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11/6/2015
3:05 PM
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VOL. 36, NO. 45
NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2015
35th Anniversary
MARKETING: De-Cluttering Microsoft filter is worth monitoring. P. 4
STURDY: Incubator grows America Makes sparks manufacturing. P. 6
BUSINESS OF LIFE
CLEVELAND BUSINESS
Company band has its share of fans. P. 54-55
Marijuana biz will get second shot Industry observers: Issue 3 was flawed from start BY JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com @millerjh
Issue 3, which failed miserably on Nov. 3, was promoted by an Ohiogrown team of proponents seeking economic advantage for themselves in addition to legitimizing what has been an illegal activity. The next time around, whether it’s an initiative in the state Legislature to open up marijuana for medicinal use or some sort of citizen initiative, the effort to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana in Ohio will be different. The culture around weed is changing. What was once seen as a social
justice issue pushed by reformers — decriminalizing of the possession and use of pot — is being transformed into an economic issue: the development of a legitimate industry with vast growth potential. Marijuana Business Daily, an industry news source, projects that the marijuana industry will be a $23 billion to $29 billion segment of the U.S. economy by 2019, up from $11 billion in 2015. That industry, which did not broadly support the unsuccessful Ohio campaign, is quickly growing more powerful and more professional and likely will be more visible in Ohio in the future, based on interviews with a handful of industry SEE MARIJUANA, PAGE 57
Companies prepare to raise cash from masses BY CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com @ChuckSoder
Today, if you want to invest in Cleveland Whiskey, you need to be a fairly wealthy individual. But that could change in mid2016, when equity crowdfunding is scheduled to become legal. Then companies like Cleveland Whiskey will be able to raise capital from almost anyone. A few local entrepreneurs — including Cleveland Whiskey CEO
Crain’s
52 Northeast Ohio might still be crawling out of the Great Recession, but that hasn’t stopped the region’s most creative business minds from bearing down and growing their enterprises. With Crain’s 52, we’re honoring some of the region’s fastest-growing businesses. In a nod to Cleveland’s iconic, 52-floor Terminal Tower, these future skyscrapers of business represent what is possible with a little Midwestern grit and plenty of determination. PAGES 18-26
Tom Lix — are thinking about raising capital under the new equity crowdfunding rules, which were finalized Oct. 30 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A few others are developing products and services to help entrepreneurs raise capital under the new crowdfunding rules. In short, those rules will lower the barriers that for the most part prevent people who aren’t rich from investing in startups. Lix said he’s received “a tremendous amount of inquiries” from customers and other people interested
SEE CASH, PAGE 58
Entire contents © 2015 by Crain Communications Inc.
NICK ILUZADA