JumpStart Inc.

Every small business is different. However, there are some basic principles that stay the same no matter who you are or what kind of business you’re trying to grow.

In this episode of the JumpStart Podcast, Larry Fulton, Owner of LEFCO Worthington, Constance Hill-Johnson, MPA, Owner and Managing Director of Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services, Lamont Mackley, Principal of Entrepreneurial Services and Investing at JumpStart and Mike Marchetti, Venture Partner at JumpStart reveal their secrets to small business success.

 

Featuring: 

Larry Fulton, Owner, LEFCO Worthington
Larry Fulton leverages an awarding winning strong entrepreneurial background across sectors including government, banking,manufacturing and non-profits. His areas of expertise include business planning, strategic growth, financial analytics, and M&A. Larry is currently the owner of LEFCO Worthington, a Cleveland-based producer of custom engineered wood crates that sells into the defense, utilities, and general industrial markets.

Constance Hill-Johnson, MPA, Owner & Managing Director, Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services
Constance started her business in 2002, and now in its 16th year, has successfully served hundreds of seniors throughout the greater Cleveland area and surrounding communities. Her professional background includes over 10-years of senior healthcare management experience in a variety of healthcare settings. She also spent five years as an institutional sales broker on an equity sales and trading desk for Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in Detroit, Michigan.

Lamont Mackley, Principal, Entrepreneurial Services and Investing, JumpStart
Lamont assists entrepreneurs as they work through their seed funding pursuits to stimulate initial growth and adequately prepare them for follow-on funding. Lamont brings extensive executive and management experience to the JumpStart team. Most recently, Lamont taught business and professional studies courses at Chancellor University and the Jack Welch Management Institute. He also founded Another Level Resources, an executive coaching and development firm specializing in facilitating solutions to problems for business executives.

Mike Marchetti, Venture Partner, JumpStart
As a Venture Partner, Mike provides advisory services to high-growth, early-stage startup and existing scaleup companies. He partners with entrepreneurs and management teams to help companies grow, overcome challenges and boost value. Prior to JumpStart, Mike was in San Francisco leading Business Operations and Technology for software-as-a-service company ClearSlide. Prior to ClearSlide, Mike was the Senior Director of Business Solutions at Yelp, where he helped scale Yelp from $30 million to $600 million in revenue and prepared the company for IPO.

This is the first event in JumpStart’s Core City: Cleveland Program 2017-2018 series “The Habits of Successful Small Businesses.“

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?

In this episode, Kiwi Creative's Jen Lombardi and Patrick Zangardi share their top 10 picks for things NOT to do when building or revamping your company’s website.

On Wednesday, September 20th, JumpStart welcomed Kate Lienesch, PR coordinator for Hello, a Cleveland engagement agency, for an insightful presentation on how to work with third party influencers to help amplify your brand message.

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 small business growth—a panel of entrepreneurs and small business owners talk about thinking creatively and reaching for the kinds of new opportunities that have helped them grow beyond what they previously thought possible.

Panelists:
Adam Fleisher - Owner, The Wine Spot
Brian Gale - CEO & President, I.D. Images
Dave Westerfield - General Manager, PACE Converting Equipment Company

Moderated by Greg Carlin

Whether you live in Cleveland or California, building a world-class startup requires you to think on a global scale. 

On Thursday, March 30th, JumpStart invited a panel of experienced NEO entrepreneurs to Bottlehouse Brewery, to share real stories and offer real advice about getting the most out of your local resources, while also keeping your eye on the big picture.

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 areas has issues unique to IT companies including: scope of trademark protection for SaaS companies, steps to take to preserve trade secrets, patentability of software and copyright ownership rights in source code.

 

In the second part of the event, Mr. Molnar addressed transactional or contract issues with a focus on SaaS agreements and end-user license agreements (EULA).

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.

Sponsored by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative in partnership with Cuyahoga Community College.

Large companies have some major advantages over startups when it comes to finding and keeping employees. But small ventures can still compete for great talent when they focus on creating a company culture that supports and inspires people.

On November 16, JumpStart held a panel discussion with entrepreneurs and recruiters about using great culture to attract top talent.

Featuring:

• Moderator: Dan Aerni, Director, Entrepreneurial Talent at JumpStart Inc.
• Charlie Lougheed, Co-Founder, President & Chief Strategy Officer of Explorys (Now IBM Watson Health)
• Alan Gilbert, Senior Vice President of Talent at CoverMyMeds
• Gordon Daily, CEO & Co-Founder at BoxCast Inc.

 

On Thursday, October 27 JumpStart hosted a conversation about setting up a strong financial structure that can help attract investors and set up both startups and scaleups for long-term success.

The panel experts provided both insight and advice, as well as stories from real entrepreneurs who are leveraging strong financial practices to drive growth.

Relocating to Cleveland’s reimagined Health-Tech Corridor (HTC) offers tremendous opportunities for innovative biomedical, healthcare and technology companies.

On Wednesday, October 19, JumpStart and BioEnterprise hosted a discussion on the opportunities available in the HTC, as well as an overview of the resources and funding available through both organizations.