5 Building Blocks Of A Great Brand
Put simply, a brand is your identity— it’s the impression consumers have or the emotions they feel when hearing or seeing your product or company name. It’s more than your logo, more than your messaging and more than your product experience—rather, it’s the sum of all the interactions an individual has with your company, each
Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition Offers CWRU Student And Alumni Founders A Shot At $25K
Last year, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) partnered with university trustee and venture capitalist Bob Pavey, JumpStart and the Morgenthaler family to introduce the first Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition. Designed to identify and support high-potential startup companies coming out of CWRU, the second annual competition is currently seeking applications from ventures whose founding teams include at least
From Light Bulb Moment To Industry Leader, Wireless Environment Illuminates Cleveland’s Culture Of Innovation
David Levine and Michael Recker were tired of the same old lighting fixtures: the kind with tangles of wires and a complicated installation process that required an electrician. So, they set out to create a simpler, more cost-effective solution: bright, efficient, wireless lighting that could be easily installed anywhere. The Solution Wireless Environment launched
Meet Our Core City: Cleveland Impact Program’s Fall 2018 Cohort
We are excited to welcome the sixth cohort to our Core City: Cleveland Impact Program! This 12-week business assistance program is designed to drive economic impact in the city of Cleveland by helping individuals overcome obstacles to entrepreneurship through hands-on advising and industry-specific mentoring. Over the next three months, these five individuals will be learning
Five Lessons I Learned Founding OnShift From My Cleveland Basement
More than a decade ago, I moved to Cleveland from San Francisco and started a brand new company called BAZMANsms. Today, the company I launched from my basement employs nearly 150 people, has thousands of customers across the U.S., has raised over $33 million in capital and is showing no signs of stopping. What’s that
Three Ways to Win Over An Investor’s Industry Expert
As an entrepreneur, sooner or later you will find yourself pitching an investor who brings in their own industry expert to provide an objective assessment of your business. Regardless of the amount of time and effort you have invested in the relationship up to this point, this expert’s opinion can literally make or break your
Four Ways To Bridge The Employer-Employee Divide And Create Jobs
There are so many people in our communities who want better employment and economic opportunities, yet continue to fall farther behind, either through lack of awareness of the career pathways and skills required, or a lack of connectivity to employers seeking candidates with those skills. This odd dichotomy between business owners who have good jobs,
5 Essential Legal Issues To Address Before Securing Venture Capital
According to the MoneyTree™ Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, venture capitalists invested $71.9 billion in 5,052 deals last year in the U.S., making 2017 the second year that saw dollar funding top $70B. The PwC MoneyTree Report further notes that global funding increased nearly 50% in 2017, with $164B invested across 11,042 deals. So what are these
The Fine Art Of Financial Forecasting
Forecasting is an entrepreneur’s best attempt to map the future financial performance of their business. Done well, the financials are a powerful tool; but they are as much art as science—especially when you’re raising cash from investors who are looking for “explosive and credible” growth or you’re preparing to develop operational and staffing plans that
Market Validation: Are You Doing It Wrong?
When I started my first successful company I spent a great deal of time validating my belief that I had found a big problem, in a big market, with customers willing to spend money for the solution. Still, it took me almost two years to start seeing real traction and predictability in my revenue. It
Ohio’s First Unicorn Proves A Thriving Tech Scene Is No Fairy Tale
The CoverMyMeds team knew the answer to an unsolved problem—a problem that, to some, was a matter of life and death. The U.S. pharmaceutical sector faced a chronic issue, one that was keeping millions from receiving their medical prescriptions and costing the healthcare industry billions of dollars every year. Due to a complex, time-intensive prior
Guide To Navigating Startup Scaleup
Startup Scaleup is back and better than ever! We have revamped our agenda to include completely different panels, workshops, speakers and events. While the feel and the mission of the day remain the same – the content, people and experience will be different. To help you prepare, we’ve compiled a few helpful navigation tips to