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    News Roundup: Beam & Root Hiring, Applications for Accelerate Columbus, Rhove Expands & More

    Calzones! Kiva! New jobs! Renter Rewards! Columbus’ small business ecosystem is constantly turning out news, from mergers, to expansions and creating jobs. Read on for a rundown of what’s happening in the world of business.

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    Applications Open for Accelerate Columbus Programs

    Applications are open for two city-backed business development programs through the Accelerate Columbus Small Business initiative.

    Accelerate ColumbUS: Start-Up and Launch through the SBDC provides programming for new business owners or those ready to start their own venture. The program includes a Business Start-Up Workshop and financial literacy training, as well as a special From Market to Kitchen program for food-based businesses. Participants that complete the program can gain immediate access to SBDC’s one-on-one advising services. Participants must live in the City of Columbus corporation limits, South Linden or Milo Grogan. More information can be found here.

    Accelerate ColumbUS: Scale Up & Grow through YMT Consultants is designed for growth-stage businesses. Programming will cover topics like increasing business revenue, bringing in new customers and more. Participants must live and work in Columbus, have been in business for at least two years, and meet the City of Columbus’ low-to-moderate income requirements. More information can be found here.

    Telhio Credit Union Loans Over $7 Million to Small Businesses

    For the sixth year in a row, Telhio Credit Union has been named the Top Small Business Administration (SBA) Credit Union Lender for 2018 in Ohio. Telhio’s 2018 loan volume topped 35 units for $7,055,500 million. 

    “The designation of a leading SBA lender underscores that Telhio Credit Union continues to be a strong, secure financial institution that supports the growth of local businesses all while providing outstanding service,” said Derrick Bailey, Chief Sales Officer, Telhio Credit Union. “We are incredibly proud of the fact that we have been recognized for the past six years as the top Credit Union that enables Ohio-based business to expand, create jobs and thrive. We are the financial partner that businesses can trust.”

    For more information, visit telhio.org.

    Beam Dental Adding 150 Jobs

    Beam Dental plans to quadruple in size, adding 150 jobs to its current staff of approximately 50 full-time employees. The company will invest $1.5 million for hiring across departments including engineering, sales and claims processing, and move to a larger headquarters Downtown to accommodate its rapid growth.

    The company continues to add jobs in Columbus after relocating from Louisville in 2014 after receiving an investment from Drive Capital. Beam Dental provides dental insurance for small- and medium-sized businesses, leveraging connected toothbrushes to aggregate brushing data that can be used to determine pricing.

    For more information, visit beam.dental.

    Root Adding 400 Jobs

    Another fast-growing insurance-based Columbus business is adding to its staff – enough so it’s graduating from coverage on The Metropreneur.

    Car insurance provider Root plans to add another 400 jobs in Columbus.

    “We evaluated multiple markets in the Midwest and East Coast before making the decision to further expand our Columbus-based operations,” said Root Chief Corporate Development & Strategy Officer Kumi Walker. “The Columbus Region offers the high-quality talent pool and collaborative business environment we need to help our company thrive.”

    Hiring for claims and customer service positions will begin immediately.

    Root houses its current 500 plus employees at its headquarters at 80 E. Rich St. and will accommodate new staff at a new 65,000-square-foot customer service and claims center on 3435 Stelzer Rd.

    Root provides car insurance for drivers based on their driving behavior for customers in 25 states.

    For more information, visit joinroot.com.

    Borror Partners with Rhove

    Borror is rolling out tenant rewards program Rhove at six of its apartment communities in Short North and Downtown.

    The recently-launched Rhove helps tenants build their savings by allowing property owners to provide a dollar-for-dollar monthly savings match, up to 2.5% of their rent value. Property owners like Borror see Rhove as a new type of amenity. The program also encourages renter retention with a timed release of the savings earned.

    Rhove launches for Borror residents in June. The current lineup includes their entire Short North portfolio, with additional communities in Downtown and the Discovery District coming soon.

    For more information and a list of eligible Borror properties, visit rhove.com.

    Calzone Competitors Merge

    Columbus-based calzone franchise D.P. Dough will expand from 26 to 43 restaurants after a recent acquisition by fellow calzone chain Calios.

    Calios was started by former D.P. Dough employee Eric Cook in 2013, and has since expanded to 13 locations. Those spots will become D.P. Dough’s with the merger, with plans in the works to open additional locations in the coming months.

    D.P. Dough Owner Matt Crumpton says joining forces makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Crumpton will retain a position in the company, working with the franchise management team in a consulting and general counsel role.

    For more information, visit dpdough.com.

    Ellen Harvey Joins SBDC

    The Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College (SBDC) welcomes Ellen Harvey as a certified business advisor and capital access manager for Kiva Columbus.

    Harvey will fill a unique role that brings the city’s Kiva program, to which the organization has frequently referred clients for its zero-interest micro loans, in-house at the SBDC. It creates a more direct path to funding, which the SBDC has traditionally not offered through its services.

    Harvey’s background includes work as a mortgage broker, time as the director of the Women’s Business Center at ECDI, and experience a business consultant for the Minority Business Assistance Center.

    For more information, visit sbdccolumbus.com.

    Share your news! Send story ideas and press releases to [email protected]

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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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