JumpStart: IdeaExchange Blog

This coming December 3rd marks a very pivotal day in our region’s ongoing economic growth and development. For over three years now I have referenced our regional and national collaboration efforts in working with some of the best and brightest professionals and investors across the country that are dedicated to assisting and investing in high growth minority, women, and inner city based businesses. I am delighted to share that these organizations have partnered with JumpStart to put on what will truly be a groundbreaking event for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial stakeholders across the region and beyond.  These same organizations have been responsible for growing some of our nation’s largest and most successful diverse businesses over the past decade, and currently play a direct role in shaping Urban policy for the Obama Administration. The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), The Marathon Club, and The Institute for Entrepreneurial Thinking are partnering with JumpStart and a cast of other regional and national partners to put on: Transforming the Landscape of Business In America: A Minority Business Early-Stage Capital Summit. This one of a kind summit in Northeast Ohio will feature the following:

• A special presentation by ICIC – the national non-profit founded by renowned Harvard Economist Dr. Michael Porter, in addressing the critical role that inner city and diverse businesses play in shaping our nation’s economy, and the disproportionate impact these firms play in creating jobs and wealth for minority populations
• An Entrepreneurs Panel (Moderated by our very own April Miller Boise of Thompson Hine) – Minority equity-backed entrepreneurs will speak to their experiences in successfully raising equity capital, and address the myths, misconceptions, and realties of working with Angel, Venture & Private Equity firms
• An Investors Panel (Moderated by the President of The Marathon Club, Carmen Ortiz-McGhee) – Minority and Inner City focused Equity Funds from across the country speak to their specific investment criteria; the “do’s and don’ts” when raising capital; the emerging trends and industries attracting investment, etc.
• A Luncheon with Keynote – Dr. William Pickard, who successfully runs one of the largest minority enterprises in the nation, will deliver the keynote address. Dr. Pickard’s holdings include, but are not limited to:
  • Owning several automotive companies located in five states and Canada
  • Holding a significant ownership stake in five African-American newspapers including the 100-year-old Chicago Defender and the 77-year-old Michigan Chronicle
  • Owning multiple McDonald’s restaurants
  • Organized the Detroit Partners who are the local partners in the Detroit MGM Grand Casino
  • Serving as a Professor of Urban Entrepreneurship in Academia
• A Minority Angel Investors Panel (Moderated by the Founder & President of The Institute For Entrepreneurial Thinking, Melvin Gravely II, Ph.D.) – Successful angel investors speak to the benefits of early-stage investing as a wealth creation strategy, encourage more minorities to become angel investors, and address the critical need to have more minorities investing in high growth minority businesses
• An Entrepreneurial Showcase –- Some of the most promising early-stage minority businesses that have been working with JumpStart over the past few years give their investor presentations to attendees to provide a snapshot of some of our region’s largest minority-owned firms of tomorrow.

Wow! I don’t think I can fully capture my enthusiasm and sense of progress for our region as we continue to work towards economic empowerment for all of our region’s citizens, but suffice it to say that this is something you truly do not want to miss. In case you’re wondering whether or not this event is for you, consider the following points concerning who should attend:

• Existing minority, inner city, and woman-owned businesses (at every level) looking to grow their businesses and seeking investment partners
• Current or aspiring entrepreneurs who desire to learn more about the specific criteria investors look for when making an investment decision
• Investors looking for promising high growth minority, women and inner city businesses
• Philanthropists interested in supporting initiatives that specifically address traditionally underserved markets
• Economic development professionals seeking to better understand one of the fastest growing markets in the nation – The Emerging Domestic Market
• Current job seekers looking to explore entrepreneurship as a means to economic self-sufficiency and wealth creation
• Individuals who desire to learn more about becoming Angel Investors in high growth, emerging businesses

In short, there is clearly something for every stakeholder of entrepreneurship! This will be a one of a kind event in Northeast Ohio and space will be limited so I encourage you to register today!

Darrin is Chief Economic Inclusion Officer of JumpStart and President of JumpStart Inclusion Advisors. He founded and ran his own strategic planning and management assistance firm and spent 16 years in the commercial banking and finance industry. Darrin has an MBA from Baldwin Wallace College and an undergraduate degree from Mount Union College. He has led a series of workshops and seminars on matters of economic development and diversity.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It’s not Metropolis, where Superman lives and works. Not Metropolitan, the place to eat tasty food on W. 6th Street. Not Neotropix, the venture-backed company in Pennsylvania. Not TeamNEO, our fabulous regional business attraction organization that works every day to attract companies to locate to Northeast Ohio. No, NEOtropolis — familiar as it might sound — is all new, and I suggest you tune in Fridays (starting tomorrow) at 9:00 pm to get a taste for yourself.

NEOtropolis is the new 30 minute TV show being shown on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO/WEAO 45.1/49.1), and it’s one of the first shows ever that aims to build Northeast Ohio’s viewers’ knowledge of regional economic issues, strengthen their confidence in the economy of Northeast Ohio, and provide them with useful information and resources to endure challenging economic times. (And in the spirit of full disclosure, JumpStart is one of the sponsors of the show, as are: The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Dominion Foundation, Kent State, Key Private Bank and KeyBank Foundation, MAGNET, and The Raymond J. Wean Foundation.)

In essence — a positive show about positive things happening in our region! Cool! Wow! Can’t wait!

The show will be split into short segments, including a long-form field piece which takes a look at some aspect of business or the economy relevant to current events. It will also include shorter pieces which feature new and emerging business ventures, the work of the region’s business incubators, projects from some of our region’s strongest business sectors (such as healthcare), research at universities and colleges, and a weekly roundtable analyzing the week’s economic news for our area. And, one of the best parts — it is hosted by the knowledgeable and always entertaining Thomas Mulready. 

So be sure to tune in, or set your DVR while you head to Metropolitan, but either way, don’t miss it.

Cathy Belk is the Chief Marketing Officer of JumpStart. She specializes in branding, marketing communications, and business management. She brings 16+ years of experience in a variety of marketing and business roles, but gets her energy from working daily with entrepreneurs and their growing companies.

One of the most fortuitous facts that has benefitted Ohio’s entrepreneurial ecosystem over the last eight years is how the outcomes of a visionary program — the Ohio Venture Capital Authority — have aligned with many of the programmatic goals and programs of the Ohio Third Frontier program. When it comes to Ohio companies needing the resources to start and grow their technology-based organizations these two programs have fit like hand in glove.

Both of these nationally recognized public/private sector programs were launched during the Taft administration in 2002, yet these same programs have been strongly supported by the Strickland administration as well.

The Ohio Venture Capital Authority’s focus has been to use state-backed tax credits, which are likely to never be needed, in order to aggregate a significant amount of capital ($150 million to date) support and attract hundreds of millions of investment dollars to the State of Ohio. To do this, the State implemented a fund-of-funds mechanism that has to date invested in over 20 different venture funds. Many of these funds have historically been located in Ohio but were under-capitalized; others were funds that are headquartered outside the State and have now been attracted to invest all of their fund’s capital in Ohio firms.

Recently State representatives Sandra Williams and Jay Goyal have announced their interest in the expansion of the Ohio Venture Capital Authority by adding another $100 million in tax credits to this initiative. One of the elements that is so powerful for the State with this program is that these dollars can be provided by local financial institutions (lending money to the State against the collateral of tax credits available to them if their principal is not able to be returned in the next 10-15 years). This allows the State to do this with minimal cost and risk compared to having to use such significant resources out of the general revenue budget, which would be almost impossible in these economic times when so many Ohioans are suffering from our national economic situation.

With this leadership from Williams and Goyal, along with the anticipated continuation and expansion of the Ohio Third Frontier project (which is likely to be on the ballot next spring), the inventions being created at Ohio research centers and by our citizens will be supported by the Third Frontier and the resources needed to continue their grow in Ohio, while helping them create jobs for thousands of Ohioans over the next five years.

Ray Leach is CEO of JumpStart and brings his energy and leadership experiences from founding five high growth entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial endeavors in the last 20 years. Ray is a Sloan Fellow and earned an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also earned a BA in Finance from the University of Akron.

I love Martha Stewart. Not the person specifically (I’ve never actually met her) but the brand and business she has built. An extremely talented and successful entrepreneur, she’s all about inspiring and engaging consumers with unique content and beautifully designed, high-quality products. She calls her how-to tips and beautiful creations “Good Things.” Take ordinary paper bags, for example. Add some stencils, glue, cardboard and a candle and you have a scary message lantern. Brilliant!

Last week my colleague Becca Braun published an article on PrivateEquityCentral.net that describes the relatively new phenomena that are Venture Development Organizations (VDOs) and how they can be helpful to private equity investors. What is a VDO, you ask? To quote Martha, It’s a Good Thing! 

While VDOs exist to promote economic development in a region, they also succeed, through the combination of technical assistance (i.e. person-hours) and equity investment, in wringing out the risks inherent in very early-stage companies. VDOs (such as JumpStart) spend their money to move companies along the commercialization path from Idea Stage to Incubating and then to Demonstrating. Tasks often performed with the use of VDO investment dollars include performing market studies and/or R&D, building prototypes, securing beta customers and recruiting team members. As such, VDOs are a great place for venture capitalists to look for deals; most VDOs have large portfolios (Innovation Works has 100+ portfolio companies and JumpStart has 40+ portfolio companies) and can pick out the most relevant ones for your fund in the course of a short conversation. Think of VDOs as the “scrubbing bubbles” of the venture community - “We work hard [with Idea Stage companies], so you don’t have to.” I’m guessing even Martha would agree, VDOs are a Good Thing!

Lynn-Ann Gries is the Chief Investment Officer of JumpStart Ventures. She previously worked in the investment banking departments at both McDonald Investments and Smith Barney (now part of Citigroup), and in the sales and trading area at Morgan Stanley. She received her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and her BA in Economics from Smith College. She currently serves on the board of the Fund for the Future of Shaker Heights, the Great Lakes Science Center and Summer on the Cuyahoga (SOTC).