The launch of Launch House, a new business incubator located in a former Shaker Heights auto dealership, attracted such a large crowd yesterday evening that cars were backed up on Lee Road for half a mile and police were directing traffic around the overflow parking lot. Inside the sprawling building, an age- and race-diverse crowd of more than 600 listened to a short program of speeches including an upbeat keynote from senator Sherrod Brown. They then had the opportunity to browse tables ringing the mammoth back room, representing the businesses and projects (about two dozen so far) Launch House is hoping to incubate to success by providing a variety of tools and services — including hooking them up with mentors and investors.
This article appears in Jun 1-7, 2011.
