Tri-C’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program Builds Northeast Ohio Economy with New Graduates

Alumni look to build on successful track record of previous classes

Thirty entrepreneurs from Northeast Ohio and beyond recently took a step toward greater business success by completing the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®).

Previous small-business owners who graduated from the program have outperformed the broader economy while exceeding national and local averages in revenue growth and job creation.

With the most recent graduating class, the 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) alumni list at    Tri-C now exceeds 600 since the program debuted at the College in 2012.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is a $500 million initiative to unlock the growth and job creation potential of small businesses across the United States by providing them with greater access to business education, financial capital and business support services.

Graduates of Tri-C’s 10KSB program represent a variety of industries and businesses. Each spent 13 weeks studying a business and management curriculum designed by Babson College, a top-ranked school for entrepreneurial education.

The most recent class included:

• Cecily Andrews of Quantum Age Collaborative in Cleveland
• Lauren Back of Backattack Snacks in Brook Park
• Samuel Benavides of Forklifts of the Americas in Warrensville Heights
• Destiny Burns of CLE Urban Winery in Cleveland Heights
• Kelley Feighan of Valley Cruise Press in Cleveland
• Annie Flaherty of Envisage Group in Kent
• Jaime Fuhr of Fuhr Software in Columbus
• Sylvia Garrett of Sylvia A. Garrett Insurance Agency in Columbus
• Shawn Gidley of Brittany Gidley Photography in Cleveland
• Allison Hovan of HiHO Brewing Co. in Cuyahoga Falls
• Lee Howard of Howard & O’Brien Associates in Cleveland
• Eric Huber of Lake Erie Pet Food in Avon Lake
• Angela Kurlich of Angle Insurance Solutions in Stow
• John Macris of Philadelphia Candies of Hermitage, Pennsylvania
• Matthew Meineke of M Cellars in Geneva
• Deborah Monaco of ScanWorks in Cuyahoga Falls
• Courtney Plagens of 3Sisters Yoga in Avon
• Ines Rehner of Sweet Designs Chocolatier in Lakewood
• Bill Ridler of The Nanny Connection in Solon
• Dallas Riffle of Dallas Riffle Media in Fairview Park
• Michael Robinson of Rust Belt Riders in Cleveland
• Jeffrey Scheinberg of Tru Steel Metals in Bedford Heights
• Janalee Silvey of Front Burner Marketing in Northfield
• Mohamed Soliman of Amer LLC (dba Subway) in Willoughby
• Julie Stout of ADVAN Design in Stow
• Stephanie Strawbridge of Strawbridge Family Corp. in Cleveland
• Chuck Thall of Raetrent Remodeling in Strongsville
• Howard Titlebaum of Titlebaum Sales in Solon
• Tom Wolski of Pro Floor Design in Akron
• Sarah Yuronka of Saroli’s Bridal Boutique in Akron

For more information on 10,000 Small Businesses, visit www.tri-c.edu/10ksb or call 216-987-3220. The next session begins in January, with applications due by Oct. 16.

August 20, 2018

John Horton, 216-987-4281 john.horton@tri-c.edu