something for myself. I was passionate about fashion, and started a fashion blog. I was addicted," she says.

But she saw problems. It was hard to cut through the blog noise to reach readers, and difficult for brands to quickly identify great bloggers to partner with.

"I was finding brands were spending 25 hours per campaign looking for bloggers," she says.

Canopi is in its early stages, but will soon be contacting brands. The company is also seeking angel investors, and Flynn's husband is leaving a job at Procter & Gamble to work full-time for the company.

"We're open to all opportunities," Flynn says.

By Feoshia H. Davis
Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

One of the largest research firms in the world has consolidated some of its Cincinnati operations, moving into a custom-designed, open floor-plan building just minutes from downtown.

Ipsos, a global market research company, is keeping its location on Fifth Street downtown but merged its Sharonville and Elsinore Place offices into a new building in Columbia Tusculum. Al. Neyer, Inc., developed the $25 million One Columbia Square project at the corner of Columbia Parkway and Delta Avenue. `

The company will house employees on the top two floors of the building, taking 33,000 of the 48,000 square feet available, said Gail Paul, Neyer's business development communication strategist. Gary Palomba, Ipsos's senior vice president of procurement and administration, said the company has 256 local employees. Another 45 people are based in Cincinnati but work from remote locations, often on the road, Palomba said.

"It's a marvelous building in a great location," Palomba said of the new offices. "We wanted a space in an easily accessible area. We wanted an open, energetic atmosphere that's conducive to the free flow of information and strategies."

Ipsos is one of the fastest growing market research companies in the United States and a market leader in Canada. It has more than 1,500 employees in the two countries, offering an array of survey-based services in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media and public affairs research, as well as survey management, forecasting, modeling, and consulting.

The company has operations in more than 50 countries and ranks fifth among global research companies. It strives to make survey-based research one of the primary means to understand contemporary society and economy, Palomba said. Its Cincinnati operations include three specialized areas of activity:

Ipsos Marketing: This operates under a global structure that brings clients research expertise throughout the innovation and brand development process. It seeks to offer in-depth understanding of the drivers of consumer choice and of the marketing challenges faced by its clients. It provides integrated qualitative and quantitative research solutions.

Ipsos ASI: This is the largest provider of advertising pre-testing services in the world. It offers advertising research solutions to help clients make decisions at all stages of the advertising development process, and to maximize the return on their advertising investment. It provides copy testing, as well as leading services in the areas of advertising tracking and brand equity evaluation.

Ipsos Observer: This is the survey management, data collection and delivery specialists. Its goal is to work with clients to determine the best solution for their business issues, offering both global strength and local expertise to help determine the best methodology.

Writer: Paul A. Long
Source: Gary Palomba, Ipsos's senior vice president of procurement and administration

A survey co-sponsored by BlackBook EMG and Cincinnati USA Chamber's HYPE is looking for young professionals to share their work and community life experiences to gauge the risk of the region losing young talent.

The 25-question survey, located here, takes about 10 minutes to finish. It's geared toward anyone who lives in the metro Cincinnati area and is employed. The results will be unveiled at the HYPE talent symposium Oct. 19. The symposium's theme is "Ignite the Fire! Leverage Cincinnati's strengths as part of your recruitment and retention strategies."

BlackBook, whose Compass technology matches employee performance with local events, venues and businesses, has a 2,000-person response goal for the survey. So far, just under 1,000 people have responded, said Carla Messer, Blackbook's senior vice president of operations. To encourage responses, participants can enter to win one of three iPads. Survey results are kept confidential.

The survey asks questions related to the concept of "community embeddedness" or the experiences, people and places outside of work that keep a person in a particular area.

"The survey asks how an employee fits into culture of an organization, and also how people are connected to other people and places where they live. At the workplace you're made to feel like it would be a great sacrifice to leave, but from a community standpoint often things outside the workplace that keep people retained in the organization aren't considered. Things, if you left behind, like a country club, church or neighbors would feel like a big sacrifice to leave," Messer said.

The survey is an effort to drill down into how or even if workers have those outside connections. Under the theory of community embeddedness, the more satisfying community links a person has, the less likely they are to leave a current city or place of employment.

"Companies spend a lot of time and money trying to explain why people leave. We are trying to evaluate why people stay, and create those connections and experiences that get people to stay," Messer said.

The survey is open until Oct. 1.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Carla Messer, Blackbook senior vice president of operations

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiawrites

Coupons have long been a way for companies to inspire customer loyalty and for buyers to get a deal on their favorite products. Everybody is looking for deals nowadays, and technology and targeted marketing is making it easier for buyers and sellers to find each other.

Though coupons are a tried and tested marketing tool, the whole process can still be cumbersome and inefficient. Just think about the times you've pledged to use coupons, only to leave them on the kitchen counter while you're shopping. Or how often have you gotten coupons and free samples in the mail or in the newspaper for stuff you have no interest in?

A Cincinnati entrepreneur is working to build a virtual network where coupons become a more satisfying link between customers and companies.

"Couponing is really inefficient and uses archaic methods to reach people. They go after chunks of consumers based on certain demographics," said Blake Shipley, a former auditor for Kroger who lives in Hyde Park. 

In July, Shipley launched CoupSmart, an online targeted coupon site he founded that allows marketers to send you free samples and coupons based on your particular shopping habits.

"This will enable consumers to receive coupons they will actually use, related to the products they already buy," he said.

Shipley created CoupSmart after his own experience using coupons and from observing how he and others used them while he worked at Kroger. He left that job two years ago to devote his efforts to launching CoupSmart. He and Chief Technology Officer Troy Davis created the application. CoupSmart has office space in Columbia Tusculum with tech startups ShareThis and Transactiv.

Here's how CoupSmart works: Users sign up for the program online, creating a profile that includes their gender, email and home addresses, and first and last name. Then they download a CoupSmart app for their iPhone (plans are to make apps available for BlackBerries and Android phones soon.) The app allows users to scan the UPC for products they have purchased for home use.

CoupSmart stores that information and then provides it to companies, without any identifying info. A third-party distribution company will then send users free samples and coupons each month based on the products they have purchased in the past. Those samples could be for products they already use, or those that companies think they would be interested in based on what was bought in the past.

Shipley said CoupSmart is beneficial for both buyers and sellers. Buyers get coupons they are more likely to use. Sellers get access to people who are more likely to be interested in their products.

Shipley said CoupSmart will not sell identifying information to marketers, only the UPC information that users supply.

"It's all anonymous. It's very important to us to protect our users person information. We don’t want people who use our application to spam users," Shipley.

Shipley is currently working to add more consumer goods companies to offer products and coupons through the site. As he works at building CoupSmart's offerings, the company is giving out gift cards and free products every month to the first 3,000 users who scan 30 items.  Additionally, a drawing is conducted at the end of each month for $2,000 of Visa gift cards.  Users earn an entry into the drawing for every 30 items they scan each month.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Blake Shipley, CoupSmart founder

You can follow Feoshia on twitter @feoshiasoapbox

Thousands of low-income Cincinnati Public Schools students should get a better shot at getting to college with a $2.4 million federal grant to a Cincinnati partnership led by the University of Cincinnati. The grant, expected to be for a total of six years, will be matched in value of services contributed by the partnership, called GEARUP SCORES, led by UC and Cincinnati Public Schools.

GEARUP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, and it emphasizes increasing the number of disadvantaged students prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The grant is the highest ever awarded to the partnership since it was first funded in 1999.
 
The partnership will support sixth-and-seventh-grade students in 31 Cincinnati Public Schools and follow them through their high-school graduation. For the first time, this new funding will also track the success of GEARUP students as they enter their first year of college, trade school or other postsecondary  education.

A total of 4,000 students will be linked through the program over the six-year period, supported by academic and enrichment programs, advising and mentoring to increase student achievement. The program also educates students and their families about higher education options, about dual-enrollment programs in  which students earn high-school and college credit, and about the financial resources to get to college.

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Dawn Fuller, UC

In the midst of a nationwide housing crisis, Money magazine came up with a list of the six “best places to buy a home these days,” and put Cincinnati on it. Money said its list is of “the six cities where home prices are likely to rise the most - or fall the least - in the next 12 months.” Of Cincinnati, the magazine said, “The city's manufacturing-heavy economy should benefit from the falling dollar. Commercial building is up, and high-end developments are moving in.”

Home prices have indeed been relatively stable in Greater Cincinnati compared to other metropolitan markets. A 20-city housing study recently reported by the S&P Case Schiller Group found that the average home-selling price in Cincinnati fell 2.5 percent from October 2006 to October 2007, compared to an average drop of 6.1 percent in the 20 cities surveyed.

Money's ranking "is great news considering the national trends," said Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. "The ranking confirms the strength of our housing market."

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Money magazine

Job growth and a low unemployment rate get the credit for more office space in the region getting filled up, says a leading real estate firm. The overall office vacancy rate in the first quarter was 16.9 percent, a drop from the 17.7 percent seen at the end of 2007, says Colliers Turley Martin Tucker Cincinnati. Both Class A office space (with a vacancy rate of 14.83 percent), and Class B (19.39 percent), showed a slight recovery from the end of 2007. "The positive dynamics of the Cincinnati market have given the area the ability to weather the storms of economic uncertainty created by the subprime mortgage industry," the report says.
 
Those dynamics include job growth of 0.7 percent in February, area unemployment of 5.2 percent and quality higher education, the report says. CTMT says it expects growth to continue as companies relocate and expand in the area. They include Tata America International Corp., which is establishing a U.S. headquarters in the region, and FirstGroup America Inc., which will be adding 135 new jobs when it expands into its new location downtown. However, concerns about the economy could slow growth.  "We expect much more cautious growth the rest of the year," says Scott Abernethy, a principal with CTMT

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Scott Abernethy, Colliers Turley Martin Tucker Cincinnati 

One day after he proposed a plan to create 80,000 jobs in Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland went on the road to visit three growing small businesses in the Hamilton County Business Center, an incubator for entrepreneurial ventures.

His visit to Cincinnati highlighted the role of the Hamilton County Development Co., a non-profit organization that owns the incubator, in fostering job growth. Strickland met with Jacobs Automation, which designs machines meant to reduce costs for the packaging industry; with Emersion Design, an architecture, engineering, planning and design firm that has grown from four partners to a team of 13; and with Private Health News, which offers print and electronic marketing materials and information to the health care industry and has seen revenue grow 65 percent in the last 12 months.

“It’s gratifying that the governor recognizes the importance of small business in the future economic prosperity of the state,” said David Main, president of the Hamilton County Development Co.

Source: David Main, Hamilton County Development Co.
Writer: David Holthaus