Posted August 9, 200618 yr A bit of positive national press for the NEO. Strangely, the article makes it sound like a statewide thing, though the Fund is Cleveland-based, no? Be My Neighbor This philanthropic fund is encouraging business growth, but will it start a trend? Entrepreneur magazine - August 2006 By Jennifer Pellet Here's a novel concept: philanthropic organizations joining forces to transform a flagging regional economy by fostering entrepreneurship. Sound improbable? In Ohio, 80 entities formed Fund for Our Economic Future to do just that. The three-year initiative launched in 2004 has raised $35 million, which is earmarked in part for fostering entrepreneurship and business formation in sectors with strong growth potential. "Our goal is to shift the regional economy from traditional industries to promising areas such as advanced energy, nanotechnology and electronics," explains Bradley Whitehead, who oversees implementation of the fund's initiatives... http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,328478,00.html
August 9, 200618 yr The Fund for Our Economic Future covers a 15-county region, so it extends pretty far beyond what we typically think of as the region and is well beyond the borders of our MSA. They conducted phone surveys and found that 98% of respondents living within these 15 counties identified their community as part of Northeast Ohio. The Cleveland Foundation is the largest funder of the initiative, but with 80 foundations from throughout the 15 counties, I think they're doing their best to avoid calling it Cleveland-based. I guess this is particularly importance as mid-sized cities like Akron, Canton, Kent, Lorain, etc. identify with the region but do not want to see their identity lost to "Greater Cleveland". Blech. The whole thing exhausts me to a degree. Perhaps the foundation community could galvanize the sense of regionalism in Cuyahoga County before launching a quarter-state initiative.
February 13, 200718 yr Plain Dealer, 01.26.07 New Web site serves entrepreneurs Northeast Ohio venture development organization JumpStart Inc. launched an online community for entrepreneurs at its annual meeting this week. IdeaCrossing is a place where entrepreneurs can find service providers, such as nonprofit organizations or fee-for-service professionals... www.cleveland.com -- Mary Vanac, [email protected]
February 17, 201510 yr local entrepreneurs believe startmart could fuel cle’s startup ecosystem KARIN CONNELLY | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 Charles Stack and Jennifer Neundorfer founded Flashstarts in 2012 with the mission of funding and coaching startups in Cleveland. Since then, Flashstarts has turned out more than a dozen successful companies through its rigorous 12-week summer accelerator programs – offering coaching, mentorship and other resources startups need to get off the ground. Now Stack envisions a startup community that pools Cleveland’s many business incubators and accelerators into one space. StartMart is a plan for a mixed-use downtown space where various accelerators – like Flashstarts, LaunchHouse, SEA Change and Bizdom – could be housed, in addition to a co-working space; meeting space; short-term flexible lease space for startups; space for investors, attorneys and other advisors; and retail space. “There’s a certain benefit from getting big amounts of diversity and density in one place" when it comes to nourishing startups, explains Stack. "The exchange of ideas circulate more frequently and rapidly – like a giant water cooler.” MORE: http://freshwatercleveland.com/innovationnews/startmart021715.aspx "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 1, 201510 yr Business assistance groups refocus on urban core Economic development groups haven't re-energized cities; new programs target minorities, poor By CHUCK SODER March 01, 2015 4:30 AM Northeast Ohio's poor inner city neighborhoods are still poor. After more than a decade of work to rebuild the region's economy, local economic development groups haven't put much of a dent in that problem, according to officials from two organizations that fund them: The Cleveland Foundation and the Fund for Our Economic Future. But they're working on it. Statistics suggest that the economic gap between Northeast Ohio's suburbs and its core cities continued to grow as the nation recovered from the recession. That problem has pushed several local economic development groups to rethink the way they provide services and who receives them. MORE: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20150301/SUB1/303019981/business-assistance-groups-refocus-on-urban-core "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
December 21, 20186 yr JumpStart Crosses $50M Investing Milestone Cleveland Venture Development Organization Has Deployed $51.5M in Venture Capital into Ohio Startups, Including Nearly $8M in Fiscal Year 2018 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jumpstart-crosses-50m-investing-milestone-300769281.html "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 27, 20196 yr There's a not-so-secret society of entrepreneurs taking shape in Clevelandhttp://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/startincle022119.aspx "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 16, 20205 yr The Great Lakes region needs to up its game....... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 16, 20205 yr ^^In 19Q2 the Great Lakes had 4.2% of deal values, but 7.6% of all the deals. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/21-charts-showing-current-trends-in-us-venture-capital
January 16, 20205 yr 10 hours ago, KJP said: The Great Lakes region needs to up its game....... Agreed. I have a startup I'm working on launching, and I've been told I need to head west if I want a chance for it to be successful. I really want to raise the money here though, and give it a chance to grow in this region.
January 16, 20205 yr Dont' go west. You can make the pitch to west coast VC, but don't let them steal your idea. In Cleveland, JumpStart may be able to provide capital OR connect with some funds from another source. https://www.jumpstartinc.org/ Grow your startup here!
January 16, 20205 yr 11 minutes ago, Pugu said: Dont' go west. You can make the pitch to west coast VC, but don't let them steal your idea. In Cleveland, JumpStart may be able to provide capital OR connect with some funds from another source. https://www.jumpstartinc.org/ Grow your startup here! I've already worked with them. It's not just for capital though, it's been nearly impossible to find a developer in the area to team up with for equity. I'm still plugging away though ?
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