Innovation + Startup News

TEDx, an independently organized intellectual conference licensed by the global TED event, will be hosted by Xavier University at the Cintas Center on April 17. Last year's premiere of TedxXavierUniversity was met with great success, and this year's event will include a multitude of speakers.

TEDx was started to mimic the larger TED’s format with multiple speakers, demonstrators and performers who seek to share “ideas worth spreading.” Nicholas Turon took on the lead role in organizing this year’s event with Xavier students who study the full spectrum of academic disciplines.

“I love TED and everything it stands for,” says Turon, who studies music education. “This is something we can be proud of. We’ve helped create an environment you don’t normally get in classes.”

Organized entirely by Xavier students, they view TEDx as an important legacy to leave for future students.

“There’s only so much you can do to change a university in four years,” says Sam Seigle, who is the head of speakers and sponsors for the event. “This is our special opportunity to make a lasting tradition. We hope it will grow more prestigious every year.”

Due to budgeting constraints, the event will have a smaller capacity than last year's. While 2012 reached its registration limit of 400 attendees within a week, this year, there will only be 200 available seats. Turon says the scaled-down event will offer participants a more intimate experience with speakers.

The organizers are eager to make TEDxXavierUniversity a continual success, which relies on spreading the word to promoters and interested audiences. Registration for tickets to the event is available here.

By Sean Peters

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
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UpTech’s first year has been a big one. The six-month super accelerator attracted 57 ideas, and eight of those ideas were selected to become companies in its inaugural class—all eight of those companies graduated. Three of those companies received $90,000 in grant money; to date, those companies have received $230,000 in follow-on funding.
 
By 2017, UpTech has promised to bring 50 startups to Northern Kentucky, says Amanda Greenwell, UpTech’s program manager. The business accelerator has also promised to create jobs and provide money and support services to area businesses and its companies.
 
“Our goal is to create a culture of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in Northern Kentucky,” says Greenwell.
 
UpTech wants to continue building on its successes and contribute to a culture that understands startups. “We want to create an ecosystem in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati that creates a place for graduates of NKU's College of Informatics. We want to be a catalyst for that.”
 
UpTech is a new business informatics accelerator that was launched last year by several community investors, including Northern Kentucky Tri-ED, Northern Kentucky ezone, Northern Kentucky University and Vision 2015.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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A small group of creatives have launched a Cincinnati chapter of CreativeMornings, which will host its first monthly breakfast and lecture March 22 at 21c Museum Hotel.

CreativeMornings was founded in 2009 in New York City by Tina Roth Eisenberg who owns Swissmiss, a design studio and blog. The concept brings together a wide variety of creative people—from solo entrepreneurs to large agency talent—once a month for breakfast.

Each chapter is organized by volunteers and supported by the community, which includes donated meeting space, coffee and food. Each month's breakfast features a global topic (March's is Reuse) and each chapter invites a speaker to talk on that topic. The lectures are recorded and streamed on the main CreativeMornings website.

CreativeMornings is growing, with nearly 50 chapters around the world. Among the newest are those in Cincinnati, Lima, Warsaw and Dublin. You can see the Cincinnati chapter's video application here.

Jeremy Thobe, from web design firm US Digital Partners, is the lead organizer for the Cincinnati chapter. CreativeMornings is a way to get creative folks across industries together before the workday starts, he says.

"There are a lot of events around here that are industry-specific or sales pitchy," says Thobe. "A lot of them are in the evenings. We thought this was a way to start the day on a high note, and meet people around our industries. We are very interested in what surrounds what we do, and that's harder for us to find here."

A group of about eight people are helping get the Cincinnati chapter off the ground. They've chosen this month's speaker, Bill Donabedian, co-founder of the MPMF and Bunbury Music Festival.

Organizers plan to bring in speakers from a wide variety of professional backgrounds from music, education, healthcare, writing and science. The breakfasts are free, but space is limited, so you have to register. The first breakfast has already sold out, so you'll have to wait for the next one or add yourself to the waitlist.

"We're only limited by our space—we want to keep this as accessible as possible," Thobe says.

CreativeMornings Cincinnati is seeking additional volunteers, speakers and sponsors. If you're interested, you can find the organizers online or by Facebook and Twitter.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Students and faculty have launched their first mobile app suites out of the new UC App Lab on MainStreet.

The University of Cincinnati opened the App Lab, a campus mobile application development center, a little over a month ago. It's a physical space where students, faculty, staff and alumni can develop apps for smartphones and tablets. It's located with ResNet and MobileCats wireless store on MainStreet, and is the only space of its type in the region.

The first two app suites are geared toward the campus community. One is for current students, while the other is for alumni.

Through Blackboard Mobile Learn, current students can access a UC campus map, check grades, track shuttles, access university sports and campus news and events. The app is free for current UC students. The Alumni app accesses campus news and networking events. It allows alumni to donate to the college, volunteer at the college, and connect with other alumni via their social networks, among other features.

This is the just the start for the App Lab, which is working with local businesses and organizations to create new mobile apps.

"We are moving pretty fast," says Nelson Vincent, vice president of UC Information Technologies. "We're working on a second release of the alumni app, and working with some startup companies to see if they are a good fit."

The App Lab is a way to cultivate the region's mobile app development talent. It's a growing part of web commerce and everyday life for millions of smartphone users. In 2012, the average person used some form of mobile 127 minutes a day, Vincent says.

"It's a real generational shift," he says. "Who doesn't have a smartphone today with apps on it? And folks who do this work in Cincinnati are in very short supply."

As the app development program matures, UC is considering partnering with private businesses for mentorship and co-op opportunities.

"This is a really exciting time," says Vincent. "A community of people are coming together to make this happen, and we think this is going to take off."

By Feoshia H. Davis
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What comes to mind when you see the name Spotted Yeti? Is it a purple polka dot Sasquatch?

While that’s not quite the direction Molly Berrens, CEO of Spotted Yeti Media, had in mind, you wouldn’t be alone in that misconception.

“It’s a play on words,” Berrens says. She says the idea came from a Mitch Hedberg joke that claims Bigfoot is naturally blurry, so it’s not the cameraman’s fault that the image isn't in focus. While Berrens didn’t immediately embrace the name, she came to appreciate its double meaning and is proud to work under the banner.

Spotted Yeti is a video production studio based in Newport. Their expertise lies in short-form videos that are intended mainly for the web and live events, with a client list based in the corporate and nonprofit sectors.

Their offered services include documentaries, company overviews, client testimonials, green screen productions, animations, video blogs (or "vlogs") and instructional/training videos—but they have the capacity to handle many projects beyond those already offered. To stay appealing for most web users, the videos are typically no longer than four minutes.

Most of Spotted Yeti's featured videos showcase its clients’ personalities, which makes the work it provides a great way to represent businesses and charities.

If you're interested in what Spotted Yeti does, it offers qualified students internships where they can hone their craft in a professional studio.

“Not many people have ‘spotted’ a yeti,” Berrens said. “Our company motto is ‘Show the world you exist’ so you can bring a big idea into focus.”

By Sean Peters

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
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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
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Busken, an 85-year-old Cincinnati baking institution, is reaching a younger, urban consumer with a new low-cal donut and modern marketing techniques.

Busken debuted its new Lite-Hearted donut on Valentine's Day. That day, the company gave away 16,000 of the heart-shaped glazed donuts at its 10 stores, regional United Dairy Farmers and Remke-Biggs markets. The company has also set up a pop-up shop on Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine, where they give away free donuts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights to people who are soaking up the neighborhood's emerging night life.

Busken developed the Lite-Hearted donut as an alternative to its original glazed donut. The Lite-Hearted donut has half the calories (140) of the original, with zero trans fats and zero saturated fats. Busken President and CEO Dan Busken says the donut follows the standard set by the bakers's reduced-fat skinny cookie. The iced cookie launched three years ago and has sold one million servings, he says.

The key to the cookie's success was retaining the original flavor in a lower fat version.

"When we launched the skinny cookie, we had such amazing results," Busken says. "We're in the business of flavor and indulgence and carbs, and people are really shying away from carbs or are eating less of them. We wanted to develop a product we could sell that had the full flavor of the original iced cookie, with less fat and calories."

Originally, the bakery believed their traditional customers would buy more of the lighter cookies, substituting it for the indulgent treats. But something happened they didn't expect.

"Actually, a whole new consumer started buying our cookies," Busken says. "They still have the desire to indulge, but in a healthier way. We thought, If we can do that with a cookie, why don't we do it with a donut. We are really convinced people can't tell the difference."

The donut pop-up shop is a way to let consumer's taste for themselves. It's set up as an art gallery, and has a fun little video booth where pop-up shoppers can record video snippets that will be posted on the Busken's YouTube channel. But it's set to close March 16, so get them while you can.

"(OTR) is really a hip, growing part of Cincinnati," Busken says. "We're looking for a way to be part of that and to reach the type of people visiting the restaurants there. We really are trying to reach a younger demographic."

The company also reached out to local bloggers who sampled the donuts and wrote about them. It's given the company a lot of web press.

The donuts will be sold year-round, and plans are to add more flavors to the low-cal lineup, Busken says.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Public schooling is multi-faceted, and each state legislature has a particular way of governing its districts.

Public schools are a large part of state budgets and efforts, and most years, there are new regulations for administrators and teachers to comply with. Many new rules—implementing an anti-bullying program, for instance—comprise of educational and professional development and reporting and tracking.

Taken together, each mandate can take up a lot of time, which leaves teachers struggling to do what they to best: educate children.

One Cincinnati company is growing by making it easier for K-12 schools to manage those mandates. PublicSchoolWORKS offers schools a suite of web-based software and ongoing support in the areas of staff and student health, safety compliance and behavior programs.

Founded in 1999, the O'Bryonville-based company has two software suites: EmployeeSafe and StudentWatch. PublicSchoolWORKS has clients in the Cincinnati area, but it also serves schools across North America. Its resources include written plans, forms, training courses and other content that school districts need in order to succeed.

PublicSchoolWORKS was developed by a team of actively employed school administrators. It's CEO, Steve Temming, has more than 22 years of experience working in public schools, including administration.

"We create complete programs that address the needs of a district, not from a strategy standpoint but from an implementation standpoint," says PublicSchoolWORKS' Vice President Tom Strasburger.

The company is constantly monitoring state legislatures to assure its custom-content software continues to meet school districts' needs. PublicSchoolWORKS also offers ongoing service support to help districts get the most out of the software, Strasburger says.

"We provide a signature product that completely addresses school issues," Strasburger says. "By knowing legislation and meeting that legislation, the system is built to manage what is expected of the school. It's virtually hands off, so (teachers and administrators) can do their jobs."

It's because of the system's automation and completeness that the company rarely loses a customer. Public School Works is growing with its own sales, support and research groups, in addition to IT. Not only are its services growing, but PublicSchoolWORKS is also physically outgrowing its current office space, and could soon move into a new, larger facility.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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In a city recognized as an ideal location for startup businesses, it’s no surprise there are an increasing number of resources sprouting up to assist burgeoning entrepreneurs. Differential is one of those resources, and it’s now offering expertise to Cincinnati businesses.

“Differential is addressing an opportunity to help through the ‘venture studio’ model pioneered by companies like Idealab and Betaworks,” says Ry Walker, who founded Differential with Tim Metzner. “We employ a team of product and customer development veterans who work in a continuously operating product lab, focusing on a very small number of startups at a time.”
 
Differential helps new businesses by addressing common problems, like raising seed capital, establishing a revenue system that will work repeatedly, inserting protocols to streamline operations, and helping founders connect with experienced co-founders.
 
“Unlike incubators, we work with one client at time, for as long as it takes, to get quickly to a point where the venture can raise additional funds, or call it quits due to no viable path forward,” Walker says.
 
Based in the Queen City, the founders are committed to assisting local entrepreneurs thrive. Now ready to serve its first client, Differential wants the city to know it’s ready to boost local businesses.
 
“We see Cincinnati as a great place with a lot of positive momentum, but we’re taking a 20-year view, and there’s a lot of hard work to be done,” Walker says. “Cincinnati is home, it’s the town we love and believe in, and a place where businesses can thrive with the right mindset.”

By Sean Peters

Wearable tech is emerging as the "next big thing" in consumer technology. And a trio of Cincinnati entrepreneurs are developing Nugg-it, a wristband that will easily record snippets of everyday conversation, and investors are taking notice.

Nugg-it has raised a total of $250,000 raised from CincyTech and Design 2 Matter, a Silicon Valley-based industrial design firm. That's part of an ongoing $600,000 investment seed round. Design 2 Matter is also designing and building the device.

"[Design 2 Matter] has a very successful track record of bringing products from concept to shelf," says Nugg-it's co-founder and social media entrepreneur Matthew Dooley.

Nugg-it is meant to be worn 24 hours a day. It records live conversations on a 60-second loop, continuously saving them in one-minute "nuggets." To save a memorable part of a conversation, the user touches the device to save the last minute of buffered memory. That recording can be sent to a smartphone, and through an app can be edited, saved and shared.

"It's a smaller, lighter weight band," says Dooley. "Right now, we are trying to focus a lot of attention on design. It has to be something that is stylish and comfortable to wear. A lot of the functionality is off the shelf, but we're putting it together in a new way."

Dooley is working with former Procter & Gamble brand marketer and engineer Mike Sarow to develop the device. Plans are to deliver the final concept in March, and introduce it to the market by December, Dooley says.

"It occurred to us that there are a lot of circumstances in life where we want to remember and share something that was just said—a clever phrase in a meeting, something adorable from our 3-year-old, words of wisdom from a mentor—but we can't 'capture' it," Sarow says. "Now you can."

Nugg-it is CincyTech's first consumer electronics device investment.

"With the rise of the Nike FuelBand and smartwatches such as Pebble, wearable technology is projected to be a $7 billion market by 2017," says CincyTech's Executive-in-Residence Doug Groh. "We expect Nugg-it to help drive that growth and to do for short audio files what Twitter has done for 140-character content."

By Feoshia H. Davis
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The Hamilton County Business Center is Cincinnati's oldest incubator, and has evolved over the decades as the economy has changed.

Startups are leaner and meaner now than ever before, and HCBC is piloting the region's latest coworking space, where small businesses can get many of the benefits of being in an incubator without the higher overhead.

HCBC's CoWorks had a very quiet launch late last fall. With three businesses in the space, which is located in Norwood, Executive Director Pat Longo is now getting the word out about HCBC.

"This has grown out of our affiliate program," Longo says. "There were companies that weren't yet ready to apply for the incubator but they wanted to be around it."

HCBC has recently upgraded its conference room space, which has been attractive to small companies like SCORE, SBDC and Meetups that want to present themselves more professionally, says Longo.

HCBC has 45 companies that last year generated over $18 million in revenues, accessed over $8 million in capital and created nearly 50 jobs.

Renting CoWorks space on a month-to-month basis starts at $75 per month, and includes:

• 24-hour, 7-day-a-week access
• WiFi
• Concierge and receptionist services
• Free parking
• Fax, scanner and copier services
• Kitchen
• Up to four hours per month of conference room use
• A mailing address

"We talk about having an entrepreneurial ecosystem, but I like to think of (HCBC) as a coral reef," Longo says. "We have a lot of life, people can grow, there is lots of nourishment and places to go and hide if you need a quiet place to work."

CoWorkers will have access to the incubator entrepreneurial atmosphere, programming and resources. Some are free, while others have a fee attached.

"They'll get the benefits of being a client," Long says. "And we hope when they are ready, they'll move into the incubator."

Currently, there is space for about 12 companies, with potential room to grow. Interested businesses can find out more on the CoWorks website, where interpreters can fill out an application.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Mark Fischbach of Milford, Ohio, launched a successful career playing video games and yelling at his computer as a YouTube partner. His channel, Markiplier, features videos of Fischbach playing video games while providing—well, let's call it lively—commentary. The distinctive thing about Fischbach, though, is his strikingly deep and commanding voice.

His YouTube channel gains subscribers at a steady rate. With nearly 150,000 subscribers, Fischbach has garnered more than 23 million views on his hundreds of videos. "Random Horror Reaction Compilation #2," for example, which consists of a little more than four minutes of Fischbach commentating as his video game characters witness scary scenes from games like Death of the Dream 2, Fibrillation and Creepy Zone, has been watched more than a quarter of a million times.

This local gamer with "an ego the size of the moon" (according to his YouTube's homepage) has also raised more than $21,000 for various charities that mainly focus on cancer research. He does this in memory of his father.

Though Fischbach started his YouTube venture less than a year ago, his girly screams and unexpected jokes attract a large demographic of video game enthusiasts with a sense of humor. In this day and age, nearly everyone can find at least one kind of video game they enjoy, which makes Fischbach's territory an ever-expanding kingdom of nerdiness.

http://www.gofundme.com/29clck?pc=flwdgt

By Sean Peters

Miami University junior Samuel Frith was on vacation three years ago, and spent a little too much time in the sun. Today, when the rays get a little too intense, he relives a painful part of that vacation.

"My lips are very sensitive when I'm out in the sun," he says. "I get really bad sun poisoning and blisters when I go out in the sun."

Frith went through all of the cosmetically available lip balms around, especially those with high SPF levels, but they just didn't work.

"I wasn't getting any relief," he says. "I even tried the brands that were SPF 30 or 40."

Last summer, he decided to take things into his own hands, and create The Ultimate Lip Balm. It's a balm that would help sun-sensitive people like Frith. Active outdoor types could also use it, and it even has medical applications—chemotherapy patients often get severely dry lips during cancer treatment, and they could benefit from Frith's balm as well.

Frith, a finance and entrepreneurship student, was one of the top winners during this month's Innov8 for Health business pitch event. He was one of four $1,000 prize winners in the student track.

Frith's past experience includes working on a cosmetic lotion project for GA Communications in Chicago, which helped him learn about the process of getting a facial care product to market.

"I did a lot of reading and research about the FDA and regulation of product claims," he says. "While I was there, I learned about SPF, sun care products and the facial care industry."

After doing further Internet research, Frith decided to work with a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, company—Raining Rose—to develop the lip balm. Raining Rose is a small, custom lip balm manufacturer known for using organic and natural ingredients. The company and Frith are working to develop a formula aimed at making the lip balm last longer, and therefore, be more effective, Frith says.

"After SPF 30, [sun protection quality] plateaus," Frith says. "You have to come up with other ingredients that will stick better on lips, or attributes other than SPF to make a higher quality lip balm."

Currently, he's working to raise $15,000 for product testing. He hopes to get The Ultimate Lip Balm onto lips by late fall.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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