The Innovation Fund, which was started in 2007 to help fund technology startup companies before they attract larger investors and has become the first source of funding for entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio, continues to receive state funding to continue its mission of rewarding new businesses.

The Ohio Controlling Board on Monday authorized $2.125 million to the Lorain County Community College Foundation to benefit the fund.

"It is wonderful that state funding through the Ohio Third Frontier continues to support of mission of helping companies at the earliest state of their development," said Tracy Green, LCCC's vice president for strategic and institutional development.

AAA estimates that as a nation, we spend just about $4.8 billion each year repairing our cars due to the obscene amount of damage caused by potholes. Now add that hefty bill to the time wasted calling tow trucks and fixing our banged up vehicles, and you've got yourself one tremendous headache of a day. ... The solution? Hole Patch, LLC: a safe, cheap, and eco-friendly bag designed to temporarily fill potholes, patching up those pesky dips in the road drivers love to hate.

Ever had to collect thousands of applications and whittle them down to find the best hundred candidates? Universities and businesses do it all the time, and it's not an easy task.

New York and Cleveland-based DecisionDesk wants to change that. The company takes the application and selection process into the cloud, promising to make the lives of administrators a lot less stressful. And it just raised $1.75 million in new funding to keep innovating.

In the latest round of Boston versus potholes, the city is bringing in the big guns: a Silly Putty-like material encased in portable plastic bags invented by college students. Shape-shifting goo that hardens instantly under pressure... The company's founders, recent graduates of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, believe the pliable bags can serve as a fix for a few hours or days, preventing damage to passing vehicles before crews can make a permanent repair.

Tesla NanoCoatings, a leading producer of high-tech, anti-corrosive coatings for the oil and gas industry and military uses, is researching and developing a partnership with the University of Akron...

A Boston native wants to put Cleveland on the map. In fact, he's aiming to put it all over the globe in the form of his new bourbon called, simply, Cleveland Whiskey.

Queryly provides search solution that brings instant and visual search to any websites. It makes easier for users to find content they need and helps digital publishers increase reader loyalty, page views and ad revenue. It also helps customers discover more products on ecommerce sites, leading to more transactions. Queryly is a turn-key solution. Businesses can add Queryly onto their sites in 24 hours without the need of additional development.

Website: http://www.queryly.com/

SPR™ Therapeutics is commercializing a novel therapy for severe pain with its patented peripheral nerve stimulation products. The company's pipeline of neurostimulation pain therapies will exploit the same physiologic mechanism of action, proprietary technology and clinical approach.

The first product to be commercialized is the SMARTPATCH™ PNS System, which is a short-term, minimally invasive system that is simple to deliver and can be used for up to 30 days to stimulate electrically a peripheral nerve to relieve pain.

Website: www.sprtherapeutics.com

Absorbent Materials Company LLC (ABSMaterials) develops reactive glass products and nanosands for remediation or site-cleanups of volatile organic and related spills, plumes or gas discharge. The company's products are engineered to be fully reversible, highly stable, hydrophobic and capable of capturing and recovering a range of hydrocarbons and pervasive solvents.

Website: www.absmaterials.com

ThermElectricity develops green energy solutions to convert otherwise wasted heat into electrical energy. The company's shape memory alloy energy harvesting device uses the expansion and contraction of specialized metal alloys to harvest energy from temperature fluctuations as low as 10 degrees Celsius. The device has applications in a wide range industrial facilities that produce heat as part of a manufacturing process. ThermElectricity received an Innovation Fund grant in February 2013 and will use the funding to quantify the cost-to-energy ratio its technology can achieve.