Scalerator NEO Program Launches Third Cohort
The third cohort of the Scalerator NEO program, funded by Burton D. Morgan Foundation and Richard J. Fasenmyer Fund, launched on April 16. Scalerator NEO is a six-month, cohort-based educational program for entrepreneurs and leaders who want to deliver immediate growth to their businesses and are open to learning new ways to achieve this goal.
Scalerator was developed by Daniel Isenberg, founding director of the Babson College Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project. Over 200 companies have participated in Scalerator to date, with previous cohorts taking place in Northeast Ohio, Milwaukee, Manizales (Colombia) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The Scalerator curriculum, focused on the 3 Cs of growth – Customers, Capacity and Cash – has helped companies from diverse industries and sectors grow, with 75% increasing growth by 25% or more following the program. The target profile for Scalerator NEO is companies between $5 million and $15 million in sales and a desire to grow their businesses. Companies from all sectors were encouraged to apply, as a diverse cohort of companies has proven to provide the most fertile ground for a successful Scalerator experience.
Fourteen Northeast Ohio companies are participating in the third cohort of Scalerator NEO. The participants include manufacturers, service businesses, and construction and tech companies from Cuyahoga, Lorain, Portage, Stark, and Summit counties. The businesses average roughly $9.8 million in sales and 31 employees. Cohort members include:
- AtNetPlus, Inc.
- Bennett Adelson Professional Services
- Evergreen Industrial Batteries
- Excelas, LLC
- Gent Machine
- Great Work Employment Services
- I2R Power
- InsightFuel
- Kent Adhesive Products (KAPCO)
- Martindale Electric
- Metis Construction
- Noble-Davis Consulting, Inc.
- Recognition Robotics, Inc.
- SAF, Inc
Scalerator NEO will complement other services currently available to support established, growing enterprises in Northeast Ohio by offering highly-motivated entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn practical skills with a small, select group of peers. The cohort learning environment has proven to stimulate new growth strategies and inspire entrepreneurs to aggressively grow their businesses. Many local economic development organizations and professionals have rallied behind Scalerator NEO and were a part of the effort to identify the first, second and third cohort. Serving as administrator of the program is EDGE, a nonprofit economic development organization focused on innovation and entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio.
Previous participants shared the impact Scalerator has had on their growth since completing the program.
Chris Mahovlic, President and Owner of Sheet Metal Products stated, “Scalerator has resulted in the hiring of 12 new employees, $1.2 million in new revenue for 2018, and the purchase of two new pieces of equipment. This will set our company up for even more growth in 2019.”
The Scalerator has helped Tari Rivera, President and Owner of Regency Construction Services, to “develop a sales effort that has become more formal and structured increasing sales by $12 million.”
The 14 graduates from the first Scalerator NEO cohort in 2017 were a mix of manufacturers, software companies, and service providers and universally report that the Scalerator transformed their businesses. As reported in early 2018, they report:
- Median earnings growth (EBIT) over 40%
- Median revenue growth of nearly 9%
- Anticipated additional revenue growth of 18% by the end of 2018.
Scalerator NEO workshops take place on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University. For more information about Scalerator NEO, please visit ScaleratorNEO.org.