Tips For Tracking Your Supplier Diversity Data
Last month, JumpStart Accounting Manager Nancy Schlairet and I flew to Las Vegas to present at Advantage 2017, Sage Intacct’s annual gathering of its accounting system’s users and partners. The slogan for this year’s gathering was “Lead the Future,” a phrase that could just as easily be applied to what JumpStart is trying to do
[PODCAST] 10 Ways To Ruin A Website
Your website should be the hub of all your marketing efforts … so is yours a 24/7 lead generating machine or an out-of-date embarrassment? With years of digital marketing experience, the web gurus at Kiwi Creative—a Cleveland-based marketing studio for B2B software and technology companies—have seen the good, bad and downright ugly of all things website-related.
New $25k Startup Competition Seeks CWRU Student And Alumni Founders
Late in the summer, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) partnered with university trustee and venture capitalist Bob Pavey, JumpStart and the Morgenthaler family to introduce the new Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition. Designed to identify and support high-potential startup companies coming out of CWRU, the annual competition is currently seeking applications from ventures whose founding teams include
Want Profit? Take Care Of Your Customers First
Let’s be honest, you need your customers more than they need you. Without them, your business doesn’t exist. To attract and keep these customers, you need a product or service that solves a real-world problem for them in an effective, efficient way. Of course, that’s much easier said than done. “Perfecting” a product/service takes round
[Podcast] Scaling Up: Grow Or Die
When it comes to running a business, time stands still for no one. New competitors, new customers and new industry disruptions add up over time to create one simple truth—If you stop working to stay relevant, your business will inevitably start to decline. In this session of “Scaling Up”—a new JumpStart event series focused on
Five Tips For Applying What You Learned At Startup Scaleup 2017
At this year’s Startup Scaleup, you heard inspiring talks from subject matter experts, learned a thing or two about growing your own business and made valuable connections. But what happens now? How do you go about implementing all of this knowledge in a real-world setting? Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Venture Capital Investors Like Revenue, But They Love Predictable Revenue
For any startup, generating that first dollar is a huge milestone. Revenue signals to investors that a company is helping to solve a problem in the market, and even more importantly, that people are willing to pay for that solution. If you are an entrepreneur that has reached this point, we truly applaud you—many startups
IP Workshop With Isaac Molnar
On Thursday, January 12, JumpStart hosted an IP workshop with Isaac Molnar, Assistant Attorney General and Intellectual Property Counsel, Business Counsel Unit for the State of Ohio. This program focused on issues unique to web-based/software/app-based (“IT”) companies. The first topic, Intellectual property or IP, refers to trademark, trade secrets, patent and copyright law. Each of these
How To Hire Your First Employee
Your business is growing and so is the workload. At this point, your young startup is likely seeking additional bandwidth, new skills and maybe even a fresh perspective. All of which can be obtained by adding a new member to the team. Hiring your first employee is huge step forward for your company, but that
How Does A Lead Become A Customer?
You’ve likely heard it before, “think of the marketing and sales cycle as a funnel.” But what does that actually mean, and how can you apply an understanding of this funnel to help generate paying customers? Let’s start by considering the funnel’s basic goal and identifying the stages of the sales cycle that help you
Entrepreneur Insight: Al Hawkins, Milo Biotechnology
Driven by the rarity of the disease and the fact that there were no viable therapies on the market, Al Hawkins set out on a mission to enhance the lives of patients diagnosed with debilitating and incurable muscular dystrophies. In 2012, he founded Milo Biotechnology, a clinical-stage startup working to develop gene therapies to treat
Candid Conversation: Entrepreneurship & Family Sacrifice
Entrepreneurship can be exciting and rewarding. But the long hours and high stress can take a real toll—on you and the people who care about you. On Tuesday, December 6, JumpStart invited entrepreneurs and their families to the Great Lakes Science Center for an honest discussion about the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.