Need business advice? Meet the experts.

When it comes to launching and growing your startup, there are always too many questions. That’s why Innovate New Albany created Expert Office Hours. We bring together expert service providers from varied disciplines who share their expertise at no cost to those who need answers.

Get answers to your toughest questions including:
– what incorporation form is right for me?
– how to protect my intellectual property?
– how to secure funds for expansion?
– can I get a professional website without investing a fortune?
– how to use digital marketing effectively?
– how to earn free publicity for my business?
– how to find the right workspace for my team?
– and many, many more!

Schedule your 30-minute session below:

Miglena Kotevski | Huntington National Bank
Financing for Early Stage Businesses

Miglena Kotevski is a Business Banking Relationship Manager/Vice President with the Huntington Business Banking Team in Central Ohio, located in Easton Oval 7. She has over 12 years of experience in banking (all with Huntington), 10 of them working with business clients of different industries and revenue size. Miglena loves assisting Huntington clients with starting their own businesses, growing existing businesses, and going through all stages of a business lifecycle. She works closely with the Huntington Retail banking offices in New Albany, Gahanna, and the surrounding areas to ensure that her clients are being assisted with all their banking/finance needs.

Great questions for Miglena:

• How should I finance a start-up?
• What kind of financing can I obtain to grow my business?
• What do I need to buy a building or to purchase an existing business?
• What kind of bank accounts does Huntington offer on the business banking side?
• How the bank can help a business with day-to-day operations?

Schedule 30 minutes with Miglena using the form below.

Noor Bahhur | Porter Wright
Law – Intellectual Property

An associate in Porter Wright’s Corporate Department, Noor Bahhur focuses her practice on intellectual property, privacy, and data security. Noor has experience assisting with a variety of trademark and copyright matters. Her work included the clearance, selection and adaption of trademarks in both domestic and international contexts. Additionally, Noor has helped with copyright matters for architectural drawings and designs and software disputes.

Great questions for Noor:

• What is the value of securing registrations for patents, trademarks, or copyright?
• How can I best protect my own or my business’s intellectual property on a limited budget?
• Do I own intellectual property rights for things I created while employed by another person/company?

Our apologies, Noor’s appointments have all been reserved.

Ryan Steele | Porter Wright
Startup & Emerging Business Law

At Porter Wright, Ryan Steele helps early stage entrepreneurs choose optimal business structures and complete the documentation needed to establish their business foundation, grow and expand, and ultimately exit on their own favorable terms.

Ryan also handles corporate contractual matters to bring mergers, acquisitions, financing, startup operations, and other general business transactions to fruition. Combining business operations knowledge with legal acumen, Ryan efficiently executes complex business contracts so that rapidly growing companies, business owners and early stage entrepreneurs can cost-effectively achieve their growth goals.

Ryan also brings great business savvy to his client relationships. Having managed an office of over 100 people, Ryan can apply his first-hand knowledge of everyday business functions including project management, employee management, and independent contracting, providing practical counsel to fast-growing entities so they can overcome challenges and achieve their business goals.

Great questions for Ryan:

• Incorporating Your New Business – What forms are possible and the pros/cons of each
• Capital Tables – How to structure company ownership to ensure achieving my long term goals?
• Business Operating Agreements – What are these and when does my business need one?
• Liability – How do I protect myself and my business?
• Written Contracts – When and why should my business use them?
• Regulation & Red Tape – What docs must I file to comply with laws/rules for my industry?

Our apologies, Ryan’s appointments have all been reserved.

Brian Laliberte | Oak Moon Ventures
Big Picture Strategic Advice

Brian Laliberte, Founder and Managing Member of Oak Moon Ventures, brings his diverse and substantial experience as a lawyer and business strategist to venture capital. Through creative and strategic thinking, Brian helps early stage companies maximize their purpose by providing timely, direct, and meaningful counsel and leadership.

During his 20 years practicing law, Brian represented and counseled clients in commercial, business tort, business valuation, and shareholder litigation matters. He routinely defended companies and individuals in government investigations often involving complex regulatory issues. He uses this background to help portfolio companies navigate complex legal issues and build highly investable and sustainable firms.

Great questions for Brian:

• Here is our strategy. Tell us what you think. Have we chosen the right one?
• What are we doing right? What can we do better?
• Where do we go from here (wherever here is at present)?
• How do we get there?
• What aren’t we considering in pursuing our strategy?

Schedule 30 minutes with Brian using the form below.

Ann Martin | Book+Street
Cash Flow Forecasting & Financial Modeling

Ann Martin joined Book+Street in April 2019 and has provided strategic financial services to multiple early stage companies as their contract Chief Financial Officer. Ask her for support in creating financial models, forecasting cash flow, and if stock options are right for you or your employees.

Prior to joining Book+Street, Ann served as Vice President, Operations for Citi Securities Services and Issuer Services Operations where she managed a team of professionals responsible for the division’s annual budget planning, monthly forecasting, headcount planning and tracking, productivity tracking and cost recovery. She provided guidance and recommendations to senior management if productivity and financials went off track. She was also responsible for managing the technology financial plan, partnering with technology and product organizations to develop a strategic prioritization of the annual spend. She also has experience delivering key insights and financial models for strategic M&A transactions.

Ann has more than 25 years of experience in finance, accounting and administration with a strong focus on financial measurement, risk and compliance, and continuous improvement. Her diverse experience includes strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting, management reporting, financial modeling, vendor negotiations, contract administration and leading global, multi-functional project teams. She has an established track record of improving business performance with strategic financial modeling and analysis.

Great questions for Ann:

• How do I know if I’ll have enough money to pay my bills/payroll next week/month/quarter/year?
• How do I develop a revenue forecast?
• What type of financial information do potential investors expect when considering an investment?
• Do I need to give my employees equity?

Schedule 30 minutes with Ann using the form below.

Sara Becker | New Albany CPA Co.
Business Tax Consulting and Preparation

Sara L. Becker, CPA is the President of The New Albany CPA Co. Her experience from Big 4 firms to Fortune 500 companies gives her unique insight into providing optimal tax solutions for business owners. Her focus is providing personalized strategies that leverage savings while also enhancing compliance protection, as available.

Specialties include business planning and comprehensive real estate tax solutions. Services are flat-fee based and include monthly packages that complete the accounting cycle from the business’ bookkeeping to the final individual tax return preparation. A free initial consultation is included. The New Albany CPA Co. is a Preferred Vendor of the Columbus Board of Realtors and an approved wholesale partner of Intuit.

Great questions for Sara:

• What is the most advantageous legal entity for my business?
• How can I utilize tax safe harbors available for (specific areas of) audit protection?
• Who should own the vehicle: the business or the owner?
• Am I filing with the right tax jurisdictions and agencies?

Schedule 30 minutes with Sara using the form below.

Paul Tela | Buckeye Interactive
Web Strategy & Engineering

Paul Tela is Buckeye Interactive’s VP of Engineering. He’s been with Buckeye Interactive since 2010 when he initially joined as an intern. Paul has been programming and developing web applications since he was 14 years old. Working primarily with smaller companies and startups, Paul enjoys leveraging open source tools to build high quality systems that allow these companies to gain a competitive edge. Paul is a 2015 graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering.

Great questions for Paul:

• What is the best way to get my website started?
• How do I start planning an application for my business?
• How can I improve my site for better SEO?
• What different ways can I start building my company’s brand?
• How can I refresh or redesign my website?

Schedule 30 minutes with Paul using the form below.

Manny Larcher | Stopwatch Creative
Growth Marketing & Branding

Manny Larcher is owner of Stopwatch Creative. Manny enjoys helping others find purpose in their work. He’s had the opportunity to work with highly respected brands, as well as amazing mentors, to hone in and develop skills in brand management and business development.

Manny’s firm, Stopwatch Creative, is an agency that specializes in Branding, Strategy, Product Launch, and Growth Marketing. The services offered by Stopwatch include: Brand Identity Design, Animation, Video, Illustration, Ad Design & Management, SEO, Customer Acquisition, Crowdfunding, and Post-Campaign Analytics.

Great questions for Manny:

• How do I create a marketing plan for my business?
• How can I build a compelling brand identity, including logo, other brand assets, color scheme, etc.?
• What technology will you use to promote my brand?

Schedule 30 minutes with Manny using the form below.

Susan Fortner | Bowers PR
Public Relations & Marketing

Susan Fortner has 20+ years of experience in public relations and marketing. She opened her own public relations firm with a partner firm in Cleveland. Bowers PR manages accounts throughout the country specializing in health care, talent, banking, and packaged and soft goods. In addition the firm is recognized as a broker/partner with QVC, HSN, and Evine shopping networks.

Fortner has won awards and sits on the accreditation board to advance candidates in the Accreditation in Public Relations process. In 2013 Susan received special honors for her work in crisis management.

Great questions for Susan:

• How can I promote my company on a limited budget?
• How do I set Marketing & PR budgets that are sufficient to drive results?
• What simple steps can I take to improve my social media visibility rapidly?
• Which charities, like-minded businesses, and complementary companies should I partner with?
• How do I create and execute events that will differentiate my business in a crowded market?

Our apologies, Susan’s appointments have all been reserved.

Kevin Hammond | Ohio SBDC
Business Management Advice

Kevin Hammond has been a business management consultant for 13 years, mostly focused on small businesses and start-ups. Kevin has been on the SBDC team for almost ten years as a consultant. Prior to consulting, Kevin was in financial services at Chase Manhattan. Kevin has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Ohio Dominican University and an MBA from Capital University.

The Ohio SBDC is part of America’s SBDC national network comprised of over 1000 Centers across the U.S. including 28 in Ohio. The Ohio SBDC Network provides one-on-one advising, by Certified Business Advisors, at no cost and conduct no or low cost business training.

Great questions for Kevin:

• I have a business idea. What is my next step?
• How do I market my services and products?
• How can I take my business to the next level?
• How and where can I get money for my business?
• How do I keep track of my financial records and assure I’m tax compliant?

Our apologies, Kevin’s appointments have all been reserved.

*Please note that if you register and don’t attend, that time slot doesn’t get filled, keeping other entrepreneurs from getting expert advice. If you have registered and need to cancel, please email Neil Collins at info@innovatenewalbany.org.

Choose your Expert from the dropdown menu below and click on the event date to schedule your Expert Office Hours Appointment.

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