2026 NEO Spotlight Presenters announced!

Five inspiring entrepreneurs from Northeast Ohio will step into the spotlight at the NEO Showcase event on June 10 for a shot at substantial cash and in-kind awards.

Each presenter will take the stage for 8 minutes—giving them space to tell their story, wow the judges, and win the crowd. (That means you!)

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Meet the five presenters

1. biocycler

biocycler uses living organisms to recycle and remediate.

Founder: Christopher Maurer
Instagram: @redhousestudioarchitecture

2. Next Steps Eldercare Consulting

Next Steps Eldercare Consulting helps families proactively navigate the aging journey. Our integrated model includes individual and family consulting, corporate caregiver support, community education, professional referral partnerships, and affiliate integration. Guided by our mission of Compassion, Clarity, and Care, we believe aging is a life stage that impacts every family, workplace, and community and preparation is empowerment.

Founders: Dina Rock + Lori Lynn
LinkedIn: Next Steps Elder Care Consulting
Facebook: Next Steps Elder Care Consulting
TikTok: @nextstepseldercare
Instagram: @nextstepseldercare
Website: nextstepseldercareconsulting.com

3. Reasons to Care Healthcare Services

Reasons To Care Healthcare Services, LLC is a community-based provider supporting adults with developmental disabilities across Northeast Ohio. We deliver personalized homemaker personal care, respite, and non-medical transportation services that help individuals live independently while giving families and caregivers reliable support. Our model centers dignity, consistency of care, and individualized service plans that improve daily living skills, social engagement, and community participation. By combining compassionate care with structured programming, we create both measurable quality-of-life outcomes for participants and local job opportunities in underserved neighborhoods. Our goal is to become a trusted hub of support that empowers individuals to reach their highest level of independence.

Founder: Katrina Cooke

4. SayItBuddy

An affordable, customizable mobile app that empowers nonverbal and speech-delayed children to communicate independently by tapping images to produce spoken words.

Founder: Cambron Jones

5. The Benevolent Bloom

Founded in 2025, The Benevolent Bloom is a social enterprise on a mission of providing quality, organic produce and beautiful cut flowers from our local, small, and sustainable, family garden to our patrons with a percentage of every sale going toward launching and operating a farm animal sanctuary. The Benevolent Bloom will work to accomplish our mission by selling subscription/CSA bouquet and produce shares, work with local florists to provide brilliant arrangements, hold weekly, seasonal events at the farm stand located within the farm, and provide select, seasonal produce and flowers at local farmer’s markets for folks to enjoy.

Founders: Jeremy Langham + Bilyana Simonoski
Instagram: @thebenevolentbloom
Facebook: thebenevolentbloom