JumpStart Blog

Several months ago, Cleveland-based The Wahconah Group received some good news: It licensed the U.S. Postal Service motto and trademarks—including the words “Rain, Heat & Snow” from the company’s motto—for an innovative clothing line.

JumpStart is committed to inclusion across all of its programs. We recognize the single best hope for the nation’s ongoing competitiveness is to create inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems, and we understand there are both unique challenges and opportunities facing minority entrepreneurs.

BOLD Guidance CEO Nichelle McCall was born and raised in the city of Cleveland. From a very early age, her family instilled in her the value of a quality education; in fact, McCall’s mother worked three jobs to send her daughter to Laurel School, in order to ensure she received a solid school experience.

Minority entrepreneurs are a growing influence on all aspects of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This infographic examines some of the opportunities and disparities that exist around minority entrepreneurship.

On Thursday, April 25, nine Northeast Ohio entrepreneurial companies were recognized as new members of the Charter One Launch100 Leadership Circle.

JumpStart had the opportunity to discuss the importance of and the barriers to creating inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems with Carmen Ortiz-McGhee, Claude Kennard and our own Darrin Redus.

Amplified Wind Solutions CEO Niki Zmij has had quite a successful few months. After taking second place in the student business idea competition at the 2012 Northeast Ohio Entrepreneur Expo, her cleantech company—whose technology was developed out of Cleveland State University—won the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge and competed in the regional competition in Chicago.

In 2011, only 12 percent of companies that sought out angel funding were women-owned. To close this gap, women are forming angel funds specifically focused on investing in early stage, female-led technology startups.

Embrace Pet Insurance founder and CEO Laura Bennett is one of the region’s better-known entrepreneurs, a leader in building positive company culture (her company has been named a NorthCoast 99 winner three times, an honor which recognizes them as being one of the best places to work in Northeast Ohio) and a thought leader in the insurance industry.

Lately, it seems like women tech entrepreneurs and their companies have a higher profile than ever.

We opened Cleveland Magazine’s annual issue devoted to the region’s most interesting people and were thrilled, but not surprised, to see two of JumpStart’s favorite entrepreneurs featured this year: Laura Bennett, CEO and co-founder of Embrace Pet Insurance and Lindsay Sims, founder of the IT startup Renter’s Boom.

In 2010, Lindsay Sims started working at the Lorain County property management company New Sunrise Properties. Little did the Ph.D. student and communications professional know that this job would eventually lead her to form a forward-thinking startup.

In 2008, busy working moms Susan Borison and Stephanie Silverman were looking for sources of information addressing the unique needs of parents with teenagers. Plenty of publications doled out advice for those with little ones, but of course, what works at age six simply doesn’t apply at age 13.

On Thursday, August 2, I moderated “The Capital Continuum in Northeast Ohio: An Investor Panel,” a Charter One-sponsored event organized by the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network that provided an overview of funding sources.

With his companies Metaloy, MAR Systems and now MET Innovations—which was named a Charter One Launch100 Leadership Circle honoree in May—serial entrepreneur Claude Kennard has brought innovative technologies and business models to the world of industrial ecology.