Talent : Innovation + Startup News

Matt Hess is a dog breeder whose new product – a feeding station for motherless puppies and kittens – solved his own puppy feeding challenge.

"I had nine English Mastiff puppies who lost their mother due to mastitis (an infection)," says Hess, who lives in Southeastern Indiana. "I was feeding them one by one. By the time I finished with the last one, it was time to feed the first one again. I thought, 'There has got to be a easier way to do this.' "

The result is Hess' Pet Nursing Station, which can feed three puppies or kittens at a time. The station securely holds baby bottles, attached to the back of a cradle where the animals lie, stomach down, to drink. The cradle is slightly angled and the puppies look up to suck their bottles.

"Once I created this system, it took me a half hour to feed the puppies," Hess says.

The Pet Nursing Station is for small- to large-breed puppies as well as kittens. It's designed for newborns to use up to four weeks old, or until they're weaned.

"It's designed to care for orphaned puppies or kittens if the mother has passed away, or, if for whatever reason, the mother doesn't produce enough milk. The Pet Nursing Station comes in as a temporary or full-time mother," Hess says.

Hess first used the station at home, then sent it to friends and acquaintances to further test. He received good feedback, and decided to start selling the stations in 2011. He, his mother and father make the metal stations in Hess' garage. He's working on a plastic mold for them, which will make the station lighter and more affordable.

"When I made the Pet Nursing Station, I didn't think it would go anywhere. After I shared it with friends, who said it was good idea, it kind of took off," he says.

He's sold the station to animal rescues, breeders and individual pet owners. He's talking to pet stores and catalog sellers to find a wider distribution for the product.

"We have one company who is interested but wants to see the product go further before they sell it," he says.

The Pet Nursing Station is one of the entries in the ongoing Cincinnati Innovates invention and business competition. You can see more ideas, or enter your own here.

By Feoshia Henderson
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Fueled by a US EPA grant, University of Cincinnati faculty and students are leading an effort to transform cooking grease into biodiesel on a regional scale.

This project is a collaboration among UC, the Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and Bluegrass Biodiesel of Falmouth, Ky. The partners will test three methods to extract oil from the grease, including one the University is planning to patent.

Longer term plans are that this oil could be used in a biodiesel mixture to power diesel equipment and vehicles.

Grease hauling is an industry vital to restaurants, which pay haulers to dispose of used cooking grease. But the grease has to disposed of, usually in landfills.

"MSD receives grease from haulers," says project leader Mingming Lu, UC associate professor of Environmental Engineering. "The grease -- a mix of solid and liquid -- are from restaurant grease traps. MSD also has grease from the waste water it receives. The two kinds of grease are mixed, skimmed and condensed. This is called trap grease. It's stored in a pond and then sent to a landfill."

The EPA awarded the biodiesel effort an $87,000 grant during the the 8th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in May. The project was chosen from among 300 presented by college and university innovators across the country.

Up to seven UC students will be involved in the effort, Lu says. It's set to start in September and should last two years. It will include pilot demonstrations and a 100-gallon pilot treatment facility in collaboration with MSD.

"This is technology verification. We will try several technologies and see which one is the most effective for MSD," Lu says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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What co-op was to the 20th century, UC Forward is to the 21st. So goes the theory, and practice, behind the latest iteration of experiential learning at the University of Cincinnati, birthplace of cooperative education.

UC Forward, an initiative of UC’s Innovation Collaborative, describes a wide array of new and existing courses that combine students, and faculty, from multiple disciplines, across colleges and campuses, to work together to solve real-world problems.

Some of these classes have existed for years.

For example, the Niehoff Urban Studio has been tackling community problems, like increasing neighborhood green spaces and improving communities, with design-thinking since 2002.

The Livewell Collaborative has been putting students on the frontline of product development for Baby Boomers—because of strict confidentiality agreements with potential manufacturers, the joke around campus is that participants can tell you all about the new ideas and products they have developed, but then they have to kill you.

The Medical Device Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program has been creating partnerships between budding industrial designers and biomedical engineers and University doctors in need of new devices to address pressing needs in the emergency room and beyond.

And those are just a few of the existing programs that now fall under the UC Forward umbrella.

This school year, the office of the provost issued a call for proposals for new multi-disciplinary courses that include students and faculty from diverse disciplines, use collaborative teaching and learning methods and expand the educational model by focusing on real-life solutions—deliverables that not only help students learn and grow, but that can help them land jobs.

Fourteen courses received first-year funding for a total of $140,000 in new funding, a significant investment in a new way of teaching, learning and preparing students for the future. It’s a move that fits with the Research 1 University’s new academic master plan, and aims at helping shift the higher education narrative to meet the needs of a new century.

Look for stories about individual UC Forward initiatives, as well as new programs and certificates developed to foster creative problem-solving, in future issues of Soapbox.

By Elissa Yancey
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Online contests allow businesses and brands to find new customers, increase awareness and engage with followers through social media.

"This is a really a fast-growing space used to create media exposure to engagement," says Cincinnati entrepreneur Elizabeth Edwards, founder of the Cincinnati Innovates business competition.

But paying someone to create a custom contest can get pricey, and there's not much guarantee you'll get the results you want. So Edwards launched a new web product, CrowdSpark, designed to make contest creation more effective and accessible for businesses on tight budgets.

"A custom-designed platform and a management platform could cost $15,000 to create," she says. "Instead of paying a web developer to create a contest, for as little as $250 you could create your own."

Developers can also use CrowdSpark so that they can spend less time on code, and more time on creating a great contest, Edwards adds.

"We make it easy and economical to create and run those contests," she says.

Edwards is using CrowdSpark, now in Beta, to run the ongoing Cincinnati Innovates Contest, which wraps up July 15.

"I've learned a lot in the last four years of running Cincinnati Innovates, which has become of the most successful regional online contests in the world," she says. "But one of the things I learned not to do is spend a lot of money to get the results you want."

CrowdSpark offers social media plug-ins, analytics, contest entry forms, custom legal rules, tech support and options to create a custom domain and accept paid entries. There will also be a best practices guide focusing on creating and managing contests.

It costs between $250 and $2,000 to start using CrowdSpark, depending on the options it includes. Hosting fees range from $100 to $200 each month the contest runs.

By Feoshia Henderson
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Games are serious business for Cincinnati-based GamiGen, a startup founded on gaming-inspired 3D training software designed for the health, oil and gas, mining, academic, manufacturing and public safety industries.

"What we do is take gaming engine technology to create training simulation technology and make efficient safe, cost-effective training programs," says company founder Brett Canter. "That is our goal: we want to simulate complex or dangerous simulations,"

The company, previously known as 7 Moose Games, is developing "games" to help companies train large groups of employees. One of the first is a fire extinguisher training simulation that users manipulate online.

"We give them the task of putting out virtual fires," Canter says. "They have to use a sweeping motion to spray and point the extinguisher in the right place," giving employees a more real-life experience than watching a video or just examining a fire extinguisher.

This form of training can be less expensive and more detailed than traditional employee training sessions, Canter says. Companies with between 5,000 and 10,000 employees can benefit from this type of training technology, he says.

"Our main customers are companies that maintain OSHA compliancy, and have the need for some kind of recurring training," Canter says.

The company plan to make its games compatible with motion sensor gaming systems like the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox Kinnect.

By Feoshia Henderson
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In a fun take on the Flash Mob public performance phenomenon, groups of friends and strangers are Cash Mobbing local businesses. Instead of meeting in a preplanned spot to dance and/or sing for unknowing crowds in Flash Mob fashion, a Cash Mob (with the OK of the owner) targets local shops, mobbing them with $10 and $20 bills in a fast-paced shopping spree.

A New York blogger and engineer organized the first Cash Mob in 2011. The socially organized events made their way to Cincinnati – via Cleveland – this year. The first mob came together in Norwood; the neighborhoods of Deer Park and Silverton followed, and the first Cincy Cash Mob event is set for May 25, from 6 until 8 p.m. at Park + Vine in Over-the-Rhine.

Alice Rericha, a stay-at-home mom and serial community volunteer, organized the Norwood Cash Mob after hearing about one in Cleveland. She started Facebook and Twitter pages for the Norwood group and began inviting family and friends to join.

"It's a coming together of citizens who want to say, 'We support small businesses. We all come together at the same small, locally owned business and spend our money and time there,' " explains Rericha, who also lives in Norwood.

The first Norwood Cash Mob was at Murray Brothers Old Time Store; an "After Mob" event was held at Quatman Cafe. Since the group has held three other Cash Mob and After Mob events at local restaurants. Once the word got out, the other groups sprang up, Rericha says. Mobbers are asked to spend at least $20.

The first business was a little surprised when Rericha called to explain the Cash Mob, but once the customers showed up, things went just fine. Some owners have even suggested other businesses to contact, Rericha says.

"When you explain what it is, you see when they start to understand and their eyes light up. They always say, 'This sounds good,' " she says.

Rericha says Cash Mobs are a great way to support businesses owners, forge friendships and to highlight local businesses.

"I moved here in 2007, and have met so many people," she says. "In my planning, I've found so many businesses that I just didn't even see before. Now I know the owners and have relationships with them. When you buy from a small business, you are supporting a neighbor."

Written by Feoshia Henderson
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A new Cincinnati company is a banking on a simple idea whose success will all be in the details. One More Pallet aims to link small shippers with truck drivers who have a little space to spare as they're delivering large loads.

It will work like a bit like Priceline.com where small shippers, who need to move just one or two pallets, can enter their shipping information, along with how much they're willing to pay. Through One More Pallet's custom software system, shippers will be matched with carriers willing to accept the shipment. It's a win for the carriers, who can earn a little extra money, and for the the shippers, who can save as much as 50 percent off normal shipping costs.

"We're recruiting trucking firms and customers who are flexible in their delivery schedules," says company president and local entreprenuer Bill Cunningham. He and Sandy Ambrose, of Without A Doubt Warehouse in Fairfield, are the company co-founders. "If you can be flexible, you save a lot of money.

"Sandy came up with the idea. We were talking, and she said, 'I've got some excess capacity on my trucks and one or two more pallets on them would me make more profitable."

Since the conversation that sparked the idea, Cunningham and Ambrose have been working on the business idea, including the software system that links shippers and carriers. The software is currently in the pilot stage, with plans for a regional launch this summer. Those interested can get an invitation to the system through the One More Pallet website.

"We're going through the customer development process to make sure that our customers get a great experience every time," Cunningham says.

The company is getting a lot of interest. It was one of eight chosen for UpTech, a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, ezone and Vision 2015. It's an intense, six-month accelerator program that includes $100,000 in funding. Companies selected to participate will also be working with students and faculty at NKU's College of Informatics.

It also was selected by the Kauffman Foundation as a finalist in the Startup Open in 2011 from more than 3,000 entries worldwide.

By Feoshia Henderson
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Define My Style, a Cincinnati startup and an online community of next-generation designers and fashionistas, is seeking 500 Design Assistants from across the country to discover and share their sense of style and design, create and publish fashion-oriented content, interact with other members of the community and bring their designs to life.

The program is looking for young women ages 14-22 who are passionate about style, want to become a part of fashion and have a drive to help others. ??Young women can participate from home and the program is accepting nominees on a rolling basis.

?Design Assistants should be highly motivated and eager to share their opinion. They will:

•    Lead and influence more than 50,000 DefineMyStyle.com members;
•    Connect with fashion-industry professionals, including stylists, designers, models and bloggers;
•    Be granted first access to trends, tools and brand partnerships;
•    Develop a personal brand;
•    Write blog posts, snap design-inspiring photos, submit videos and contribute to social media;
•    Build their resume for college.

In return, Design Assistants can earn points, badges (credits), swag and free bags from DefineMyStyle.com.??"I'm so excited to be one of the first Design Assistants,” says Kate Richey, a Cincinnati high school sophomore and a DMS Design Assistant. “We're getting to learn about fashion and design, and then we are given projects around what we've just learned. It allows us each to be creative and have fun. It's great to know that what we say and do makes an impact on the entire community.” ??

Define My Style Design assistants each will receive an elevated page on the DMS website where their accomplishments and profile will be housed.

The idea for Define My Style came to founder and CEO Kristine Sturgeon in 2007, when her oldest daughter was getting ready to head back to school. Unable to decide on a school bag that gave her the functions she needed and was a design she loved, Sturgeon’s daughter was at a standstill. She knew exactly what she wanted out of a product – as most consumers do – but brands sold commercially weren’t interested in listening to her desires. Sturgeon saw a business opportunity.

The website has now grown into a robust community of more than 50,000 members that allows teens to bring their ideas to life as they determine the role they want to engage in social commerce: including buyer, designer, marketer, critic and influencer of products. ??“The Design Assistant program offers a unique ability to play a role in fashion and influence the DMS community,” says Sturgeon. “At Define My Style, our goal is to provide right tools and connections to this creative next generation of leaders and influencers in the world of fashion. We are excited about all we have in store in the coming months.”

??If you know a teen you think would be perfect for the program, you can nominate them for the program.

Or, young women who want to directly apply to be a Design Assistant can submit their applications through the Define My Style Web site.  

By Sarah Blazak for CincyTech

Go to YouTube, eHow or the Facebook pages of major beauty brands, and you'll find thousands of videos featuring everything from how to apply crackle nail polish, use an eyelash curler or apply mascara. There are no shortages of product reviews, either..

These video blogs, or vlogs, help many women decide whether or not to purchase a new product, and how to use something new or unfamiliar, explains Brinda Chattergee, a Cincinnati entrepreneur.

"It's mostly young women who are sharing information about purchases, and coming together around information," she says.

Chattergee, who has a graphic design background, discovered the beauty vlogging world while researching product design for a beauty product. During her research, she thought it would be great if there was a site dedicate to the best of the videos, both professional and amateur, where people could quickly find and create the type of content they wanted.

That's the idea behind her new website, MakeupHaulic. Chattergee describes the site, which is not yet public, as a curated destination site for all things beauty. In addition to featuring existing content, the site will also offer tutorials for those who want to become beauty vloggers. She plans to feature some sponsored content as well.

"It will feature a blend of normal folks as well as professionals," she says. "It will be very democratic. Anyone can participate."

MakeupHaulic is one of eight companies chosen for UpTech, a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, ezone and Vision 2015. It's an intense, six-month accelerator program that includes $100,000 in funding. Companies selected to participate will also be working with students and faculty at NKU's College of Informatics.

During her time in the incubator, Chattergee plans to launch the site and rework its design or the user experience in response to user feedback.

"The launch is pretty immediate at this point. We'll be taking it to the next level in response to feedback. It's a very important phase and an exciting time for all of us involved," she says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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CitiLogics is growing, along with its software designed to help city governments and public utilities better manage water infrastructure. Founders Jim Uber and Stu Hooper have added a third partner, and CitiLogics is one of eight companies picked for Northern Kentucky's inaugural UpTech accelerator program.

CitiLogics is working on a modern solution to a modern urban challenge. The company's Polaris is a real-time forecasting platform that uses existing water management data to help utilities better control their water distribution systems.

The software will allow utilities to better pinpoint leak sources, and improve water quality in the distribution system, among other things. It will also forecast how a particular part of the infrastructure would hold up in an emergency or a heavy use period. The software then allows departments to share that information easily.

"We've been focusing on software development and fundraising, and we're excited to get started with UpTech," says Uber, an environmental engineer. "We've been working with our utility partners to prove the business case for our software."

Sam Hatchett, a mechanical and environmental engineer, decided to join the company as a partner because he believes in the work and is looking for a challenge.

"I know myself and my character," Hatchett says. "I was not going to fit into a large corporate environment."

The company, founded in 2009, will be moving from the Hamilton incubation County Business Center, to offices in Newport as part of the UpTech program.

UpTech is a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, ezone and Vision 2015. It's an intense, six-month accelerator program that includes $100,000 in funding. Companies selected to participate will also be working with students and faculty at NKU's College of Informatics.

The company is meeting with municipalities for potential early sales, and the software is being tested through a pilot at the Northern Kentucky Water District.

The company believes UpTech will be a springboard to increased financing and more software development.

"There is a lot of open space in the area of business analytics in the water utility industry, and we want to fill that space in a valuable way," Uber says. "We definitely don't plan on being the Stu, Sam and Jim show forever. We plan to take this across the county and across the world."

By Feoshia Henderson
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Student Designed, a web-based program that allows businesses and students to collaborate on real-world design challenges, has taken yet another step forward as a winner in Northern Kentucky University's inaugural UpTech class.

UpTech is a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, ezone and Vision 2015. It's an intense, six-month accelerator program that includes $100,000 in funding. Companies will also be working with students and faculty at NKU's College of Informatics.

This follows Student Designed winning Xavier's Launch-A-Business competition in 2011.

"One of my biggest barriers was getting a relationship with schools," says Adam Treister, a University of Cincinnati grad who developed Student Designed in 2010. "Now I'll have a strong tie with NKU and the College of Informatics, and it's great to be involved with the innovative part of the school. I look forward to working with students to test the platform."

Student Designed allows design, engineering, architecture and other creative students to showcase their student work in a central place where businesses can check it out. Businesses could contact individual students they believe could help them with a project. University professors could also connect with businesses and use their design projects as teaching tools.

"Businesses are always looking for ways to more efficiently complete projects. Many have had the idea before to work with students, but there has been no clear way to do that very easily," Treister says. "Professors like the idea of giving students access to real-world projects, and this is also a way for students to get their foot in the door with companies that could hire them."

Student Designed is currently in Beta, and Treister hopes to have a more responsive and functional site designed during his time with UpTech.

By Feoshia Henderson
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Developers at Gaslight Software have done what many just daydream of doing. The young software development company was forged by freelancers, many of whom left corporate life.

"We were independent contractors. Most of us met at what's now called Cincinnati Agile Roundtable," says Gaslight developer Doug Alcorn. "After a few years, we decided we could do better if we worked together instead of on our own. We have no titles, no boss. This is 100 percent team-driven."

A dozen developers work in Gaslight's Blue Ash office, helping clients develop mobile- and web-based applications that improve efficiencies and promote business growth.

Gaslight works with growing companies and startups across the country. Among applications they've developed are Tweethopper, which allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts; WebPulp.tv, a video podcast that explores the inner workings of scaling a web ap; and Vendor Wizard, which securely automates the tracking and management of vendor relationships and documents.

"We want to make an impact, and work to benefit our clients in tangible ways. We want to feel we're part of their team in developing software and not just a vendor," says developer Peter Kananen.

Gaslight works to cultivate a culture of community and teamwork that carries into the wider Cincinnati tech community. The company participates in a number of local developers' groups, including Cincinnati Ruby Brigade and Cincinnati Lean Startup Circle. They're also the lead organizer of the first Queen City Merge web conference May 10 and 11.

"There's a lot of talk about brain drain in the city. It's a constant battle. We want to highlight tech in this city, get people together and have them look around to see what's going on around them," Alcorn says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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A new healthcare analytics system developed by Blue Ash-based HealthBridge caught the attention of southwest Colorado doctors who are adopting it to better track treatment effectiveness.

HealthBridge will be working with Quality Health Network in Grand Junction, Colo., to improve electronic record sharing there. HealthBridge will also modify its program for measuring health outcomes in Greater Cincinnati for the Colorado doctors.

HealthBridge is one of the country's largest electronic health information exchange organizations, serving 80 to 90 percent of physicians and acute care hospitals in southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana.

HealthBridge helps medical centers quickly and simply share information for 2.5 million patients in the region. More than 24 hospitals and 5,000 physicians use the company's health IT services in Greater Cincinnati, saving the region an estimated $20 million a year.

The nonprofit has taken the lead in the carrying out the goals of a federally funded Beacon Community Grant. Beacon Communities are charged with building and strengthening local health IT infrastructure and testing innovative approaches to make measurable improvements in quality, cost and population health. Cincinnati is one of 17 Beacon communities across the country.

"Both of our regions have aggressive goals for improving the quality of care, cost effectiveness and population health of our communities," says Trudi Mathews, HealthBridge director of policy and public relations.

In Cincinnati, Health Bridge has developed an IT-sharing program for participating doctors and healthcare providers to securely share information about their patients. This information helps determine if they're reaching certain program goals related to diabetes and pediatric asthma treatment.

This program will be modified to meet goals set by Quality Health Network. Quality Health Network is the first group outside of Cincinnati to adopt the HealthBridge analytics system, but HealthBridge officials believe more will follow.

"There are regions of the country that don't have a high level of connectivity for record sharing. To build and develop that capability takes a long time, but we are able to rapidly ramp up the timeframe for adopting that connection," Mathews says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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