The Terminal Tower is changing its lights to reflect the 25 year anniversairy of The Riverside Co., one of the most active private equity firms in the world.
The Terminal Tower changed its lights for three nights this week to reflect the company colors of The Riverside Company, which Stewart Kohl co-directs There were only three people in the firm when Stewart Kohl moved his office into the Terminal Tower 18 years ago. Today, he co-directs a global staff of 220, including more than 50 on two floors in the landmark tower.
The investment firm he helped propel, The Riverside Company, pioneered a lucrative business niche for Cleveland and now controls more than $4 billion in assets.
That's why Forest City Enterprises is bathing the top of its 52-story tower in blue and green light this week. Those are the company colors of Riverside, one of its most prestigious if little-known tenants.
The quiet company is greeting its 25th anniversary on a high note. Riverside recently renovated its two floors on the 28th and 29th floors and signed a 10-year lease extension. Meanwhile, it's been buying, on average, one company a week, making it one of the most active private equity firms on the planet.
Kohl says Cleveland deserves a lot of the credit for his firm's success.
"It's been a great home and we think that Cleveland is a great place to do business," he said. "It's the human capital. The people are great."
A native of New Jersey, he came to Northeast Ohio to earn an economics degree at Oberlin College and never left. He runs Riverside with an Oberlin classmate, Bela Szigethy, who founded the firm and works from its Manhattan office.
In the game of high finance, Riverside pursues a niche. It buys companies at the smaller end of the middle market--ones it can acquire for less than $250 million--then tries to double and triple them in size.
Last year, that strategy landed BrandMuscle, the Cleveland software and marketing firm that Kohl says is poised for growth. More often, Riverside finds its prospects outside of the region and around the world. The company has chalked up some 330 transactions since its founding in 1988.
Investors like the results. They just poured $1.5 billion into Riverside's newest and largest investment fund.
Working in downtown Cleveland offers advantages, Kohl says. He has access to sophisticated business services in the law firms, accounting firms and banks nearby -- and at prices the competition can only dream of.
"New York quality at Cleveland cost," Kohl says.
"We do the kind of work you expect to find in New York or Chicago or San Francisco, but we're doing it in a place with a higher quality of life," said Kohl, who rides the Rapid into work each day from his home in Shaker Heights. "It's a very cost effective place to do business."
It's largely for those reasons that Cleveland is home to a cluster of private equity firms, says Tom Waltermire, the chief executive of Team NEO.
Kohl expects Riverside to continue to grow and he knows where.
"Cleveland's been great to us for 25 years," he said. "Personally, it's been great to me. We're here to stay."
The new Global Center for Health Innovation is expected to enhance Cleveland's reputation as a center of medical innovation and industry leadership.Venture capitalists pour $200 million into Cleveland healthcare companies
In a soft year nationally for health care investment, Ohio attracted more venture capital than any other Midwest state--and it has Cleveland to thank for it.
Greater Cleveland healthcare companies drew $201 million in venture funding in 2013, tops in Ohio and second among Midwest cities.
Healthcare companies in the Minneapolis area attracted the most capital, $228 million. That's according to the Midwest Healthcare Venture Investment Report, which is compiled annually by BioEnterprise, a Cleveland-based bioscience business developer.
The data, released Monday, show that investment in medtech, pharmaceuticals and healthcare IT fell in the Midwest as it did across the nation. However, some Midwest specialties continued to impress.
Manufacturers of medical devices drew $423 million, or nearly 60 percent of the healthcare capital invested in Midwest states.
Aram Nerpouni, the president of BioEnterprise, credits the region's experience and skill at making things.
"I think we're building on historic strengths," he said.
He also thinks there's lots more action to come.
A greater number of Cleveland and Midwest companies attracted funding in 2013 than in any of the previous five years, Nerpouni noted.
"It's a sign we've developed a robust pipeline of quality companies that are really attractive to investors around the country," he said.
Leading the pack in 2013 was COMS Interactive, a developer of software programs for the nursing home industry. The Hudson company received an infusion of $21 million from Summit Partners of Boston and London.
In Greater Cleveland, $201 million was invested in 50 companies, according to the study. In Greater Cincinnati, five healthcare companies attracted $54 million, while in Greater Columbus, 14 companies attracted $41 million.
See the study results at www.bioenterprise.com/reports.
Honey, why did your sweater turn red?
A microchip can animate just about anything. Increasingly, that's anything we wear.
From Google Glass eyewear to smart watches and wristbands to LED mood sweaters (which glow to reflect mood changes), wearable tech is one of the hottest trends in electronics -- and fashion.
A business incubator at Kent State University hopes to put Northeast Ohio on the bleeding edge. KSU's Blackstone LaunchPad will explore possibilities in the growing wearable technology industry at its second annual Innov8athon, Friday and Saturday at KSU's Rockwell Hall.
Across 24 hours, students from varying disciplines will team up and build prototypes combining fashion and technology as they compete for cash prizes. It's being billed as the nation's first "collegiate wearable tech hackathon."
Business leadership is intrigued.
"There's tremendous potential for the wearable tech industry and Northeast Ohio is positioned to take advantage of it," NorTech president and chief executive Rebecca Bagley said in a statement. "Our region has some of the most innovative companies developing flexible electronics technologies that will re-interpret the way we interact with our electronic devices."
The students will pitch their concepts to start-up experts from NorTech, JumpStart, FlashStarts, Tiny Circuits, MOVABLE, Kent Displays, KSU's Liquid Crystal Institute and, of course, the KSU School of Fashion Design and Merchandising.
For more information, or to register for Innov8athon II: Fashion/Tech Hackathon, go to http://www.innov8athon.com/
Robert L. Smith covers economic development for The Plain Dealer. Follow him on Twitter @rlsmithpd.