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Entrepreneurs are some of the most creative, dynamic and visionary leaders in our communities. They are the people who propel us forward. Through their innovation, they drive our economic development. They help champion job creation, foster opportunities for individuals to better themselves and, at the same time, improve their community. Entrepreneurship was indispensable in the development of our nation; it is the foundation that gives all our citizens the opportunity to embrace the American Dream. The entrepreneurial spirit is a catalyst that creates pathways to prosperity for our organizations and communi-ties; it is a light that guides us toward a better future.

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization of Cincinnati (EO) is a celebration of the pivotal role entrepreneurs play, not just in our community but in our world. Founded in 1987 by a group of young, ambitious entrepreneurs, EO is a catalyst in our region that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success, enriched personal lives and greater prosper-ity for everyone in our community.

For more information on the Entrepreneurs’ Organization of Cincinnati, visit their website at www.eocincinnati.org

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Top Row: Jeff Spanbauer, Bob Dames, John Dovich, Scott Kooken and Billy Southerland Second Row: Chris Holtz, Tony Lamb, Antony P. Coutsoftides, Lynn Harden and John Baumann Third Row: Ryan Rybolt, Crystal L. Faulkner, Dave Ebbesmeyer and Andrew Abel

Photography by Brian Ambs and Daniel Smyth

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DEAR READERS,

It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur – especially in Greater Cincinnati. Our spirit of innovation has created many new companies, and our established businesses have been able not only to weather the reces-sion, but to thrive and create opportunities for others.

At its essence, that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about – creating opportunities and jobs for our community. And it’s a risky venture. Entrepreneurs stay up late reviewing cash positions, take out loans on their homes and invest their life savings to follow their dreams. They’re the last ones paid and the one responsible to make payroll so employees can take care of their families.

It takes courage to become an entrepreneur, and that’s why the Entrepreneurs’ Organization of Cincin-nati (EO) is excited to partner with Western & Southern Financial Group to honor this year’s recipients of the John F. Barrett Vision Awards.

John Barrett is a man of vision. He forever changed our city’s landscape by building the Great American Tower at Queen City Square, which itself is a great accomplishment, but an even greater one when you consider he built it during the recession. It’s this type of vision that is the mark of a great entrepreneur.

The honorees, highlighted on the following pages, are local economic catalysts. They continue to add to the growth and prosperity of our region, and no doubt will continue to work to leave a legacy of great-ness and vision. We’re proud to honor their work this year, and we’re even more proud to support their efforts daily.

EO is a global community for entrepreneurs with a local chapter right here in Cincinnati. Whether by sharing information, providing a sounding-board for new ideas or offering support, we know there is greater strength in numbers. We welcome local entrepreneurs to join us and look forward to seeing new businesses grow.

Congratulations to this year’s honorees.

Joe Stewart, Danco Transmission and Auto Care President, EO Cincinnati www.eocincinnati.org

Letter from EO Cincinnati Chapter President

Photo by Dylan Bauer

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DEAR READERS,

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Cincinnati. Western & Southern Financial Group is proud to partner with Venue Magazine and the Entrepreneurs’ Organization of Cincinnati to recognize outstanding entrepreneurs who truly embody the entrepreneurial vision and spirit of our beloved city.

As a region, we have a long and proud history of innovation that has helped drive the region’s economic growth. From Powell Crosley Jr. and the machine tool companies in the 1950s to The Brandery and Cintrifuse to the Greater Cincinnati Venture Group today, we are surrounded by rich innovation that continues to move our region forward.

This environment is not only ideal for leading entrepreneurs to learn, grow and prosper, but it also inspires companies like Western & Southern.

Western & Southern has been fortunate to be able to reinvest in Cincinnati. Our mission is to build healthy communities through community partnerships focused on financial stability, quality healthcare and educational achievement as the pillars of long-term community health.

The most visible evidence of our efforts to enhance the area’s financial stability was the opening of Queen City Square, constructed amid the Great Recession. The $400 million office tower complex has forever changed the Cincinnati skyline, consolidated the workforce of several major downtown employers, and continues to deliver over $1 billion in economic impact annually.

In healthcare, our partnerships with the University of Cincinnati, the Barrett Cancer Center and many other local and national organizations help enhance the quality of healthcare in our region so it can lead efforts to find new treatments for cancer, fund breast cancer research and further the fight against diseases like multiple sclerosis.

And in just the last three years, our company has donated $28 million and countless volunteer hours from our dedicated associates to benefit numerous area non-profit organizations that support the arts, youth health and improving education.

Our efforts remain laser focused on helping create sustainable, positive change and greater opportunity for all. We are committed to growing a vibrant economy for Cincinnati to improve the quality of life for its residents.

Entrepreneurs have an essential role in achieving a healthy community. They are the true growth engine for our economy, and their willingness to think differently and act differently in order to launch new startups or bring for-ward new innovations is central to our region’s vitality. A healthy economy generates opportunities for businesses of all sizes to grow, creates jobs and provides tax revenue to sustain and improve public infrastructure and services.

On behalf of the entire team at Western & Southern and the Greater Cincinnati residents who are the benefi-ciaries of our collective efforts, we are proud to recognize the entrepreneurial excellence that makes this a great city to call home.

Sincerely,

John F. BarrettChairman, President and Chief Executive OfficerWestern & Southern Financial Group

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Jeff SpanbauerPrincipal, Co-FounderHealthcare Regional Marketing

“There have been many times where I thought I made a mistake but it ended up turning out to be better for my long-term success. In fact, one of my favorite quotes is from Benjamin Franklin:

“The man who does things makes mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing.” One area where this happened to me and worked out well for my long-term success was with my current company, Healthcare Regional Marketing (HRM). When we started HRM, we thought it would be a short-term way to pay the bills to allow us to start a second company that we thought was a bigger idea. After about 12 months, we realized that the second company was not near-ly as good as an idea as HRM and ended up closing the second company so we could put 100 percent of our effort behind HRM. In retrospect, it was the best mistake I ever made.”

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John DovichPresidentJohn D. Dovich & Associates

”There is no one key to success. Success is a combination of focus, hard work, determination and rep-etition. Success is never complete. It is a life-long process.”

Bob DamesFounderFlipdaddy’s Burgers and Beers

“I measure success by the people I work with growing with the com-pany, bettering their lives and their families lives.”

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Scott KookenPresidentLinks Unlimited

“Quite simply, I want to enjoy com-ing to work each day. If work stops being fun, I will have failed.”

Billy SoutherlandCEOHumacare

“I give back to the community be-cause I believe we were created to serve. When we are doing what we were made to do we are most fulfilled. I have been blessed with the oppor-tunity to share my time, treasure and talents while coaching and mentor-ing many less fortunate young men and women in our city.”

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Chris HoltzCEOCountertops And Cabinetry By Design

“Countertops And Cabinetry By De-sign is a small company of 38 em-ployees and I believe the best way for us to give back to the community is to work hard to instill the values of honesty, integrity, pride, leadership and personal growth in everyone on our team. I believe that by helping our employees become better people and better role models, we can strength-en the community around us.”

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Tony LambCEO and FounderKona Ice

“When we started Kona Ice, we knew we had the opportunity to reach liter-ally millions of kids all over the country. We decided back then that we were go-ing to do it in a way that would benefit the communities where they live. We use our incredible cost structure to raise money for local schools, sports leagues and organizations, and en-courage our franchisees to follow our lead in giving back. So far as a company we have raised or given back over $21 million. It is very simply the right thing to do. ”

Antony P. CoutsoftidesCEO and Freight GuruLegion Logistics

“In a nutshell, entrepreneurship gives me the freedom to pursue my goals without being hin-dered by others. I can run the company the way I think it should be run, create a culture that I want to work in, fill that environment with peo-ple I believe in and do all of it without getting permission from anyone, except my business partner, of course.”

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Lynn HardenCEOStett Transportation

“My vision was to create a workplace that fosters quality of life both in the office and out. Watching employees thrive and achieve their personal and professional goals is awesome. Suc-cess to me is: Make a commitment, make it happen ... Giddy up!”

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John BaumannCEO AMPACCo-Founder Higher Branches

“Isn’t it true that entrepreneurs seek out environments of creativity and chal-lenge? Where we can bring the spark, imagination, vision, creativity, determi-nation, thought-leadership, expertise, risk-taking and ingenuity that is need-ed to create something that is new or at least, new again. Entrepreneurs see things differently, start things from almost nothing, embrace risk and sus-tain what is created with ingenuity and determination. It’s a sense of freedom.”

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Ryan RyboltPresidentInfintech

“I learned long ago that giving back is vital to community success. It is an element that I first encountered as an entrepreneur of the non-profit organiza-tion Give Back Cincinnati. Through that experience I was witness to the many or-ganizations that support critical needs throughout our neighborhood. Without the passion of these agencies, the com-munity suffers. I still use this learning every day of my personal and business life, which is why I serve on multiple non-profit boards today.”

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Crystal L. FaulknerCo-Founder and PartnerCooney Faulkner & Stevens

“To me the key to success is a combination of several factors. You have to be happy with what you have while you go after what you want. You must have a strong work ethic, the willingness to fail and the desire to learn; and you have to motivate and inspire others to achieve their goals on your own journey to suc-cess. When you really lead, you will succeed.”

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Dave EbbesmeyerCo-FounderAI Software

“The key to success is finding balance between your heart and your mind.”

Andrew Abel PresidentMailender

“The key to success is doing some-thing really well about which you are passionate.”

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FAMILY

When Joe Stewart, general manager and owner of Danco Transmission & Auto Care, looks at his new 36,000 square feet prop-erty on Dixie Highway in Fairfield, he sees both the past and the fu-ture of the business his mother and father started nearly 45 years ago.

“This facility allows us to streamline our business and become much more efficient by combining three different locations into one,” says Stewart. “This allows us to perform complete automobile ser-vices that we previously did not have room to do, and we will have an entire automotive sales center as well. We will have a lot of space to grow.”

Founded in 1970 by Stewart’s father, Dan, and his mother, Donna, Danco has always been run with the premise that what cus-tomers want most is to be treated honestly, like family. Over the years, that premise has served the Danco family well, and since its founding the business blossomed into serving thousands of people in the community.

“Dad always believed that if you treated people like family, then they would always return and tell their circle of family and friends to do the same,” says Stewart. “This has been the cornerstone of our business since then and it will remain so in the years to come.”

It was at the first location, a former Frisch’s Restaurant on Northbend Road in Finneytown, that Stewart got his first job cleaning floors in the summertime.

“The first thing I knew when I graduated high school was that I did not want to enter the family business,” he says. “After joining the Navy and doing a few odd jobs after, my mother handed me a repair order and asked me to do a customer call. I went into the office, took a deep breath and made the call. The customer complimented me on my thoroughness and professionalism. It was at that moment that I knew I had found a career choice and I was good at it.”

That was in 1989. By that time, Danco had expanded into a second, larger location on Northland Boulevard. It allowed the business to add dynamometer transmission testing equipment and to start rebuild-ing its own torque converters. After opening a wholesale location in Woodlawn and a third retail location in Fairfield, the business enjoyed two decades of prosperity.

In the meantime, Stewart was busy building the business out and getting electricial repair certifications. Now, Danco is no longer a startup and Stewart is a leader in the auto repair field.

“We are expanding a business that has been the backbone of our family for almost five decades,” says Stewart. “Our team is rich in experience and extremely talented in what each member brings to

the table. We each have very different skills which allow us to work effectively together.”

Stewart decided in 2013 to consolidate the original Northbend location with the larger facility on Northland, and though he leased the space next door, the business was still beyond capacity there.

“That put us on the course to look for a larger facility,” says Stewart. His search concluded at the Dixie Highway property, which Danco opened up earlier this year. It represents an important step forward for a business that has not been without its share of downturns and crises. But Danco has always persevered and expanded, and now is no different.

“We share the ups and downs,” says Stewart’s mother Donna, whom he describes as the glue that holds the family business together.

“We cherish the fact that we are all together under one roof.” v

Written by Brian Planalp . Photo by Dylan Bauer

Just like FAMILY

Danco Transmission & Auto Care is located at 5221 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, OH. You can reach them at 513.541.1800 or visit their website at www.dancoautomotive.com

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218 W McMicken Ave Cincinnati, OH 45214 | P 513 723 0900 | F 513 723 0990 www.riversidearchitectural.com

Riverside Architectural Millwork specializes in the fabrication and installation of architectural millwork. We have the skills, capabilities, and diverse real-world experience to build anything you can imagine.

Where Personality MEETS FUNCTIONMEETS FUNCTION

Riverside Architectural Millwork specializes in the fabrication and installation of custom, high-end architectural woodwork.

“Some businesses specialize in only doing pieces of projects,” says Bob Krejci, who founded the business in 1993 with Tim Pierce. “But we do everything, including custom granite, glass and metal tops and other high-end finishes. We pull everything together from the client’s design concept to installation so the customer doesn’t have to go to two or three different places. They can make one phone call and get exactly what they want.”

Krejci and Pierce have gathered a team of skilled experts at River-side’s state-of-the-art 21,000-square-foot shop in historic Over-the-Rhine. They look forward to complex challenges.

“We are challenge-driven, we enjoy discovering how far we can take a design, how precise we can be. In the process, we give your space personality and add function,” says Pierce. “I don’t know that we have ever been stumped.” v

Written by Brian Planalp . Photography by Brian Steege

Riverside Architectural Millwork is located at 218 West McMicken Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45214. You can reach them at 513.723.0900 or visit their website at www.riversidearchitectural.com.