Release Date: October 4,2021

2021 Cohort of Scalerator NEO Graduates with 13 Companies

Northeast Ohio (Oct. 7, 2021) — 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 that, “Over the last 7 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

About Burton D. Morgan Foundation
Founded in 1967 by visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist Burt Morgan, the mission of Burton D. Morgan Foundation is to champion the entrepreneurial spirit, contribute to a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, and serve as a leader in the field of entrepreneurship education. Morgan Foundation pursues its mission through grantmaking in support of Youth, Collegiate, and Adult Entrepreneurship; through a regional ecosystem, building to provide strong networks for startups and scaleups; and through knowledge sharing bolstered by its research arm, the Entrepreneurship Education Experiment. To find out more, visit us at www.bdmorganfdn.org.

About EDGE
Founded in 2005, EDGE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit economic development organization that helps mid-sized companies in Northeast Ohio achieve profitable growth by accelerating the exchange of knowledge and experience among CEOs and leadership teams. EDGE provides its members with an invaluable opportunity to develop their leaders, grow their company, and improve Northeast Ohio through programs, services, and events geared specifically for them. www.edgef.org