Cincinnati Innovates Competition Launches May 1 - $50,000 in awards

Four-month online contest is aimed at inspiring entrepreneurship

Eight prizes awarded worth $50,000; top prize is $20,000

Cincinnati is one of the most innovative cities in the world. It boasts one of the highest rates of patent applications per capita in the country. Did you know the Uno card game, the Swiffer, the Heimlich maneuver, Benadryl, the oral polio vaccine, the iron lung, the first ambulance service, Ivory Soap, Pringles, the gas mask, and the 3-light traffic signal were all invented in Cincinnati?

Cincinnati Innovates is a regional innovation competition aimed at channeling this innovative spirit into creating companies, connecting inventors and investors and inspiring entrepreneurship.

Cincinnati Innovates from Elizabeth Edwards on Vimeo.

“The best innovations come from the most unexpected places,” says Elizabeth Edwards, a venture capital investor at Neyer Holdings, which is launching the competition with partners Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm and CincyTech. “The challenge, then, is finding those great ideas.

“As investors, we are constantly seeking out the next big thing – the cool new product, the breakthrough processes. Cincinnati Innovates is a chance to bring those ideas out of the labs, garages and offices all over the city and connect inventors with the resources to turn those ideas into realities.”

The competition is open to anyone with an idea or an invention who has a connection to the 15-county Greater Cincinnati MSA.

To enter, visit www.cincinnatiinnovates.com and:

1. Enter a short description of your innovation – product, business, idea – and upload pictures, video, sketches, or other media to help explain and showcase it.

2. Tell your friends about it. The Community Choice Award is driven by online votes.

Details:

• The competition is open online at www.cincinnatiinnovates.com from May 1-Sept. 1, 2009.

• Anyone can enter - any age, background, level of expertise.

• Any type of innovation is welcome - product, device, business process, etc.

Awards

Commercialization awards sponsored by CincyTech
$20,000, $10,000, and $5,000

Patent Awards sponsored by Taft, Stettinius & Hollister
$10,000, $2,500, and $1,000
(in-kind pro-bono legal services*)

HYPE! Community Choice Award: $2,000
Student Innovator Award: $1,000

What’s next:
Judges, including investors and experts from all industry backgrounds, will select the best innovations of 2009 for the top awards.

Awards will be announced at a ceremony on Sept. 18 at the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati.

A word about our sponsors:
Our sponsors are committed to driving the long-term economic growth of Cincinnati through innovation. To find out more about how they are helping create new technologies, fund start-up companies, and create lasting change in the region, visit www.cincinnatiinnovates.com and click on sponsor details.

CincyTech
The Haile Foundation
Taft Stettinius & Hollister
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
C-Cap
Hamilton County Business Center
Queen City Angels
Neyer Holdings
HYPE Cincinnati
BIOSTART
Northern Kentucky e-Zone
Soapbox Media
Greater Cincinnati Venture Association

Mint.com CEO: Don't be afraid to talk about your ideas

If you were at the GCVA standing-room only event last night you would have seen Aaron Patzer, the impossibly young CEO of Mint.com, who had some sage advice for innovators and entrepreneurs everywhere: Talk to people about your idea!

So many times we get locked into our own heads, falling in love with our oh-so-unique ideas, afraid that someone will steal them. The truth is, good ideas are only proven to be good when they’ve been validated and commercialized. Funny how both validation and commercialization require a conversation.

So don’t be afraid to share your good ideas – in fact – throw them out there! The Good Idea conversation – with a friend, a mentor, a colleague – is energizing. And chances are, the more people you talk to, the better (and better articulated) your idea will become.