Spring is an exciting time for everyone in Northeast Ohio. The weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and signs of change are all around. Exciting signs of change and growth are also happening at the Bounce Innovation Hub including an expansion within our building, a special birthday for our Generator, and exciting additions to our staff.
Expansion of the Generator
Construction begins on the 2nd floor of the Bounce Innovation Hub!
Perhaps the most exciting change is that starting in March, we will begin construction on expanding the Bounce Generator to the 2nd floor of our building. The Generator is the main location for many of our events, coworking space, the Stray Dog café, and some private offices for rising entrepreneurs. Since its opening almost 5 years ago, the Generator has increasingly grown in popularity, and the time is right to help it grow!
Expanding the Generator to the 2nd floor allows us to almost double the size of the current Generator space by adding another 15,000 square feet of space for additional coworking opportunities, 10 more private offices, 4 new conference rooms, and a new event space. As the expansion project takes shape, we will post regular updates and photos of the construction.
Staff Changes At Bounce
This Spring we are happy to welcome some new staff members to the Bounce Innovation Hub. As we continue our growth, we are committed to ensuring that we have highly qualified staff to continue providing the best services and resources to entrepreneurs and the citizens of Northeast Ohio. Please welcome our new staff members.
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- Greyson Byrnes
Greyson joins the Bounce Innovation Hub as the Program Coordinator for tech startups at Bounce, where he continues to apply his skills and expertise. Greyson is a recent Kent State University graduate with a business and innovation background. At Kent State, he focused on his dedication to collaboration, creativity, entrepreneurial support, and fostering interpersonal relationships.
- Greyson Byrnes
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- Rod Flauhaus
Rod joins us as the Sr. Director of Marketing and Communications. Formerly the Director of Marketing for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Rod has an extensive background in marketing and entrepreneurship including starting two interactive marketing and web development marketing agencies, managing marketing and PR for many A-List Nashville music clients, and working in consulting and higher education fields.
- Rod Flauhaus
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- Pamela Heinzerling
Pam joined Bounce in August of 2023 after 2 decades in the legal field specializing in probate and mental health. Pam started as an administrative assistant to an elder law attorney, followed by ten years at the Summit County Probate Court, five as a clerk/auditor, and five as an administrative assistant to the mental health clerk, the court investigators, and the IT Director.
- Pamela Heinzerling
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- Hadas Marcus
Hadas has a background in public health and software programming. As our Program and Data Analyst, Hadas looks at what awesome outcomes our services can support, and how we could make them even better.
- Hadas Marcus
Share + Solve leverages the power of peer support to improve mental health
Since the 7th grade, John Dellick has struggled with mental health issues, reaching the point where he nearly took his own life. Through this journey, John benefitted from the evidence-based practice, peer support, which gave him hope that things would get better.
To give more people access to peer support, Dellick has developed an app called Share + Solve. He is now working with Bounce Innovation Hub toward a beta launch in early May, in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Week.
“Most apps for mental health don’t leverage peer support specialists. They might promote meditation or link you to mental health therapists or anonymous support. Our peer support specialists receive certified training which is a Medicaid billable service” said Dellick, who has been working as a peer support specialist since 2017.
He noted the app eliminates barriers affecting access to mental health services, including transportation issues and the stigma of seeking mental health care. It also expands the reach of mental health providers by giving their patients another means of support.
As a student at Cleveland State University (CSU), Dellick participated in the Startup Vikes pitch competition that helped make his idea a reality. This led to other pitch competitions where he continued to garner support for the Share + Solve app.
“I started working on customer discovery in the summer of 2023 while enrolled in the Weston Ideation Lab Summer Accelerator Internship Program at CSU. This helped me get the foundational pieces and raise funds for app development,” he said.
It was also through the CSU accelerator program that Dellick was first introduced to Bounce and Wave Strategy, entrepreneurs in residence and a health care consultants agency.
“I applied for Bounce’s remote incubator and was accepted in December. Everything happened at the right time. I knew I had done everything I could by myself,” he said.
He outsourced the building of the app to Crowdbotics, which specializes in building HIPAA-compliant mobile apps. Wave Strategy is helping him develop his pitch deck, financial projections and launch plan. He has also benefited from Bounce’s legal support in developing the app’s terms, conditions, and privacy policies.
Dellick never planned to become an entrepreneur, but feels this is God’s guidance in his life.
“As a kid, I would get stressed out when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I always answered that I wanted to help others, but I never knew ‘how.’ After graduating from high school, I started college in pre-med, but mental health challenges led me to taking a leave of absence. During that time, I received peer support, and once I was well on my own recovery journey, I began providing peer support to others” he said.
He advises aspiring entrepreneurs to take that first step and “get rolling.”
“When I started, there were no other peer support apps, but now others are popping up. Had I waited, that could have been a major barrier to entry,” he said.
The process has also helped him to learn patience.
“When I am pushing to meet milestones, I realize that there is only so much I can do and I have to rely on others. I need to let go and accept that, and find the balance between patience and pressing on,” he said. “The setting of goals and milestones is most important. I don’t always have to look ahead to the next steps. As long as I take the first step, even if it’s a baby step, the right answers and the next steps will be revealed.”
Dellick said he expected the entrepreneurial journey to be a thrilling ride, but in reality there are highs and lows.
“I do not wake up and feel motivated every day. The lows provide me with the opportunity to build discipline, and keep putting one foot in front of the other,” he said.
Upcoming Events
A Community Celebration of Bounce
Make plans now to attend a very special celebration of Bounce Innovation Hub on May 22nd. We are celebrating two important milestones including the 6th anniversary of Bounce, and the 5th anniversary of our 1st-floor coworking space, the Generator.
This special celebration is free and open to the public. Activities include food trucks at lunchtime, a free co-working day, art exhibits, prizes, an appearance by Zippy, and much more!
No registration is needed. Look for more details coming soon!