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News in ThePlus

Northeast Ohio Cashing in on ‘Cash Mobs’ Phenomenon

Posted by ThePlus - 05.02.2012

Cleveland has helped fuel a national phenomenon, which is geared towards supporting local businesses.

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Entrepreneurs Find Success in the Cleveland Plus Region

onshift closes $3 million in financing, following 400 percent jump in annual revenue

Thursday, March 08, 2012

OnShift Software, a leader in web-based staff scheduling and shift management software for the healthcare industry, closed $3 million in series B financing. The funding will help OnShift meet the rising demand to manage healthcare costs.

OnShift is experiencing fast, significant growth, having achieved a 400 percent increase in annual revenue in 2011. The company’s customer base has surged to more than 600 in the past year. The funding will be used to accelerate OnShift’s sales and marketing strategies and expand its presence in the healthcare industry.

“The healthcare market is under a lot of pressure to get costs under control,” says OnShift CEO Mark Woodka. “Our customers need to manage their labor costs in long-term care and senior living. That collection of customers is primarily doing it manually. This funding will allow us to meet the demand, accelerate our growth and continue to deliver world class, innovative solutions to our healthcare clients.”

With OnShift, providers control labor costs by preventing overtime, managing open shifts, and operating with appropriate staffing levels

OnShift has 36 employees and plans to grow to 55 or 60 this year.

 
Source: Mark Woodka
Writer: Karin Connelly

cleveland advanced manufacturing leader reflects on attending state of the union address

Thursday, March 08, 2012

for these area nonprofits, 'regionalism' has economic, not political, focus

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The prevailing impression of regionalism that has been bandied about Northeast Ohio for the better part of a decade is all wrong, says a collaborative group of area nonprofits. While the consolidation of countless municipalities is useful, it is not intrinsically regionalism. True regionalism, they argue, is defined by economic activity -- not political boundaries.

purdue wins foundation grant to expand ohio internship program

Thursday, February 23, 2012

madwerkz studio creates visual effects that are 'better than real'

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Robots battling natural disasters. Historic downtown Burton and its collection of 19th century buildings transformed into a turn-of-the-century Alaskan mining town. A virtual tradeshow display in 3D.

Creating these and other eye-popping visuals is all in a day’s work for Cleveland-based MadWerkz. 

Joddy Matthews, Founder and Director of Madwerkz, spent nearly eight years working for Sony, Pixar and Dreamworks in Los Angeles. In 2000, the native Clevelander returned to his roots and started MadWerkz.

The result is a team of award-winning artists and animators creating content, animation, design motion and visual effects for the advertising, film, TV, gaming and music industries. The growing company's stable of clients includes General Motors, Audi, Sherwin Williams and U.S. Vision, among others.

“We’re currently working on two new feature films,” says Matthews, who adds that he is not at liberty to name the titles. “They’re shooting the film in 2D, and we’re converting it to 3D.” MadWerkz is emerging as one of just a handful of companies specializing in 'Stereoscope,' another name for 3D.

“We’re getting opportunities to produce groundbreaking work in a broad range of applications,” he adds. “As a small creative shop with less bureaucracy than larger ones and in-house talent that includes producers, animators, videographers and designers, we have lower overhead, which translates into more project flexibility and lower rates.”

The company recently moved into spacious new quarters in the city’s Slavic Village neighborhood, giving MadWerkz room to grow. MadWerkz also has a presence in Chicago.

“For what we do, we love Cleveland because of the resources here,” Matthews states. “The location is accessible, and there are excellent schools, like the Cleveland Institute of Art, turning out very capable students in the visual arts. In addition, Cleveland State and the University of Akron have world-class professors teaching film and animation.”

Source:  Joddy Matthews
Writer:  Lynne Meyer

Headlines

Anti-Poaching Pacts Continue to Grow

Local governments continue to get on board with the idea of working together to bring and keep business in the region. The latest collaboration involves Summit County and their effort to expand on an anti-poaching agreement established in 2008. Read More

Collaboration Leads to Plan for Ohio's Fuel Cell Industry

Stakeholder collaboration has led to the creation of a roadmap to capitalize on opportunities in the state's fuel cell industry.Read More

CLE+ Study Sheds Light on Local Media Economic Development Coverage

A recent Cleveland Plus study shows that local papers tend to be more positive when covering economic development news. Read More

Building Northeast Ohio's Exports Focus of New Center

Mahoning Valley and Ashtabula County businesses wanting to increase exports now have a new partner - The International Trade Assistance Center.Read More