The start-up culture in Greater Cleveland will be on full display during four days of networking events, pitch sessions and product showcases.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As a witness to the nation's start-up scene, Jon Leonardo says he's gained a feel for the entrepreneurial cultures of various cities and the personalities they exude.
Some are chilly. Some are cutthroat. Some are come-on-in collegial.
What's coming up
In its coverage of Cleveland EW, cleveland.com will take its video cameras to the Shark Tank-like "pitch sessions" on Wednesday.
On Thursday, we'll drop in on the "elevator pitch" contests--60 seconds to sell an idea.
Then, Thursday night, we'll mix with the leading lights of the start-up scene on West Sixth Street, where Grammy winning DJ BT will be mixing the music at Barley House.
That's Cleveland, he said. It's a city where entrepreneurs are more likely to see one another as fellow pirates than competitors, and are willing to share a tip or a contact as easily as a beer.
"That's one of the assets that makes Cleveland a great place to start a company," said Leonardo, a Raleigh, N.C., entrepreneur and a national start-up advocate. "They get it. If one company wins, everybody wins."
Leonardo is co-founder of Entrepreneurship Week, a series of multi-day conferences that moves from city to city engaging the local start-up community in hopes of stoking its power. He's introducing his crusade to the Heartland next week with Cleveland Entrepreneurship Week, or Cleveland EW, and the local start-up community is rising to meet it.
Hundreds of entrepreneurs, their peers and supporters are expected to flock to four days of networking events, pitch sessions and product showcases that start Tuesday.
Todd Goldstein, a co-founder of Shaker LaunchHouse, one of three business accelerators in the city, said the conference illustrates the depth and breadth of a startup culture that was barely noticeable five years ago.
"For us, it's about celebrating entrepreneurship and a chance to bring the entreprenaurial community together," he said.
But drawing the faithful is not enough, Goldstein and other organizers say. They hope to attract new investors, business specialists and civic leaders who can help entrepreneurs to do their work.
By increasing collaboration and contacts between the startup community and the business establishment, Leonardo says, the conference can help create jobs.
Jon Leonardo "It comes down to this: can we grow economic development through entrepreneurship?" he asks.
Most economists agree that new, fast-growing companies create most of America's jobs, Leonardo argues, and companies are most likely to bloom in regions that support entrepreneurs--people who assume the risk of a business venture.
Leonardo said he started Entrepreneurship Weeks in Washington, D.C., in 2010, in part, to shower attention on start-up backwaters and to help entrepreneurs get resources they need. His group recently formalized with the support of national sponsors, like American Airlines, and Leonardo became its first full-time employee.
His lofty goal is to stage 200 Entrepreneurship Weeks a year by 2016. Right now, he's focused on Cleveland and a start-up community he thinks deserves more attention.
"The general public may not know about all the amazing companies that are out there," he said. "This is a way to say, 'Hey world, look what's happening in Cleveland.'"
Cleveland EW kicks off Tuesday night at Shaker Launch House, which will be hosting its annual, high-energy Demo Day. Eleven recent graduates of the LaunchHouse Accelerator will pitch their products to peers and potential investors at a showcase that runs from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Cleveland EW kickoff party begins right afterward.
LaunchHouse, 3558 Lee Road in Shaker Heights, is a presenting sponsor of Cleveland EW and will host many of its programs. Events and discussions will also unfold at the City Club of Cleveland, at the Ernst & Young Tower in the Flats, and in clubs in the Warehouse District and Ohio City.
Jonathan Yale channeled his inner cow to pitch HooftyMatch to potential investors at last year's Showcase Day at Shaker LaunchHouse. Here are some highlights of the week:
Tuesday
- Demo Day and Cleveland EW kickoff party at Shaker LaunchHouse.
Wednesday
- Hopeful entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to panels of investors at "Pitch Sessions at LHX." It runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at LaunchHouse.
- Town Hall, the pub not the forum, will host "After Hours Networking" from 7 to 9 p.m., at 1909 W. 25th Street.
Thursday
As part of Showcase Ohio, a company expo from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at LaunchHouse, business owners will vie for awards that honor "Best Elevator Pitch" and "Women Who Mean Business."
The Cleveland Start-up Collective will host a speaker series from 5 to 7 p.m. at the City Club, 850 Euclid Avenue. A distinguished line-up includes:
- Chris Heivly, co-founder of MapQuest and managing director of The Startup Factory in Durham, N.C.
- Alexis Giles, former Google executive and the leader of business development at MOXtv.
- Paul Singh, venture partner and master of the hustle (his real title) at the Silicon Valley micro venture capital firm 500 Startups.
- BT, the composer, technologist and Grammy winning DJ.
Beginning about 7 p.m., BT will play DJ at Barley House, 1261 W. Sixth Street. Cover is $15.
Friday
- "Discover sessions" will explore topics ranging from Building a Loyal Brand to why Cleveland is a great place to develop medical technology, all day at the Ernst & Young Tower.
- A Closing Party begins at 7 p.m. at WXYZ Bar, in the Aloft hotel, 1111 W. 10th Street.
For more information on Cleveland-EW, and to register online, go to clevelandew.org/register/