Please make your appointments by 7 pm on Thu 02/03/22. We will end registrations then, so our Experts can plan their Friday schedules.

STEPS

1. Review our roster of Experts, below
2. Click on the link below the Expert’s name to schedule an appointment
3. Make individual appointments w/ the experts you need – just ONE – or, up to a maximum of SIX
4. You’ll receive an email & a calendar invitation – w/ a Zoom link (or call-in phone #) for each appointment
5. Fri February 4: at time of each appointment, click on Zoom link or call phone #, to 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:

Liane Rousseau | Porter Wright
Law – Trademarks & Other Intellectual Property

Liane focuses her practice on all aspects of intellectual property. Her experience across a wide range of industries allows her to provide her clients with comprehensive services that protect their products, services and intellectual assets.

Liane has extensive litigation experience in federal courts and with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She routinely provides advice to clients concerning brand protection, trademark registration, licensing agreements and trademark, trade dress and copyright enforcement and defense.

With a background in privacy and data security, Liane has deep knowledge in litigation, records management and privacy policies. She also understands the operations and governance of intellectual property as it relates to entrepreneurships and startups.

Great Topics for Liane:

• Trademarks, Copyrights, & Patents
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Protection of a Business’s Intellectual Property
• Advertising Law: Can My Competitors Really Say “That”?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Liane.

 

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?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Ryan.

 

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 the launch of a start-up or a new small business?
• What kind of financing can I obtain to grow my business?
• What are the basic requirements to buy a building? Or to purchase an existing business?
• What kind of bank accounts does Huntington offer on the business banking side?
• How can a bank help a business run its day-to-day operations effectively & efficiently?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Miglena.

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 my marketing generating good results?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Manny.

 

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?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Brad.

 

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 software or app development?
• What are the latest trends or best practices in software/nas/content/live/innovatena development?
• How can I make sure my software or app is built to grow as my business grows?
• What’s a realistic timeline & what milestones can I expect when developing my products?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Satish.

 

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?

Click here schedule 30 minutes with Susan.

Partick Hynes | Book+Street
CFO Guidance & Support

Patrick joined Book+Street as CFO in August of 2021. As a Finance and Strategic Leader of +20 years, Patrick has experience leading high-functioning and collaborative teams to influence key decisions through fact-based analytics. Described as a critical thinker, Patrick’s extensive experience in financial modeling, budgeting, accounting, and project management has been used to grow companies and transform business operations.

Prior to Book+Street, Patrick served as the VP of Central Planning for Thirty-One Gifts, a direct sales / retail company. In this role, Patrick led a team of 20 employees in the functions of Financial Planning and Analysis, Merchandise and Inventory Planning and Data Analytics. During this time, Patrick worked hand in hand with the entire C-suite team to develop and implement strategies to drive profits during a time of revenue decline and cost increases.

Prior to joining Thirty-One, Patrick spent ten years at Limited Brands, where he supported a growing victoriassecret.com business in its infancy. Patrick’s roles and responsibilities included development of merchandise profitability tools and methodologies, e-commerce channel profitability studies and capital investment business case creation.

Patrick earned a BS in Business Administration in both Accounting and Finance from The Ohio State University.

Great questions for Patrick:

• What is a “pro-forma” and why do I need one?
• How can I evaluate if all my activities in my company are achieving our financial goals
• Cash is king. How do you set up a simple yet effective cash flow forecast?

Click here schedule 30 minutes with Patrick.

 

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?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Michael.

Ed Porter | Blue Chip CRO
Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success

Ed Porter began his professional management career in 2001 and has since led teams from 5 to over 1,000 people with responsibilities for sales, customer experience, and marketing functions. Ed has worked for service, software, and distribution companies learning the foundations of delivering a powerful customer experience while driving value and effectiveness in the sales and development channels. He has participated, facilitated and chaired several executive groups centered on sales management, contact center management, and technology innovation. Ed has been a keynote speaker and guest speaker focused on several key sales strategies and customer management programs. He has been an investor and advisor to startups and will continue supporting startups in these capacities.

Ed is passionate about leadership and volunteers throughout several non-profit organizations supporting the advancement of leaders. Ed has helped re-launch the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals (AA-ISP) Columbus Chapter in 2015 and has served as the chapter President since, growing the chapter to over 150 attendees. He helped launch the Cincinnati/Dayton chapter in 2019 as well as assists with programming and recruitment for events. Ed has also taken an active role as a mentor for #GirlsClub, an organization focused on the advancement and development of women sales leaders. He has mentored three wonderful women, two of which are now mentors in the program.

Great questions for Ed:

• What does a Chief Revenue Officer do?
• What’s the best technology to use to help accelerate sales?
• What does social selling mean?
• I have a sales problem, what can I do?
• What is customer success? Isn’t it just customer service?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Ed.

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?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Kevin.

 

Andrea Ewing | Rev1 Ventures
Creating Connections, Corporate Partnerships, Startup Positioning

Andrea is all about creating the connections and infrastructure that entrepreneurs need to build successful companies. Corporate partnerships and high-quality deal flow are the cornerstones of Rev1’s unique, stage-based investor startup studio.

As manager of corporate connections, Andrea advances both. She connects leading corporations that are actively seeking disruptive technologies with startups that are building ground-breaking solutions. Andrea also connects Rev1 portfolio clients with other potential customers—championing the startups with corporates for the innovation potential that startups can deliver.

Outside of the office, Andrea is an avid international traveler and concert-goer. A graduate of The Ohio State University and native of Columbus, she is a Buckeye through and through.

Great questions for Andrea:

• How do you know if you are ready to connect with a larger company?
• How do you prepare for a pitch presentation?
• What are some things we should consider when doing a market comparison?

Click here to schedule 30 minutes with Andrea.