If you have ever seen a Hedgehog before, you may wonder how the quills on their back work. When a hedgehog falls, its spine functions as a shock-absorber and protects it. If these quills could somehow be replicated for humans, they could potentially offer similar protection. This is where H... Read More

How SPR Therapeutics is Changing the Game with new Nerve Stimulation Technology   Currently in the midst of an opiod crisis, patients and doctors have been looking far and wide to discover a solution that could offer less invasive surgeries as well as less harmful side effects. This is where SPR T... Read More

There are quite a few reasons why the MLB All-Star Game's return to Cleveland in July was special for Matt Mastrangelo. The Groupmatics founder and CEO is a Northeast Ohio native who got his start in sales as an account executive with the Cleveland Indians in 2005. Fast-forward more than 14 years,... Read More

Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology-based startups, has awarded a combined $737,500 to 14 startup companies over the past six months. The companies will receive Innovation Fund awards of between $12,500 and $100,000 enabling them to complete projec... Read More

Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology-based startups, has awarded a combined $375,000 to six young companies. The startups will match the Innovation Fund awards, between $25,000 and $100,000, with non-state funding, enabling them to complete $50,000 ... Read More

Ask 12 recruiters or hiring managers what is wrong with talent acquisition and you will likely get a dozen different answers. An Akron startup aims to tackle at least one of those issues. DeepHire, launched by recent University of Akron graduates and hackathon enthusiasts Steven Gates and Russell Ra... Read More

The Vlipsy app, created here in Northeast Ohio, can make your text messages a bit more exciting. ... Read More

Gene Groys, the entrepreneur behind OnShift, is taking the lessons he learned from launching that company and applying them to his new venture: MedaSync. He isn't straying far from his expertise. OnShift is a Cleveland-based post-acute care and senior living staff scheduling software company. Groy... Read More

Gene Groys, the entrepreneur behind OnShift, is taking the lessons he learned from launching that company and applying them to his new venture: MedaSync. He isn't straying far from his expertise. OnShift is a Cleveland-based post-acute care and senior living staff scheduling software company. Groy... Read More

Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology-based startups, has awarded a combined $250,000 to six companies. The startups will use the awards – between $25,000 and $100,000 – to complete specific projects that will bring their technologies closer to m... Read More

New Deal with 1SourceVideo Puts H.264 Box On Sale Through B&H, Adorama and DVE Store BoxCast CEO and co-founder Gordon Daily says he realized the business world needed a simple, plug-and-play streaming video solution years ago, when he was working nights as tech support for a funeral home. The... Read More

Cleveland-area entrepreneurs David Levine and Michael Recker have received plenty of accolades for the Mr. Beams battery-operated, motion-sensing lights they first introduced more than a decade ago.  But perhaps the greatest validation came Tuesday afternoon, when Reuters reported that thei... Read More

It's expensive and time-consuming to find a babysitter for date night. So mom-entrepreneurs Audrey Wallace and Amy Husted created a business to fix that. Their website and free app, Komae, manages a babysitting co-op among friends. Moms earn points when they watch other people's kids, then use thos... Read More

 Zoltan Mesko is in Minneapolis for Super Bowl weekend, but not just because he's a former New England Patriots punter who loves the game. This Chagrin Falls resident has shifted his focus to tackling perhaps the biggest health issue facing football in the 21st century: head trauma. Exero Labs foun... Read More

Ring has acquired local LED maker Wireless Environment, a deal that generated "a big return" for JumpStart Inc. and the individuals who invested in the company, according to co-founder David Levine. The Mayfield Village-based company — which makes the Mr. Beams line of LED products — is now ... Read More

 Mr. Beams, a Cleveland-based LED lighting technology company, has been purchased by Ring, a leader in home security, it was announced Monday at CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. The combined businesses will integrate smart, energy-efficient lights into security devices and market... Read More

Vlipsy—a new video clip search engine that lets users quickly find and share quotes and scenes from their favorite internet videos—is one of the newest companies to join the Innovation Fund portfolio. Here’s what CEO and co-founder, Chris Nickless, had to say about why he and Matt Tew s... Read More

Felicia Luna had a really bad headache. She said the painful pressure felt “like someone was squeezing my head really tight.” The pain became so bad that the 41-year-old woman could not lie down and rest her head on a pillow. Felicia Luna, more relaxed after viewing her aneurysm through virtual ... Read More

Funds accelerate the progress of Northeast Ohio’s young, high-growth companies  Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology-based startups, has awarded a combined $165,000 to five young companies. Since its 2007 launch, the Innovation Fund has committed... Read More

Aspiring rapper Brandyn Armstrong wanted to go to a professional audio studio to record his music, but he didn't have money or transportation. He needed a portable home studio that he could use at any time. So he invented one. "I created a product (to solve a) problem I had," said Armstrong, 25, of ... Read More

Case Western Reserve University diabetes researcher Dr. Michael Weiss is determined to unlock the mysteries surrounding diabetes. The company he co-founded, Cleveland-based Thermalin, Inc., uses cutting-edge science to alter the insulin molecule to treat diabetes. Weiss is a professor of biomedical ... Read More

Vlipsy, a Canton startup that helps people augment their online communications with video clips that include sound, announced it has raised $1.3 million in seed funding from investors that include JumpStart Inc., North Coast Angel Fund, Impact Angel Fund, Flashstarts, GLIDE and Cox Enterpri... Read More

Lorain County Community College announced it is one of six colleges nationally, and the only one in Ohio, to be chosen to participate in an innovative program that provides intellectual property curriculum for entrepreneurs at the undergraduate level. The program is a partnership through the Nationa... Read More

Campana Center for Ideation and Invention promotes innovation and job growth in Northeast Ohio with access to cutting-edge digital manufacturing and fabrication capabilities Growing up in Lorain County, Bob Campana was mesmerized by the manufacturing bustle that defined Northeast Ohio.
“It ... Read More

Two Cleveland startups on Friday, Sept. 15, received a total of $250,000 from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission to help them advance their technology and accelerate the process of getting products to market. The money comes from the Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation and Start-up Fund. Th... Read More

SPR Therapeutics Inc., a medical device company in Highland Hills that has developed a neurostimulation platform for chronic and acute pain, announced on Tuesday morning, Sept. 12, that it has received $25 million in Series C financing. The round was led by Basking Ridge, N.J.-based Frontcourt Vent... Read More

40th cycle marks 10-year anniversary for fund that’s committed more than $12 million to startups Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology-based startups, has awarded a combined $150,000 to four young companies. This latest funding announcement marks t... Read More

When faculty members at research institutions make discoveries, their next steps are clear: Disclose the innovation to the tech transfer office, where the idea will be reviewed before filing a patent application. But outside of research institutions – for undergrad students and faculty at non-rese... Read More

The patient is lying on the table in front of me, bright fluorescent lights shining down on her blood-stained clothes. I know she’s been in a car accident, but I have no idea of the extent of the damage yet. I step closer to the table and glance at her vitals on the screen next to her. My scrubs-c... Read More

Chickpea pasta producer Banza becomes Macomb Innovation Fund’s first awardee to contribute to fund replenishment Two early-stage companies, one from Detroit and the second from Macomb County, will receive $75,000 in funding from the Innovation Fund Macomb Community College, Powered by JPMorgan Cha... Read More

Terri Bryant was working at a cheese factory in 2000 when she injured the delicate, rubbery discs between her spinal bones. That was the start of her chronic pain. Two years later, she had back surgery and started regularly taking fentanyl, a powerful prescription opioid medication. Her pain persist... Read More

Joel Crites only has about $2,500 in revenue to show for Micro Fantasy, his predictive-gaming startup of two years. But the North Canton Hoover High School graduate continues to swing for the fences, and he's drawing a crowd of people who believe he can make it happen. The company — which has dev... Read More

The Akron-based data-mining and management firm Segmint has announced it has a new partner: none other than IBM. Segmint said on Tuesday, July 11, that it has entered a strategic partnership with IBM to market each other's products to financial service providers. Both companies offer banks and oth... Read More

Last month Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio introduced the latest group of companies to win funding awards. This money is usually the first market validation that a new business idea has the potential for success. But there are a number of reasons why a good idea might not be awarded funding—at l... Read More

In the July 10, 2017 issue of How I Built This, host Guy Raz talks with Joel Crites, founder of Mirco Fantasy about how he built his prediction contest app that transforms any smart phone from a distraction to an attraction while following live sports action.  How I Built This is a podcast about i... Read More

Two technology startups in Oakland Country are receiving a $125,000 boost from the Macomb Innovation Fund. Funded by Macomb Community College's Strategic Fund and part of J.P. Morgan Chase's $150 million commitment to Detroit's economic recovery, the award is designed to advance progress of larger s... Read More

O2 RegenTech, a medical device startup out of the University of Akron, has received a boost with $100,000 in funding from the Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, according to the university. Founded in 2013 by Nic Leipzig, an associate professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, O2 RegenTech sp... Read More

How about free babysitting that's trustworthy and guilt-free? It's not a gimmick, it's a new app that two Akron moms created that works like a babysitting exchange.  It's called Komae, which is Greek for "village." To use the app, you create your own “village,” or network of moms that only... Read More

Talking about legalized pot with her kids made Kathy Stitzlein think about the need for a roadside device to measure levels of marijuana intoxication. As a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at the University of Akron, Stitzlein invented Cannibuster, which uses a saliva sample to measure levels... Read More

Two Akron-area companies were among six tech startups to receive a share of $225,000 in the round of investments announced by Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio. The startups will use the money to test technologies and prove business models, according to an Innovation Fund news release. O2 RegenTech of ... Read More

Virtual reality technology is now in use at GW Hospital, allowing neurosurgeons to digitally map out operations in advance of the procedure. Precision Virtual Reality technology, created by the company Surgical Theater, arrived at GW Hospital in April and gives doctors and their patients a view insi... Read More

Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the area’s most active pre-seed fund for technology-based startups, has awarded a combined $225,000 to six companies. The startups will use the money to complete projects that will test technologies and prove business models. With the recent investments, the Innovat... Read More

Going to a Hyr level. Local serial entrepreneur Manoj Jhaveri is at it again. Recently, Jhaveri, and his merry band of cohorts, launched Hyr Medical in Highland Heights. The company seeks to solve the locum tenans inefficiencies in medical staffing. Locum tenens is a Latin phrase that means "to hold... Read More

I wrote recently about the importance of timing for any new innovation, with many new technologies requiring the right environment to thrive.  Nowhere is this more evident than with the current burst of innovation in AI, which has depended heavily on both the availability of huge quantities of data... Read More

There are two new Cleveland startups that are changing the entrepreneurial landscape in Northeast Ohio. Cleveland-based Revenue Conduit and Blu-Board are crafting new platforms that are disrupting markets globally. And for those companies seeking a revenue jolt for their e-commerce properties there ... Read More

Cleveland is known for its food and beer scene, sports and culture, but it’s also becoming a budding hub for virtual and augmented reality. People in this field say virtual and augmented reality will change our daily lives similar to when the first iPhone was released. Right now, we’re on the ev... Read More

SPR Therapeutics has secured a $6 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for its non-opioid pain management therapy. The four-year contract will help to advance SPR's SPRINT Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) System for non-opioid relief of acute and chronic pain. The contract complem... Read More

Tesla NanoCoatings set up shop in Massillon with confidence in its products and big dreams for success. It hasn’t taken long for that to happen. Tesla, which produces a corrosion-resistant coating for steel and other metals, has only been in business for a few years at its Massillon site — the ... Read More

For the sixth-grade class at Davis Magnet School in Costa Mesa, the science lesson for the day means keeping textbooks and notebooks on the shelves while the students pull out virtual reality viewers by Google Cardboard and their smartphones preloaded with 3D videos found on YouTube. As they peer th... Read More

  A fitness app for swimmers and a wastewater treatment solution were among the winners of a total of $100,000 awarded at The Greenlight Business Model Competition on Wednesday. This year 22 young companies with big ideas competed at Michigan State University's Wharton Center for Performing Arts in... Read More

Two very different Akron area innovations — a portable marijuana-detection device and an app that allows users to exchange free baby-sitting services — have each won $25,000 from the region’s nonprofit Innovation Fund. The ventures — the Komae baby-sitting app and Triple Beam Technologies, m... Read More

Aatru Medical Corp. claimed the top prize of $100,000 from the Innovation Fund. It was one of four Northeast Ohio startups that got funding to help take their products to the next level. Aatru is developing a wound dressing product that leverages technology by designing the industry's first and only... Read More

Region’s most active pre-seed fund has helped startups create nearly 1,000 jobs since 2007 Four local startups will receive a combined $175,000 from Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology startups. The companies will use awards between $25,000 and $... Read More

Cleveland 19 News Cleveland, OH The simplest explanation of the research being done at Cleveland based Trailhead Biosystems is that they are working to find a way to control the cells in our bodies to see if they can find a way to cure disease. But there is nothing simple about this dynamic research... Read More

A new feature is making it easier for entrepreneurs to re-apply to the Innovation Fund. Now you can copy an old application into the current funding cycle, giving you a head start completing the form. We added this feature because we know that many entrepreneurs apply to the Innovation Fund a few ... Read More

 Dr. Simon Melikian invented a way for robots to see and learn.  Basically taking the biology of the human eye and turning it into technology. "I knew I had something really, really good to sell," he said.  But he had no idea how to turn his creation into a business.  "I know how science works,... Read More

Big data is turning into a big business in downtown Akron, where the data-mining firm Segmint just moved into new offices in the city-owned Hamlin Building. The 9-year-old company, which moved Jan. 20-21 from One Cascade Plaza, provides data analytics, primarily to banks, savings and loans, and cred... Read More

Since 2015, 24 companies awarded total of $1.4 million; Nearly 340 students benefit from unique learning experiences Five early-stage companies from Macomb, Washtenaw and Wayne counties will receive $225,000 in funding from the Innovation Fund Macomb Community College, Powered by JPMorgan Chase &... Read More

Tom Lix, the founder and chairman of Cleveland Whiskey LLC, is part of a Forbes roundtable that looks at how the introduction of so-called "equity crowdfunding" has worked for small businesses. For Cleveland Whiskey, it seems, the changes that went into effect last year via Title III of the JOBS... Read More

If you ever find yourself watching hedgehog go about its day, you’ll notice that they tend to fall out of trees — a lot. Wild hedgehogs climb trees as high as 30 feet, looking for insects and food to eat. Sometimes they fall by accident, other times they fall on purpose to evade a predator or be... Read More

A local company that specializes in developing moldable polymers derived from wood is working toward the launch of a product designed specifically for 3-D printers that could, in part, replace the two most common printing filaments on the market today. Robert Joyce, founder and co-owner of Toledo-ba... Read More

Four technology startups are using a combined $200,000 to get innovative new products closer to commercialization. The companies won between $25,000 and $100,000 from the Northeast Ohio pre-seed fund and will use the money to make prototypes, test the technologies, and hire employees. The founders a... Read More

What would nature do? Answering that question is leading to major developments in technology, household products and even in things that help keep our kids safe. Like the padding of a football helmet, for example.  Researchers think mimicking the shock-absorbing quills of a hedgehog could better pr... Read More

Faced with a very dire health issue, Lucas Deines​ found himself on the edge of the medical technology frontier. In his emotional and poignant talk, Lucas shares how Virtual Reality, viewed by many as a source of entertainment, saved his life. ... Read More

It all began at a funeral home on Cleveland’s west side. The funeral director wanted to help families with the grieving process when not all members could travel to attend the service. He asked his tech-savvy friend Gordon Daily to help. Gordon, who was working at Rockwell Automation, had a backg... Read More

Entrepreneurs: when pitching to investors, you need to stay focused on only a few key items. While most likely you will be asked about many different aspects of your business, there are three elements you need to understand and be able to discuss in depth and with clarity. Most entrepreneurs would p... Read More

The Innovation Fund, a Northeast Ohio fund for early-stage technology startups, is hoting a free informational session from 1 to 3 p.m. today at the Akron Global Business Accelerator in downtown Akron. The session is designed as a forum for entrepreneurs to learn about the fund, get advice on applyi... Read More

Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio will host a free event at the Akron Global Business Accelerator to encourage area startups to apply  The Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio, the region’s most active pre-seed fund for technology startups, is heading to Akron to encourage area entrepreneurs to apply for ... Read More

~~The judges for the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition deliberated for more than an hour and a half late Thursday night at Cobo Center in Detroit before naming mobility company SPLT the $500,000 winner. "The candidates were so good and we had such a wide array of awards that trying to decid... Read More

Virtual reality isn't just for catching Pokémon; it can save your life. In December 2014, Lucas Deines’ life changed dramatically: He learned he had a brain tumor and sought the best medical advice. But, he didn't realize, his doctors would be using medical advancements beyond his imagination.  ... Read More

Negotiating a license agreement is hard, especially when you’re the small, young company in the deal. Here are the top five mistakes startups make when negotiating. Skipping legal guidance. In almost every case the licensor will have a team of lawyers guiding them through the process. You should ... Read More

Five technology startups in Northeast Ohio will keep growing thanks in part to the Innovation Fund. The companies won between $25,000 and $50,000 from the region’s pre-seed fund and their founders will use the money to test technologies, improve products, and hire employees. The founders met at Lo... Read More

BioMendics lines up $7M, tests wound-healing gel - Crain's Cleveland Business //--> */ Karen McGuire described it as an “oh my goodness” moment. A few years ago, she received the results of an experiment designed to test whether the gel that she and her colleagues created might actuall... Read More

Joel Crites’ big business idea occurred when he took his then-16-year-old son to a Cleveland Indians game two years ago. Koby Crites was bored and wanted to leave early. Desperate, his dad brought in a pinch-hitter, so to speak. “I said, ‘Let’s play a game,’ ” Joel said. “You predict w... Read More

With a historic NBA Championship win on the shoulders of superstar Akron native LeBron James and a successful run hosting the recent Republican National Convention under its belt, the city of Cleveland has stepped into the spotlight in a major way this past summer. But beyond the hype, there's a tig... Read More

You’ve made it as an entrepreneur. Your startup has positive cash flow, proven growth, and a strong management team. What’s next? No problem, you say. Just sell the company for big bucks. Easier said than done. Here are the things you need to think about before considering acquisition. Decide wh... Read More

Augmented reality may be grabbing headlines with the rise of the hit game Pokemon Go, but a New York surgeon is examining how this technology could be used to save lives during some of the most complex brain operations. Dr. Joshua Bederson, chairman of neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Health System, spen... Read More

TheraVasc Inc., headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, has announced the successful completion of a Phase II clinical study on patients with diabetic neuropathy pain. The double blind, randomized and placebo controlled trial was just completed in Southwestern Ohio using a new sustained release formula... Read More

On Wednesday, Boston Scientific announced that it’s acquiring a company that makes radio-frequency ablation devices, underscoring the need to offer medtech alternatives to treating chronic pain, which is overwhelmingly addressed by drugs. Another company that is offering up a device solution t... Read More

Applying for funding when you're a cash strapped entrepreneur can be stressful. Developing the financials for your business can bring on additional stress, but it doesn't have to. As long as you have a well thought out business plan, doing the financials to go with it is just a matter of putting the... Read More

Minimally Invasive, Non-Opioid Alternative, Stimulates Peripheral Nerves to Provide Sustained Relief of Chronic and Acute Pain SPR® Therapeutics received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration to commercialize the SPRINT™ Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) System, the comp... Read More

Fighter pilots and brain surgeons have a lot in common. With limited time and a high degree of risk, they must zero in on a dangerous target with the intent to destroy, making sure to minimize any collateral damage. Perhaps no one understands that relationship better than Alon Geri and Moty Avisar, ... Read More

JumpStart has chosen the first company that will receive an investment from its recently recapitalized Evergreen Fund: Revenue Conduit. JumpStart has committed $250,000 to the Akron-based e-commerce software company. Revenue Conduit will use the money to speed up the development of its product, whic... Read More

Every startup that’s raising money needs to start somewhere. For startups in greater Cleveland, that place is the Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio. That’s where Doug Carr brought his company. Doug founded medical device company Thermedx® in 2007 to transform surgical fluid management. During many... Read More

Cleveland Whiskey is one of Northeast Ohio’s most successful and well-known startups. The company has raised more than $2 million, perfected a disruptive technology that dramatically accelerates the maturation of distilled spirits, and sold more than 200,000 bottles of its whiskey around the world... Read More

“VR is not a trend. VR is the sandbox the future will be created in.” That statement is fixed on the website of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance, a newly launched fund of funds with $10 billion to invest in virtual reality projects. Don Hileman agrees. So much so, he started a busine... Read More

Todd Doehring spent years working as a scientist at the Cleveland Clinic and as a professor of Bioengineering at Drexel University. His projects centered on images and micro-testing systems. He wanted to make them work better for doctors and other scientists. Todd researched and taught biomechanics ... Read More

If you’re running a startup, chances are you’ll need to know how to raise capital.  You need to know how to find the right potential funding sources and once those sources are identified, how to increase your odds to get funding from those sources. Develop a networking strategy. Finding grants... Read More

Beth Potratz owns an eharmony.com of sorts for truckers. Not for love, but for matching truck drivers with jobs they will love. The human resource expert was working on driver recruitment solutions for a trucking industry client when she spotted a two-way challenge: employers couldn’t find the bes... Read More

The Lorain County Community College-based Innovation Fund, which awards money to help technology-based startup companies, is lending a hand to a company that plans to get off the ground in coming years. One of the Innovation Fund’s latest award-winners is Amherst-based NEOEx, which received $25,00... Read More

The Innovation Fund, Northeast Ohio’s most active early-stage fund for technology-based startups, has committed a combined $150,000 to three companies. The fund awards startups up to $100,000 so they can validate their technologies and business concepts and often bridges the financial gap between ... Read More

Boxcast has already hired five fresh college graduates through the Venture for America program. And CEO Gordon Daily says he may very well hire another from this year’s graduating class. He loves the Venture for America program. Loves it. After all, the national fellowship program has provided his... Read More

If you’re running a startup I’ve got one important bit of advice: you will never have enough funding. You will (and should) always be looking for your next source of funds. Well, maybe never is a bit over the top, but never is a good benchmark during the first five years of any startup. Making y... Read More

To perform most blood tests, a nurse draws a vial of blood from a patient and sends the sample to a lab, where it’s spun in a big machine and analyzed. Then the lab technician sends the patient’s results to the physician who ordered the test. The entire process takes up to two hours, but can be ... Read More

Everykey now has a real office — and a real product. The company recently moved into a small office near its birthplace, Case Western Reserve University, and it has slowly begun shipping the Everykey fob: a device designed to automatically unlock the owner's smartphone and computer when it gets c... Read More

New crowdfunding rules taking effect Monday will let anyone—not just the wealthy— invest in startups. But don't bet on the "99 percent" finding the next Uber overnight.  The change overrides a longstanding Securities and Exchange Commission requirement that investors backing private compa... Read More

Some growing startups are flashy, hit social media hard, and make headlines in Inc. or Entrepreneur. Others grow in a quieter, more conservative way. David Levine built Wireless Environment like that. He and his co-founder Mike Recker launched the Cleveland-based maker of wireless lighting in 200... Read More

It's a valid question. Your innovation is going to require money in order to advance from development to commercial launch. Whether your total capital needs are $3 million or $30 million, the needed money can trickle in via smaller increments or in tranches of millions of dollars—depending on how ... Read More

An embryo seems to miraculously mature through layers of development. Cellular differentiation, a forming spinal column, organ development, and more, are all necessary for a healthy, vital birth. Just as the developing fetus goes through a myriad of maturation steps, your innovation and your company... Read More

If you were one of the people who dreamed of a future filled with flying cars and virtual reality, well your dreams weren’t too far off from where we are in 2016. While companies like Terrafugia are knee-deep in development of real-life flying cars, virtual reality is just beginning to take off, a... Read More

Women Who Tech launched a massive startup challenge to bring much-needed awareness and support to women-led startups across the country. The Women Who Tech’s Women Startup Challenge 2016 has announced the ten finalists in the competition, who will “pitch and showcase their innovative and disrupt... Read More

Three early-stage companies from Livingston, Washtenaw and Wayne counties will receive a total of $225,000 in funding from the Innovation Fund Macomb Community College, Powered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The companies represent a broad spectrum of market solutions, including a configurable, advance... Read More

As community colleges plan for their upcoming academic years and beyond, they are forming new partnerships, tapping existing or new advisory committees, and creating funding models for working with industry and other external partners. The roles that community colleges are forging now can make them ... Read More

This month, the Innovation Fund announced its latest funding round, injecting $250,000 into seven Northeast Ohio startups. This cycle was a first for us—it was our first venture into gaming technology. The GLIDE and Innovation Fund team got to know Joel A. Crites and his company, Micro Fantasy, r... Read More

A local startup company working out of the Richard Desich Smart Center that has developed an advanced materials 3-D printing system recently completed ballistic testing with the Army Research Lab for possible use in ceramic body armor technology. HotEnd Works founder Ben Becker, of Wellington, said ... Read More

JuggerBot 3D plans to build two 3-D printer prototypes to further the company’s research. Enyx Studios will create a trailer to market its new virtual-reality game. This is what two local startups plan to do with the $25,000 they each received from Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio. “These funds al... Read More

Seven local technology startups have won a combined $250,000 from Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio. One company won the $100,000 award, which is matched dollar for dollar enabling companies to complete $200,000 projects that should further their businesses. And six startups received $25,000 grants to ... Read More

Two startup portfolio companies at the Youngstown Business Incubator have received $25,000 apiece from The Innovation Fund of Northeast Ohio to help offset costs associated with equipment, development, and project validation, the fund announced today. Enyx Studios, a video game development studio th... Read More

Groupmatics is growing rapidly, though founder Matt Mastrangelo admits a 540% year-over-year revenue jump from 2014 to 2015 is easier to achieve when a company is only a few years removed from its launch. But the Westlake software company, which helps sports teams and entertainment venues manage gr... Read More

Marcus Barnes couldn’t have envisioned what he was about to see. One month after successful brain surgery, the Irvine resident sat in an operating room at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach and was handed a pair of virtual reality goggles. “There’s your long-gone nemesis,” said Dr. Christopher Duma... Read More

Cleveland's health care industry attracted $201 million in funding from investors in 2015, with medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies leading the city's efforts to stand out as a major player in the biotechnology sector, according to a new report. The report by BioEnterprise, a business... Read More

You go to type in a password only to realize you cannot remember it. How often does that happen to you?  A group of Case Western graduates say they took note of this problem and developed a solution. "This is Everykey,” said Everykey Inc. CEO Chris Wentz. “It replaces all my keys and password... Read More

As we have stayed focused on the news and coverage around the launch of the various virtual reality headsets, a quiet revolution has been transpiring around the use case of Virtual Reality in medicine. VR in healthcare is projected to be a big sector as evidenced in the new Goldman Sachs research re... Read More

The Innovation Fund has awarded a total of $350,000 to five local startup companies, according to a news release from the in Lorain County-based fund. Three of the companies — Yourefolio of Cleveland, Cormetrics of Cleveland and Revenue Conduit of Copley — received $100,000 loans that they’l... Read More

The Innovation Fund, Northeast Ohio’s early-stage fund for technology startups, has committed $350,000 to five local businesses. Three companies won $100,000 awards, which are matched dollar for dollar and help prove business models, while two received $25,000 grants meant to validate technologies... Read More

Detroit, MI. (November 19, 2015) — TIME dubbed Banza the "Power Pasta" and placed it on their annual "25 Best Inventions of 2015" list among a bevy of high-tech gadgets such as the ‘hoverboard’ scooter, drone ports, and Google Cardboard all-access virtual reality. Banza pasta, made from chickp... Read More

Welcome to TIME’s annual round-up of the best inventions making the world better, smarter and—in some cases—a little more fun. Power Pasta Banza Chickpea Pasta / $4+ per 8 oz. boxAvailable at EatBanza.com “When people think of pasta, they almost always think, I ate way too much and n... Read More

A recent Forbes article posits Cleveland as the Midwest’s version of Silicon Valley. A growing hub for technology entrepreneurs, Northeast Ohio continues an upward trend. ... The Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise, on the Lorain County Community College campus, is another of those r... Read More

When conducting research, Dr. Brian Ilfeld tries his best to be dispassionate and logical. SPR Therapeutics has made that task difficult. The Highland Hills-based company's first product could have a huge impact on the world of pain management, according to Ilfeld, a professor of anesthesiology at t... Read More

Five local startup companies have raised $275,000 from the Innovation Fund at Lorain County Community College. Two companies received $100,000 non-recourse loans, which only need to be paid back if the companies are successful. The other three received $25,000 grants, according to a news release fro... Read More

Boxcast is truly one of Cleveland's coolest tech companies, and is housed in a unique space -- the top floor of the old terminal building at Burke Lakefront Airport. Boxcast's technology is able to deliver live, HD video from anyone with a camera to almost anywhere in the world. Boxcast is a simple ... Read More

Using its carefully guarded trade secrets, one small business is pushing new methods into the world of whiskey to address higher demand for the spirits. With more modern technology than what's used in the traditional whiskey-making process, Cleveland, Ohio-based distiller Cleveland Whiskey has refin... Read More

Recently, someone from a local water technology company told Bryan Stubbs that the business might join the Cleveland Water Alliance. The main reason? It wants a subscription to SplashLink.com. Since last fall, the Beachwood-based website has signed up hundreds of paid subscribers, all of whom are so... Read More

The concept smacks of that 1966 movie, Fantastic Voyage: Cleveland startup Surgical Theater has developed a virtual reality software system that allows surgeons to journey through a patient’s body to get acquainted with the surgical site in advance of a complicated operation. ... Read More

SPR Therapeutics will receive a $1.45 million grant that it will use to develop an implantable version of its nerve stimulation system, which is used to treat post-amputation pain. The Highland Hills-based company is in the process of testing a non-implantable version of its technology in clinical t... Read More

It’s safe to say Garrett Nees’ grandfather, a farmer all his life, was skeptical when he heard the 18-year-old say he had found a new way to improve their crop yield. “My grandpa thought I was crazy,” he says, unable to hold back a laugh. The family-owned farm in Breeda, Iowa, is home to hog... Read More

For the first time, brain surgeons at UCLA’s Neurosurgery Center can look inside the heads of their patients before they go under the knife. Using a breakthrough tool called the Surgical Theater, doctors can create ultra-realistic 3-D virtual replicas of a patient’s brain and look inside when pr... Read More

A slew of high-tech medical projects are getting a financial boost from the Ohio Third Frontier program. Eight of the 10 projects that received funding were related to medical technology. And eight of the 10 projects were based in Northeast Ohio, according to a news release from the Third Frontier, ... Read More

Edward Buchholz feels more confident than most entrepreneurs at the early stage of a startup, and no wonder. He's a freshly minted product of TechStars, perhaps the nation's most esteemed business accelerator, with the venture capital to prove it. Now he's looking for a place to launch. ... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Crain's Detroit Business Written by Kirk Pinho The application period for up to $100,000 in funding for startup and emerging businesses through the Innovation Fund, a partnership between Macomb Community College and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., begins next month. MCC Presid... Read More

Eugene Malinskiy is a Northeast Ohio millennial who gets pumped just thinking about manufacturing. At 29, the founder of a Cleveland Heights-based biomedical engineering firm knows he can't create new devices without the industry. Among the nation's 80 million millennials, roughly described as young... Read More

The exceptionally attractive 30 Under 30 package from Forbes.com highlights the work of a young founder of a Cleveland Heights biomedical firm. Eugene Malinskiy, 29, founder of DragonID, is among those highlighted in the manufacturing and industry category. ... Read More

A Cleveland Clinic spinout will give surgeons a “GPS-like” tool to navigate a patient’s insides while they’re on the operating table, so as to improve the efficacy and safeness of a surgical procedure. The startup, called Centerline Biomedical, will reduce radiation exposure, to boot.  ... Read More

Event 38, the Akron drone maker that I wrote about in September, is flying ever higher. The young company was just awarded $25,000 from the Innovation Fund of GLIDE, the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise, to expand its eye-in-the-sky capability. ... Read More

Wednesday, the region’s nonprofit Innovation Fund said it has awarded $25,000 to Event 38, as well another Akron startup, BioMendics LLC, which is developing a gel to heal wounds. The fund is designed to help young companies at early stages of development. ... Read More

A company called Darkside Scientific has teamed up with Progressive Insurance to bring to light a better and amazing way to make motorcycles more visible to other drivers at night. Darkside has done the research and come up with a paint that will light up with just the flick of a switch, and the app... Read More

An online app called Beegit, which is designed to make it easier for writers to work together on a project, won the top prize in the second annual Pitch Night business competition Thursday in Hudson. Beegit LLC, a startup headquartered in Cleveland, won $3,000 in the business idea competition akin t... Read More

Chris Wentz was just finishing up his stint at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, when he found himself working on a group project for an entrepreneurship class. The assignment was pretty open ended: Come up with any business idea. Along with his teammates, Wentz came up with a crea... Read More

Keeping your canine's chompers clean can be real struggle, but a Cleveland company has a high-tech solution. It looks like a normal chew toy, but there's a secret hidden inside. "The device is motion activated, so all your dog has to do it play with it," said Paul Ruflin, with Animal Oralectrics. Wh... Read More

We've all heard the phrase "dog breath." Dogs don't brush their teeth like humans do, and sometimes their breath gets pretty stinky. But now, a Cleveland-based company hopes to change that with a new toy, called "Zumby." Paul Ruflin of Animal Oralectrics and Kelly Gentile, as well as their dog, Hipp... Read More

Chris Wentz threw keys behind his back and used fire to light up a piece of paper Tuesday evening at Magnet's first pitch competition for hardware startups. Two hours later he walked away with $12,000 in funding to help launch Everykey, an electronic wristband designed to replace keys and passwords.... Read More

Nikola is the brain child of Nick Stevovich from Rocky River, Ohio. Stevovich took his background in speed skating and applied that to the bicycle pedal and has developed a laterally moving pedal that he developed in an effort to increase power and speed.  ... Read More

This week the Tech Czar explores the powerful data analytics software developed by Segmint and the rich gaming experiences being fueled by Blue Frog Gaming, both companies calling Akron home.  ... Read More

BoxCast, a Cleveland, OH-based technology company that delivers streaming high-definition video broadcasts, is partnering with 1450WXVW: The Sports Buzz, a radio station based in Jeffersonville, IN, to broadcast Kentuckiana high school football this fall. Together, the companies will offer sports fa... Read More

Calling it "a once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity doesn't quite do it justice. A local software company called ExpenseBot has been accepted into the TechStars business accelerator in Boulder, Colo. — a highly selective program that has made a name for itself in tech circles across the country. Getting... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Citizen-Times Written by Dale Neal Meg Ragland faced the kind of problem that confronts any proud parent. What to do with all those crayoned masterpieces your child brings home from school for display on the refrigerator — semester after semester, grade after grade?   Sh... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Long Beach Post Written by Brian Addison Two Los Angeles and one West Hollywood company will receive generous financial awards from Long Beach City College’s inaugural Innovation Fund So Cal. The fund—announced and launched earlier this year—is a partnership with LBCC... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Orange County Register Written by Pat Maio Long Beach City College, one of two colleges nationwide funding and mentoring high-growth startup companies, granted $150,000 in seed money to help three businesses grow their businesses in the Los Angeles area, the college announc... Read More

Innovation Fund SoCal at Long Beach City College will announce its initial awards of funding to high-growth startup companies at a ceremony at its Liberal Arts Campus today at 11am. The awards will be made three months after the launch of Innovation Fund SoCal, which was created to stimulate regiona... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Long Beach Press Telegram Written by Andrew Edwards Long Beach City College officials on Tuesday revealed the first three companies to receive financial awards through Innovation Funds SoCal, a newly created program intended to foster Southern California startups. The compa... Read More

Innovation Fund North Carolina (IFNC), an organization created in the Fall of 2013 to help entrepreneurs statewide through pre-seed funding, enhanced networking and mentorship for high-growth, scalable technology startups, has announced the award winners for its second cycle of funding. A total of $... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Time Warner Cable News Written by Amara Omeokwe Starting a company can come with challenges, and raising money is often one of the biggest. One group of investors visited Wilmington Tuesday to explain how they can help start-ups looking for funding. One man, Scott Kanyok, k... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Gazettes.com Written by Jonathan Van Dyke Long Beach City College is looking to put money where the jobs are, and many officials said that means investing in new ventures. LBCC officials have announced the creation of the Innovation Fund SoCal initiative, which will launch ... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Long Beach Post Written by Brian Addison  Long Beach City College (LBCC) announced at their inaugural innovation and entrepreneurship conference the launch of Innovation Fund SoCal (IFSC), a program which will provide funding and mentoring for up-and-coming entrepreneurs a... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Long Beach Press Telegram Written by Andrew Edwards Long Beach City College is promoting a new source of funding, called “Innovate Fund SoCal,” to help finance and educate entrepreneurs attempting to create new technology-focused companies. “It’s like an incubator,�... Read More

Pilot programs for Innovation Fund America (IFA) at Long Beach City College (LBCC) in Southern California and Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) in North Carolina are moving forward with efforts to build community awareness and raise funds. These programs award grants and loans, and provide edu... Read More

Story excerpt provided by StarNewsWritten by Wayne Faulkner Circulation is the life blood of one young Wilmington company. GO2 LLC is producing and marketing a device that increases blood flow without changing the body's vital signs like heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. The company's... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Port City Daily Written by Ben Brown A late-stage startup in Wilmington has received a $75,000 award from Innovation Fund North Carolina in tandem with the Kauffman Foundation. The grant was announced this week, according to a news release. The grant process was competitive... Read More

Story excerpt provided by Greater Wilmington Business Journal Written by Jenny Callison A late-stage startup in Wilmington has received a $75,000 award from Innovation Fund North Carolina in tandem with the Kauffman Foundation. The grant was announced this week, according to a news release. The gran... Read More

Innovation Fund North Carolina (IFNC), an organization created to help entrepreneurs through pre-seed funding and mentorship for high-growth, scalable technology startups, surprised attendees at its first awards celebration with the announcement of an eighth, first cycle award winner. Intellego Syst... Read More

Story excerpt from Triangle Business Journal Written by Lauren K. Ohnesorge A wearable sensor that can detect crime as it happens (and call the police for you) is among local technologies tapped for early funding by Innovation Fund North Carolina. Clayton-based 10 for Humanity and Raleigh-based Accu... Read More

Innovation Fund North Carolina (IFNC), an organization created to help entrepreneurs through pre-seed funding and mentorship for high-growth, scalable technology startups, has announced the award winners for its first cycle of funding. Awardees will be honored at a private reception Tuesday, Dec. 17... Read More

Story excerpt provided by The Charlotte Observer Written by Caroline McMillan Early-stage startups in the Charlotte area now have a new potential source for funding: Innovation Fund North Carolina, a pilot program planning to award up to $1.2 million in grants and loans to high-tech startups around ... Read More

Story excerpt from the Charlotte Business Journal Written by Adam O'Daniel Innovation Fund North Carolina plans to award up to $1.2 million to startup technology companies in the Tar Heel State. An informational meeting will be held at Packard Place in Charlotte at 1 p.m. Sept. 17. All startups with... Read More

'Innovation Fund America' will help communities in California, Kansas, North Carolina access key resources for high-growth tech startups KANSAS CITY, Mo., and ELYRIA, Ohio (Jan. 31, 2013) – As the nation's economy continues its sluggish recovery, community colleges have emerged as important engin... Read More

Providing funding and talent for high-tech entrepreneurs when they need it most. Cleveland, Ohio and Washington, DC (February 22, 2011): Today, as part of President Barack Obama’s “Winning the Future Forum on Small Business” in Cleveland, Ohio, the White House endorsed the launch of: Innovatio... Read More

Title III of the JOBS Act went into effect last year, and many entrepreneurs and small businesses are curious about if it works and how. I had the pleasure of interviewing several companies that have gone through “equity crowdfunding.” In the first installment of a three-part series showcasing t... Read More

 Apollo Medical Devices has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $225,000 to conduct research and development on its handheld blood analysis system that provides results in five-minutes, using a single drop of blood. Additionally, the ... Read More