Small Business, Big Conversations: Ray & Anasja Vernon of VARR Studios
Ray and Anasja Vernon share two unyielding passions: their love for each other and an insatiable drive for crafting creative content. With a space inside the world-famous The WORD Church, this visionary duo transformed their combined zeal into a beacon of multimedia content creation: VARR Studios. Together, they’ve not just built a business but have
Bookkeeping Basics: Setting Up For Accounting Success
Clear financial reporting from your accounting system is a necessity for any growing business. These reports tell you if you’re profitable, whether your marketing & sales strategies are paying off, and whether you’re spending too much in any specific area. Also, financial statements are one of the first things any lender or investor will want
Small Business, Big Conversations: Emily Harpel of Art of Sucre
In 2016, Emily Harpel was inspired to give a nostalgic childhood treat a chic upgrade. Emily secured all of the social media handles, ordered her first machine and Art of Sucre was born. Emily launched @artofsucre as an events-based business, spinning out-of-the-box flavors of cotton candy at weddings, parties and concerts. In 2020, Emily knew
Small Business, Big Conversations: Vic Searcy of Sauce the City
Cleveland has no shortage of claims to fame, but Vic Searcy’s Chicken Sandwich stands out even in a city of bests. With locations in University Heights, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and Cleveland Browns Stadium, you’d think Sauce the City has been around for decades. On the contrary, Chef Vic launched (almost by accident) in 2018 when
Small Business, Big Conversations: Sharia Livingston of Living Rich
How do you prioritize a life on your own terms AND build a legacy of success for your family? Do what you love. Sharia Livingston has always dreamed of owning her own clothing business, but as a young mother, she opted for the safe bet and pursued a career in nursing. Her obsession with high-quality
Small Business, Big Conversations: Dan Brown of Rust Belt Riders
The average US family will throw away as much as $1,500 worth of perfectly edible food each year. This waste costs our economy significant sums of money, but by avoiding this needless waste, we can redirect those funds to invest in infrastructure and services to divert that material from landfills. Since 2014, Rust Belt Riders
Small Business, Big Conversations: DaRon Henderson of LO-KEY Entertainment
When DaRon Henderson was a sophomore in high school, he was approached by a friend about the possibility of playing music at an upcoming junior high dance. He owned a pair of speakers and a set of turntables, so they decided to give it a shot to see what they could pull off. They brought
VIDEO: Verizon And JumpStart Open Clark Fulton Learning Center Providing Free Tech-focused Training To Cleveland Residents
Community members and organizational leaders recently gathered to celebrate the opening of the Clark-Fulton Learning Center, located within the Fulton Branch of Cleveland Public Library. Attendees heard celebratory comments from community members and leaders, including Councilwoman Jasmine Santana, and participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, center tour and technology demonstrations. The learning center offers free technology-focused
[VIDEO] Portfolio Company Spotlight: Inphlu
JumpStart’s Focus Fund recently led Inphlu’s $500K funding round, along with participation from angel investors. Inphlu is a Dayton-based social media management platform that helps marketers automate content creation and posting as well as view real-time analytics. The company was founded by Josh Reid, who ran his own digital marketing agency and knew there was
Video: Cleveland Small Business Impact Program Spring 2021 Entrepreneur Showcase
On Wednesday, May 19, the eleventh cohort of the Cleveland Small Business Impact Program participated in a virtual version of their culminating showcase event. This event was an online demo-day-style competition where program participants used their new knowledge and skills to present their pitch to a panel of judges for a chance to take home
Video: Northwest Ohio Impact Program Spring 2021 Entrepreneur Showcase
On Wednesday, May 12, the fifth cohort of the Northwest Ohio Small Business Impact Program participated in a virtual version of their culminating showcase event. This event was an online demo-day-style competition where program participants used their new knowledge and skills to present their pitch to a panel of judges for a chance to take
The Tidy Stitch Wins $2,500 Top Prize in JumpStart’s Northwest Ohio Pitch Competition
Ten Northwest Ohio entrepreneurs presented their business ideas via Zoom on March 30 at our semi-annual Northwest County Pitch Competition. At the end of the evening, the judges selected Britney McSweeney and her company, The Tidy Stitch, as the winner of the $2,500 cash prize. Britney has been doing hand embroidery for more than a