If there were seats available, you could attend the Angel Investor on May 21 at the Taft Center of Fountain Square. To get on the waiting list, please email Catie Harris at catie@simplyeventsllc.com and we will let you know if there is space available on Tuesday morning. Thank you for your patience (and remember to register early next time!)
Blake Smith of Cladwell, Nicki Zevola of FutureDerm and Tim Metzner of Differential will present their companies at noon.
Current GCVA Members can renew now and save 10% or more off the 2013-2014 dues if we receive your payment by May 15. Click here to find out more and renew!
Ray Attiyah, local entrepreneur and author, gives us insight into how entrepreneurs need to work on our business and not in the business. His practical approach to improving and growing businesses liberates the entrepreneurs from getting mired in the day to day operational details and daily issues.
The Fearless Front Line is a call to action for these leaders: to set a standard of fearlessness where front line workers have an “I run this place!” mindset that reflects pride and ownership of their critical role. This, in turn, liberates leadership to focus on the big-picture, bold strategies to improve and grow 
the business. Featuring Ray Attiyah’s Run-Improve-Grow model, The Fearless Front Line provides readers with a proven system, processes and tools, including the RIG Roadmap, World Class Time Allocation standards, and What Went Well Daily Huddle scripts to create responsive, innovative, and nimble organizations and inspired, accountable, and confident teams. With The Fearless Front Line, leaders can benefit from a proven program to drive perpetual and transformational improvement and growth.
Ray Attiyah is founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Definity Partners, a training, process, and leadership improvement firm. Ray’s business expertise comes from hands-on experience in engineering, operations and management leadership roles in manufacturing and service businesses, including Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Hardin and UPS. Inspired by his experiences, Ray founded Definity Partners in 1996, and has helped dozens of companies to perpetual and transformational growth and improvement. Ray is a passionate speaker and contributes columns to the Cincinnati Business Courier. An entrepreneur who enjoys teaching and improving organizations of all sizes, Ray is an investor in and advisor to many companies and start-ups, and serves on the board of numerous non-profits. A graduate of Rutgers with an MBA from Xavier University, Ray lives with his wife and three daughters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is an avid soccer and poker player
Battle of the SexesChris Ostoich, founder of BlackbookHR, pitches his company right before Meredith Ostoich, founder of Arena19 delivers her pitch. In the ultimate test of marital bliss, these two fiercely competitive entrepreneurs will vie for your investment at the GCVA Company Presentations.
SoundingBoard gives entrepreneurs the venue to pitch their business opportunities to a room full of interested folks, to engage with the audience via constructive questions and feedback, and to gain access and learn next steps for their ventures. SoundingBoard started in 2001 and ceased operations in 2009. During that 8 year run, over 30 SoundingBoard events convened, over 101 entrepreneurs were assisted and 29 companies received funding. These entrepreneurs successfully raised nearly $14 million in capital to help grow their ventures.
11:00 am Registration and Networking
11:55 Lunch
12:00 Jake Hodesh, Mentoring Director at Cintrifuse
12:10 Company #1
12:35 Company #2
1:00 Company #3
Location
Taft Center at Fountain Square
425 Walnut Street
2nd Floor
Cincinnati, OH 45202-3957
Each company presentation lasts 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of questions & answers. As part of each business plan review, SoundingBoard provides insight and guidance on the plan and pitch. Participants receive feedback and potential next steps from the SoundingBoard Panel and the audience.
Who is SoundingBoard?
Jake Hodesh, Director of Mentoring at Cintrifuse, is developing a program to address the needs of our entrepreneurs. This mentoring program will engage community resources and facilitate connections between company founders and to leverage the leaders of our ecosystem. Jake will forge deeper relationships with and among local universities and work with the region’s accelerators, incubators, funders, startups and others.
Guy Graeterizing after his SkypeNote address!
Northern Kentucky University hosted the third annual “Reality Check” Undergraduate Business Plan Competition. Xavier University, University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University and Miami University sent their top teams to compete for the $10,000 in prizes generously sponsored by the Griggs Family Foundation.
NKU hosts the third annual “Reality Check” Business Plan Competition featuring keynote address by| Date | Friday, FEB 8 |
| Agenda | 11:00 am Final Rounds12:00 noon Lunch12:15 pm SkypeNote by Guy KawasakiAwards immediately after the Skypenote Adddress |
| Location | NKU Student Union Ballroom |
The Roger Griggs Family Foundation sponsors this annual competition between Northern Kentucky University, University of Cincinnati, Miami University and Xavier University. Eight teams will take part this year for $10,000 in prizes as well as the bragging rights and the “Reality Check” trophy.
GCVA Members may attend for free by registering via email they receive. Guests may click here to register for $10.00.
WE ARE SOLD OUT!!
The January event features City Council Member Yvette Simpson and SoMoLend Founder Candace Klein discussing the City of Cincinnati’s Small Business Advisory Council (SBAC) and the City of CIncinnati’s new program with SoMoLend.
Small Business Advisory Committee (SBAC)
The SBAC was established by Cincinnati City Council in April, 2012. It will act as a voice for the concerns of small businesses located within the City of Cincinnati, will advise the Mayor and City Council on their needs, and will guide city leaders on decisions relating to economic development and small business services. Initially, it will identify the current state of the small business community and areas of opportunity to further develop small business. The SBAC will propose changes to current policies and programs, as well as make recommendations for new legislation and initiatives to help the Cincinnati small business community succeed and grow.
SoMoLend and the City of Cincinnati $400K Loan Program
The city of Cincinnati has partnered with crowdfunding site SoMoLend to loan up to $400,000 to small businesses to stimulate economic growth and job creation within the city.Through the agreement, the
Cincinnati-based lending platform identifies qualified small businesses in Cincinnati to get loans from the city. Continue reading
