Scalerator Graduates Fifth Cohort, Recruiting for Sixth
The fifth cohort of Scalerator NEO—a proven, results-driven program to help entrepreneurial leaders quickly, profitably, and sustainably grow their business—graduated on September 30, 2021, after a six-month virtual experience. 13 companies from five Northeast Ohio counties were selected to participate in the 2021 cohort of Scalerator NEO at no cost to them. The participating companies represent a cross-section of the region’s business communities, with a mix of manufacturers, service providers, construction, and tech, averaging roughly $7.5 million in sales and 45 full-time employees. Cohort members include:
- Cable Ties Unlimited - Brunswick
- Delta Media Group - Canton
- Helix Linear Technologies, Inc. - Beachwood
- Lintern Corporation - Mentor
- Maradyne Corporation - Cleveland
- Phalanx Logistics Solutions - Lakewood
- Pinnacle Construction & Development Group, Inc. - Independence
- ProTech Security - Canton
- Radcom - Cuyahoga Falls
- Small Hands Big Dreams Learning Centers - Brunswick
- State and Federal Communications, Inc. - Akron
- Summit Machine Solutions - Akron
- UniControl, Inc. – Cleveland
Participants from cohort five are already reporting remarkable results. Elizabeth Bartz shared, “State & Federal Communications, Inc. recently acquired a company in Massachusetts bringing in 50 consulting clients, exceeding our annual goal of 20 consulting clients.”
Applications for the 2022 cohort of Scalerator NEO are now open. The program targets companies with sales between $5 million and $15 million and a desire to grow their businesses. Business owners from all sectors are encouraged to apply, as a diverse cohort has proven to provide the most fertile ground for a successful Scalerator experience.
Jay Hofner, of Summit Machine Solutions, shared, “Over the last seven months, we have engaged with our top machining customers at a much deeper level. As a result, we understood how to change our manufacturing schedule in a way that would be valuable to our #1 customer in this segment. In 2021, our year over year growth with this customer will exceed all customers combined in this segment in 2020.”
Scalerator NEO is a six-month, cohort-based educational program for entrepreneurs and leaders who want to deliver immediate growth to their business and are open to learning new ways to achieve this goal. With a focus on “The 3 Cs of growth” (Customers, Capacity, and Cash), Scalerator NEO touts impressive results, with 75% of participating companies increasing their growth by 25% or more following completion of the program.
Since 2017, 63 Northeast Ohio companies have successfully completed Scalerator NEO. Scalerator® was developed by Daniel Isenberg, founding director of the Babson College Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project. Over 400 companies have participated in Scalerator to date, with previous cohorts taking place in Northeast Ohio, Milwaukee, Manizales (Colombia), Atlantic Canada, and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The globally renowned Scale Up team of Daniel Isenberg, Elaine Eisenman, Kevin Mulcahy, and Tim Marken deliver the Scalerator program based on over a century of collective experience growing companies and decades of experience teaching at Harvard, Babson, Columbia, and leading business schools.
Scalerator NEO is supported by Burton D. Morgan Foundation and the Fasenmyer Fund, established at Morgan Foundation by the former Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation, a collaboration committed to supporting entrepreneurship and free enterprise in Northeast Ohio through targeted educational opportunities. EDGE, a non-profit economic development organization focused on innovation and entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio, serves as the administrator of the program. Funds from Morgan Foundation and Fasenmyer Fund cover the costs associated with Scalerator NEO, and there are no fees charged to participating companies.
For more information on how to apply for the next Scalerator NEO cohort launching in spring of 2022, please visit ScaleratorNEO.org or contact Brittany Bush at Brittany@edgef.org.