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12 Beachwood Buzz June 2016
Booths Offer Full Range of Random Products
A stroll through BHS's halls leads to
the discovery of many random start-
ups, such as PuppyMatch LLC (Pup-
pyMatchLLC.com), whose 21-year-old
owner, Anthony Gasparro, will coach
you on dog breed selection, then
locate, pick up and deliver an appro-
priate puppy for a fee not exceeding
what a breeder might charge, he
reports.
"I'm a dog trainer, too, so that's part
of the value in using my services,"
Gasparro says. "This is a responsible way to choose a puppy."
If one were to contract with his busi-
ness, then one would likely be in need
of proper resting quarters for the new
family member, and Gillian McNamara,
a 14-year-old Solon student, has the
solution. Her Hug-A-Bed creations draw
from repurposed sweaters as source ma-
terial, which she crafts into snug beds
for either dogs or cats. So far, she has
sold about 50 beds, most priced at $18.
She can be reached at Gillian.m@att.net.
Alongside McNamara's booth was
one manned by Shaker Heights High
School student Joseph Attias, who
was selling a seductive product: Jojo's
Addictive Pickles. They're marinated
in a trippy, tasty liquid that's sweet
and spicy. He started the business
as a way to raise money to fund his
participation in a band trip to Spain,
and he has stuck with it. His mom
helped him create the secret recipe,
and he's been selling the pickles at
a brisk pace for nearly two years, particularly at his youth group
events. Each container is priced at $6, or three for $15, and he
can be found on the Jojo's Addictive Pickles Facebook page.
Entrepreneurship Is Selling Point at Annual Event
By June Scharf
M
ike Kritzell, a senior at North Canton Hoover High School, was
playing around in his basement on his computer last year when
he discovered thermochromic pigment on a website. After the
ingredient used in sprayable paint dries, the surface will instantly and
magically have the ability to change colors when heat is applied, typically
through touch. With the help of some friends, Kritzell took this concept and
developed a product for the iPhone: a color-changing phone case. Thus, a
business was born, logically christened with the name Chameleon Inc.
The case is captivating as it
changes from purple to pink, or
orange to yellow, black to white or
green to blue. Several other color
combinations are available, most
accessibly from the company web-
site, chameleonja.com. The target
demographic is that of his peers,
high school and college students,
with a price point starting at $5.
"It's activated by a heat thresh-
old of 86 degrees," Kritzell explains
from his post for the day in front
of a booth at the annual Entrova-
tionCLE, a celebration of entrepre-
neurship + innovation (= entro-
vation) inside Beachwood High
School, April 30, 11 am ­ 6 pm. This
represents a change in time and
venue, with last year's event held at
the Beachwood Community Cen-
ter on a Friday. It was also formerly
branded as the Green Dream.
The event reached maximum
capacity with 180 exhibitors, thou-
sands of attendees, a host of food
and other truck-based businesses,
all assembled for this showcase of
products and services that demon-
strated entrepreneurialism. Under
the direction of Greg Perry, who
teaches marketing at BHS through
ExcelTECC, a vocational education
consortium of eight schools, his
43 senior-level students helped
plan the day from inception to
completion.
The addition of "CLE" to the
event's title reflects a new ap-
proach to branding, says Perry, and
demonstrates the students' pride in
Cleveland. He also noticed a grow-
ing entrepreneurial spirit among
the show's student participants.
"Their tech savviness allows them
to compete in a global market from
anywhere with limited expenses
and overhead," he reports.
Beachwood Junior Achieve-
ment (which operates as a
business and EntrovationCLE
serves as its company) is advised
by the city's community services
director Karen Carmen. The group
contributed to the day's events by
discussing the $40,000 budget.
Some of the money was used
to train students in leadership
development and to attend a
professional marketing confer-
ence in Orlando. Also, a donation
of $3,500 was made to Youth
Outdoors, a program offered for
inner-city children through the
Cleveland Metroparks. Some
remaining money was allocated
as seed funding for next year's un-
dertaking. The net result of Junior
Achievement's efforts was having
EntrovationCLE named Compa-
ny of the Year, which merited a
trophy and a $1,000 prize.
"The more students see what
can be done, the more it serves as
an inspiration for others to try," says
Carmen. "Sales skills are invaluable
in all walks of life."
New this year was the Young
Entrepreneurial Market, which fea-
tured 50 Northeast Ohio middle
school, high school and college
participants from 27 schools who
came stoked to sell their wares.
The market was a partnership
with University School's Young
Entrepreneur Institute and spon-
sored by the Burton D. Morgan
Foundation.