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help joining the digital economy. “This community needs to be able to hang out a flag to say that this is where innovation … actually lives,” said Gonick, who helped start OneCommunity in 2003 and now serves as DigitalC’s CEO. The organization’s relaunch has been a long time in the making. Gonick filed paperwork with the state to form the new nonprofit last July — before it sold Everstream to two private equity firms that immediately pumped $46 million into the Cleve-
land-based internet services business. Over the past year or so, the organization has studied tech-related initiatives in other cities and spoken to more than 100 CEOs and civic leaders. The message was clear, according to Jennifer Thomas, chief strategy officer for DigitalC, which has nine employees. “They said, ‘Help us use technology to solve pressing problems in our community,’ ” she said.
New agenda Their first goal is to help create a “new civic agenda,” as its website states. What does that mean? Well, DigitalC wants to help the
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community produce more “21st century knowledge workers,” Gonick said. But doing that involves addressing all sorts of challenges. For instance, the leaders DigitalC spoke to generally agreed that the item at the top of the civic agenda should be helping the Cleveland Metropolitan School District implement its ongoing transformation plan — so it can churn out more students who are prepared to join the modern economy. But achieving that goal in some cases will mean addressing health and wellness issues as well, given that so many students come from poor households led by single parents, Gonick said. “They’re not coming to school with enough nutrition in their bellies to even be prepared for school,” he said. DigitalC has formed an informal group of local tech leaders — from corporations, small entrepreneurial companies, nonprofits and public sector organizations — to find ways to address those challenges. The group was formed with help from the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Cleveland Foundation. DigitalC would help implement pilot projects based on those ideas, with feedback and support from the group, Thomas said. “We are one organization, but they’re the ones who are going to keep supporting it and keep sustaining it,” she said. DigitalC’s second goal — to help local organizations use data to make better decisions — is a little further along.
Data vs. asthma Though the nonprofit is still designing its data platform, it has already homed in on one way to use it: to help kids with asthma. DigitalC is working with Dayton Children’s Hospital and a few out-
of-state partners to create a system that could warn doctors and parents when a child is at risk of an asthma attack. Each child involved in the pilot would wear a watch containing a sensor that would feed air quality data into DigitalC’s data platform. The system also would collect data from air quality sensors and other public sources to help identify when asthma patients are at risk of an attack. The project would start in Dayton, but the organizers want to eventually conduct a pilot in Cuyahoga County as well. But DigitalC also wants other organizations to take better advantage of data, which is why it’s launching the SmartData Bootcamp. The course will cover everything from basic data literacy to more advanced analytics and visualization techniques. It will be taught by Cal AlDhubaib, who previously ran a health data startup called Triple Analytics and holds a bachelor’s in data science from Case Western Reserve University. The first course will target students from nonprofits, but DigitalC aims to include businesses soon thereafter, Gonick said. “Over and over again, they said, ‘This kind of a service, if you can prove to us that it works … we’re prepared to pay,’ ” he said. Officials from both Eaton Corp. and University Hospitals said they’re interested in the course. The curriculum is still in flux, but DigitalC appears to be doing things right, said Tom Black, vice president of Eaton’s Business Intelligence Center of Excellence. For instance, the course will cover topics like “exploratory data analysis” and other techniques designed to help people make sense of data and make it more visual, Black said. “These guys know what they’re talking about,” he said.
All hands on deck University Hospitals could benefit by putting all sorts of employees — not just business analysts — through a quick course in data analysis, said Dr. Marco Costa, chief innovation officer at University Hospitals. Costa said he’s a fan of Gonick and DigitalC. He says the region needs a group that looks for tech-driven solutions to community problems. “We don’t have anybody to my knowledge who is pushing a digital transformation to support the community,” he said. Though DigitalC is interested in finding additional funding, it secured a guaranteed revenue stream last year, when it sold Everstream to M/C Partners and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. It also kept a minority stake in Everstream. DigitalC still has a few things to figure out. For instance, its plan to create coworking spaces that attract both innovators and those who might otherwise be disconnected from the digital economy is still in its early stages. Plus, it’s unclear what cities the group might eventually serve. It’s starting with Northeast Ohio, but it believes other regions that historically focused on manufacturing might benefit from the lessons it learns here. But Gonick is certain that it’s time to “drive the nonprofit back to its core mission” — using technology to solve problems like those faced by the Cleveland school district. Problems that affect businesses and the population as a whole. “It’s a huge undertaking,” he said of the district’s transformation plan. “… In order to really make it successful, we need all hands working with technology.”
Startup Scaleup now full-day event JumpStart Inc.’s second Startup Scaleup event aimed at helping entrepreneurs, which takes place Tuesday, June 28, is expanding to a full day from a half day and will feature two track options — one for startups, the other focused on growing existing businesses. The event in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District will feature more
than 40 sessions at 15 venues, according to a news release from JumpStart. The presenting sponsor is PNC Bank. Panelists and speakers will include Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs Chris Wentz of Everykey, Laura Bennett of Embrace Pet Insurance, Ethan Holmes of Holmes Made Foods, John Gadd of Hotcards, and
more. The event once again will feature the “Sidewalk to Stage” pitch competition, in which entrepreneurs have a chance to win a share of $15,000 in prize money. Session presenters will include the following: PNC Bank: “How to Take Your Business From $2M To $10M” Etsy: “Using Etsy to Grow Your Business” JumpStart: “Finding Money for Your Idea” Flashstarts: “Startups & Angels” FIT Technologies: “Women in Tech: How Female Leaders Are Taking Over the Tech Space” MAGNET: “So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?” Youngstown Business Incubator: “Funding Strategies for SaaS Tech Companies” The Bit Factory: “Building a Mobile App” Hello LLC: “Bringing Your Brand to Life with Visual Platforms: How to Use Instagram & Snapchat” SEA Change: “More Than Profit: A Social Enterprise Primer” Thompson Hine: “Understanding Your Term Sheet: How to Negotiate a Win/Win Deal” Meaden & Moore: “Win the Crowd: Is Equity-Based Crowdfunding Right for Your Company?” Burton D. Morgan Foundation: “What It Means to Be a Student Entrepreneur” Full-day tickets for Startup Scaleup 2016 are $20. Half-day tickets are available for $10. To register, go to www.startupscaleup.org.