Research Fellow Success Stories
Northeast Ohio companies find great value through quality research and actionable recommendations.
Research Fellows (with the support of experienced mentors) help business leaders focus on new opportunities by providing quality primary research, data analysis, a comprehensive report and recommendations as part of a proven program that helps companies capitalize on growth opportunities.
- 2007-2025: 260+ students have vetted 135 new business opportunities.
- 28 company projects have been affiliated with the Scalerator NEO accelerator program and have helped companies implement their Scale Plans.
- Train a select group of graduate-level students. Over 50% choose to stay and work in Northeast Ohio following graduation, and all foster a dynamic professional community.
- Year after year, companies, students and mentors share high satisfaction, rating their overall experience a 9.0 – 10.0/10.
- Contributing Support from Burton D. Morgan Foundation, the Harvard Business School Club of Northeast Ohio and participating companies.
A sampling of Research Fellow Program Successes (one per year):
2007: Helped Carroll Sales and Marketing validate market opportunities for Flavorseal – using flavor sheets to provide consistent seasoning and appearance of food. With 50-100 employees; the new company eventually sold to private equity. Crain’s
2008: Provided Kichler Lighting a wholesale strategy for overstocked lighting supplies – helping Kichler to grow to $450M and sell to private equity for $550M. Crain’s
2009: Demonstrated market feasibility for NewPort Tank to use food grade liners – allowing the use of one shipping container for both chemicals and food.
2010: Helped Parker Hannifin validate opportunities in water purification markets.
2011: Helped CardinalCommerce identify new ways to add value with electronic payment validation. The company sold to Visa in 2016. Crain’s
2012: Targeted markets and value proposition for Tesla Nanocoatings (an early stage co.) to grow more rapidly – attracting follow on funding and growing to roughly $5M in annual sales. Crain’s
2013: Validated market for Gebauer to provide medical-device product in single-use and single-patient packaging, leading to significant year-over-year growth.
2014: Provided Innovative Medical Equipment (IME) valuable research data, which led to investments from both the Third Frontier Fund and private investors. Now serving heating, cooling and pain reduction in healthcare markets with rapid growth.
2015: Confirmed market for Aexcel Corp. to create a bio-based paint and coating made from soybeans. Hired Fellow to launch and grow sales.
2016: Using data analytics, identified opportunities for PartsSource to increase customer spend and improve search conversion with online platform – resulting in $250K+ in savings and hundreds of thousands more in opportunities.
2017: Validated market and identified supply chain opportunities for ChromaScape to generate new revenue selling colorants to rockeries and rock mines to color stones for landscaping design markets.
2018: Helped Viscus Biologics (an early-stage biomedical company working with bio-inks and 3D printing) to identify market opportunities and valuable industry partnerships to understand go-to-market strategies and timelines for industry adoption.
2019: Helped Regency Construction Services explore expanding into new Columbus markets and the Fellows team developed a prioritized strategy. The company created a new business development position and hired one of the Fellows to implement the plan.
2020: A local manufacturing company needed help exploring both new sales opportunities as well as potential acquisition targets to help the company grow in a consolidating market. The Fellows’ research provided several options for the company to pursue, which will accelerate their overall sales efforts.
2021: Fellows helped a local software company assess and validate opportunities for a marketing and CRM Tool (SaaS) to serve the U.S. Automotive Dealership Market. Company plans to double sales in the next 12-24 months.
2022: A tapes and adhesive manufacturing company wanted to explore possible applications in the rapidly growing EV charger market (CAGR 33%). Fellows determined key component parts in EV chargers with immediate product applications, determined pain points and areas to add value both with OEMs and with maintenance, identified key stakeholders, and developed a clear go-to-market strategy.
2023: Validated growth opportunities in the Wastewater and Water treatment industries for a manufacturer of water-lubricated bearings. Provided a strategic roadmap and ways to enter the supply chain.
2024: Food Equipment Manufacturing Company (FEMC): Helped company to better understand and define its customer base, leading to clear customer segments that guide its sales conversations and marketing effort and reinforced FEMC’s core strengths in customization, quality, and technical expertise.
2025: Mar-Bal (5th project in the last year) – Helped the maker of stand-off insulators to prioritize the their growth opportunities in international markets. Hired a Fellow full-time to help implement.