Need business advice? Meet 1:1 with the specific experts you need – NOW 100% VIRTUAL!

Innovate New Albany created Expert Office Hours to make it easy for business owners & aspiring entrepreneurs to get the answers they need.

And on Friday December 4, Expert Office Hours will be 100% Virtual!

STEPS

1. Review our roster of TWELVE Experts, below
2. Click on the MAKE APPOINTMENTS NOW link, below
3. Make individual appointments w/ the experts you need – just one – or up to six
4. Thu Dec 3: receive an email showing all your appointments – w/ a Zoom link (or a call-in phone number) for each appointment
5. Fri Dec 4: at the time of each appointment, click on the Zoom link or call the phone number provided, to virtually meet w/ your selected expert

NOTES

1. For most of you, a personal computer will be the best means to access your Expert meetings via Zoom; no need to download software.

2. Questions? Email Neil Collins at “neil@InnovateNewAlbany.org”.

Schedule up to six 30-minute meeting(s) 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?

Schedule 30 minutes with Noor using the form below.

Lindsay Karas Stencel | Thompson Hine
Law – Startups, Corporate Formation, & VC

Lindsay Karas Stencel has been in venture capital for nearly 15 years. As a licensed attorney in multiple states, Lindsay began her venture career on the pure deal side working in big law in in New York. After she obtained her MBA from THE Ohio State University, she shifted to a true venture role in 2008 when she joined NCT Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based out of Columbus, OH. There, she worked her way up the ranks from associate and in-house counsel, to become one of the managing partners and chief legal counsel, thereby becoming one of the first female venture capital partners in the State of Ohio.

Today, Lindsay is a Partner at the law firm Thompson Hine LLP, where she oversees VC and Emerging Companies in Columbus, OH. She is the Managing Partner and co-founder, with Brett Kaufman, of a nationally-spanning, early stage venture firm that is intentional about investing in people first, providing them with the resources and tools to empower them to make the best business decisions possible, which in turn, is aimed at producing top decile investor returns.

Lindsay is an Adjunct Professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, teaching 2nd and 3rd year students about venture capital and venture deal structuring. She also instructs licensed attorneys and business people across the country on the establishment of venture firms and venture deal structuring.

Great questions for Lindsay:

• Should I form an LLC or a C-Corp?
• When should I consider raising money and what do I need to have prepared?
• Capital Tables – how to structure ownership shares to help me achieve my long term goals?
• If I need contracts prepared, what are the most significant things I need to think about?
• How do I ensure my early stage company owns its intellectual property?

Schedule 30 minutes with Lindsay using the form below.

Miglena Kotevski | Huntington National Bank
Financing for Early Stage Businesses

Miglena Kotevski is a Program Manager for Huntington National Bank’s Lift Local Business Program, as part of the bank’s community plan commitment. Participants in Lift Local Business include women, veterans, and racially and ethnically diverse business owners. Miglena has over 14 years of experience in banking (all with Huntington), 13 of them working with business clients of different industries and revenue size. She 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.

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.

Brad Griffith | Buckeye Interactive
Web Strategy & Engineering

Brad Griffith is President of Buckeye Interactive, the web strategy and engineering agency he started in 2009. Prior to starting Buckeye Interactive, Brad spent several years consulting and developing web applications in-house for a variety of companies including JPMorgan Chase, QUALCOMM, and the Go Big Network. Brad earned his Masters in Business Administration after completing his Bachelor’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering with honors, both at The Ohio State University.

He has more than 20 years of web development experience and has worked from coast to coast with small and large companies, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and government agencies to build innovative web solutions.

Great questions for Brad:

• 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 Brad using the form below.

Manny Larcher | Stopwatch Creative
Growth Marketing & Branding

Manny Larcher is the CEO of Stopwatch Creative and founder of Collaborate and Elevate. He is a first-generation American who enjoys helping others find purpose in their work and is passionate about solving the challenges businesses face around growth. 

Stopwatch Creative, a boutique marketing agency, with a portfolio including numerous industries from Start-Ups to highly respected brands and high profile individuals. A full-service agency with the clear goal of driving a positive return on investment for clients, Stopwatch Creative assists their clients in numerous ways website/nas/content/live/innovatena development, brand development and growth, storytelling, digital advertising, social media, and more. Manny was recently recognized as one of the Top 20 Young Professionals in Columbus by CityPulse.

Great questions for Manny:

• Am I using best design practices to provide a great user experience and engagement?
• How can I generate more sales?
• How can I maximize the results of advertising efforts with my analytics?
• Is my website or marketing generating good results?

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. Her firm 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?
• How can I get my products featured on shopping channels like QVC and HSN?

Schedule 30 minutes with Susan using the form below.

Satish Albert | E2 Infosystems
Custom Software & App Development

Satish Albert is Founder & CEO of E2 Infosystems. Satish offers a unique combination of experiences: enterprise software development and practical entrepreneurial a, the latter gained while bootstrapping and then selling his own successful SaaS startup. Satish has an advanced degree in computer science and deep experience leading development teams at premier tech companies including: AT&T, Lucent Technologies (Bell Labs), and Docomo Intertouch.

Satish launched E2 Infosystems to help emerging and scaling companies by engineering software solutions that meet their unique needs.

E2 Infosystems has developed software and mobile applications serving:

• SaaS startups
• Healthcare & Assisted Living businesses
• Travel, Manufacturing and Enterprise Legacy Systems

Great questions for Satish:

• How do I turn my idea into a software product or application?
• What factors influence the price of development of a software or application?
• What are the latest trends or best practices in software/nas/content/live/innovatenalication development?
• How do I know if my software or application is built to grow as my business grows?
• What is a realistic timeline and what milestones can I expect when developing my products?

Schedule 30 minutes with Satish using the form below.

Heather Harmon | Rev1 Ventures
Resources for High-Growth Startups

As director of marketing and community outreach, Heather Harmon leads Rev1’s corporate marketing and communications initiatives. Her responsibilities range from creating and producing Rev1 messaging and collateral to managing multiple communications channels, including national online and print publications, www.rev1ventures.com, and social media. The marketing team provides monthly networking and speaker events, as well as Rev1’s annual Innovation Hop and the Impact Report. With Heather’s leadership, they work shoulder-to-shoulder with Rev1 portfolio companies on messaging, presentations, and PR initiatives.

Heather is the first point of contact for community organizations that connect with Rev1 to partner in support of entrepreneurs and startups and is continually expanding Rev1’s strategies and initiatives to broaden awareness of entrepreneur services across Central Ohio.

Great questions for Heather:

• What is Rev1?
• What types of companies typically fit with Rev1’s model?
• How does Rev1 help entrepreneurs build companies?
• Can Rev1 help me secure funding to grow my startup?

Schedule 30 minutes with Heather using the form below.

Lisa Messner | Book+Street
Cash Flow Forecasting & Financial Modeling

Lisa Messner has seen it all when it comes to financial statements of early stage companies. Lisa has over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting. Lisa joined Book+Street this spring after 13 years working for another firm assisting many companies with monthly financial reporting, cash projections and financial forecasts. Lisa was also the Controller for NCT Ventures for 2 years.

Lisa’s career began in public accounting at KPMG as an auditor. SFrom there, Lisa began helping start-up companies with financial reporting. Lisa has a BS in Accounting from San Diego State University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Ohio.

Note: On Dec. 4, Ann Martin, also a CFO, and a member of the Book+Street team, will be handling appointments in place of Lisa Messner.

Great questions for Lisa:

• How do we know if we will have enough cash to pay our bills on a weekly/monthly/yearly basis?
• What should I be doing monthly to keep my finances in good shape?
• What is our breakeven point?
• How can I streamline time spent doing bookkeeping and focus on growing our business?
• What accounting software do you recommend?

Schedule 30 minutes with Lisa using the form below.

Michael Butler | Footprint Capital
Business Exit Advice & Planning

Michael Butler is Senior Director for Columbus based Footprint Capital. Footprint is a boutique investment banking firm that specializes in advising owners of businesses in the exit process. Michael formerly worked as a certified public accountant in both the audit and consulting practices, a Chief Financial Officer with a manufacturing and distribution company, a senior officer of a Fortune 100 company and a partner in a venture capital firm.These experiences have given him a broad perspective on various industries. He is also a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CMAA).

Great questions for Michael:

• How should I be preparing to sell my business?
• What are the possible exit options for my business?
• What is the value of having an advisor help me sell my company?
• What are the steps of a sale process and how long does it take?

Schedule 30 minutes with Michael using the form below.

Sara Becker | The New Albany CPA Company
Business Tax Prep & Consulting

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.

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?

Schedule 30 minutes with Kevin using the form below.