JumpStart: IdeaExchange Blog

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation in Hudson has an incredible asset: a Norman Rockwell print called “High Dive”. As you can see, it’s a boy leaning over the edge of the diving board, scared to jump into the pool. As Deb Hoover (President of the Foundation) told me, Steven Spielberg has the original and takes a look at it prior to starting each movie; the Foundation thinks it’s a great example of how many of us feel prior to taking a risk.

Last week, I had the chance to participate in a meeting of the JumpStart Higher Education Collaboration Council, held at the Foundation’s offices. This Council was formed in the fall of 2009 with the express purpose of increasing the connection between JumpStart and members of higher education communities across Northeast Ohio, including university, community college, liberal arts college, and technical college constituents. In addition, for me, it was a chance to immerse myself more with this thriving, dynamic set of leaders, who represent constituencies equal in size to 50% of Cuyahoga County’s residents.

While we are still in the process of pulling together both our agenda and our marketing communication approach (more to come on that in future months), I was 100% energized by what seemed obvious to me:

There is no better regional higher education network for supporting student entrepreneurs, in the country. Period.

(Perhaps that’s why the region’s Entrepreneurship Education Consortium — a group of just nine of the higher education institutions in the region — recently won the 2010 National Outstanding Entrepreneurship Pedagogy Award from the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The national award, which has always gone before to just one university, recognizes innovative teaching in the field of entrepreneurship.)

So students (and that means undergrads, graduate students, adult students, high school students, students of life), we want you! Learn more about high growth entrepreneurship. Test the waters with an idea through a business plan competition (check out IdeaLabs (info coming soon) and LaunchTown) or just devoting some time to an idea. Jump in to the myriad of opportunities across the region to learn more about starting up a company at the higher education institutions. Learn more about how JumpStart can support you by signing up to receive our email communications or reading the website. Jump off the high board. The region’s assets will help you swim.

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.

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.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could achieve all of the above in a single action? I know…I know…the “free money” thing first got your attention, but we can all agree that these are all important and good things. So, how do you do it? By using the various subsidized internship programs that are available to entrepreneurial technology companies in Northeast Ohio, that’s how.

Internships can benefit your company in a number of ways. First, employers have found that student interns can get a great deal of real work done at a very reasonable cost. The key is to define a task or set of tasks that the intern can immediately “dive into” and then provide guidance when they get stuck. When this happens, most employers have found that student interns typically exceed expectations. Interns are great for those jobs where you constantly say “yeah…we need to do that,” but you never do. 

Hiring a student intern can fill the talent pipeline for your company. When your company grows, you will need talent. An internship basically represents a “3 month interview” where you can judge whether a person fits your organization, while he or she can see how great it is to work in an exciting entrepreneurial company. Studies show that 65% of engineering internships and co-ops turn into job offers for full time employment. It’s the ultimate “try before you buy” for both parties.

Students today deal with the recurring dilemma of not being able to get the job because they “don’t have experience,” but cannot get the experience without getting the job. You can help invest in our youth by breaking this cycle, and having your company benefit as part of the deal.

Investing in our young people, those who are from Northeast Ohio as well as those who attend college in Northeast Ohio, is particularly important to our region. We have all heard about the “quiet crisis” and “brain drain” with regard to Northeast Ohio. Having the prospect of a good job in Northeast Ohio will keep our students here, and will ultimately make our region more vibrant and economically strong. 

“So what about that free money?” you ask. There are a number of subsidized internship programs for Northeast Ohio technology entrepreneurial companies that will help pay for the interns you should hire anyway:

• Third Frontier Internship Program - This program subsidizes interns from  Ohio universities and colleges and Ohio students at other colleges and universities who are enrolled in scientific, mathematics, technology and engineering programs.
  • 50% subsidy of paid wages, up to $3000 per intern
  • For more information go to www.noche.org, http://thirdfrontierintern.ohio.gov or call the program manager, Halley Marsh, at (216) 420-9292 x234
• TechLift Business Internship Program - This program, generously sponsored by the GAR Foundation, subsidizes internships at entrepreneurial technology companies for Ohio students in business applications.
  • Special consideration given to students, companies and colleges in the Summit County area
  • 50% subsidy of paid wages, up to $3000 per intern
  • For more information go to www.noche.org or contact the program manager, Halley Marsh, at hmarsh@noche.org
• Purdue University/TechLift Interns for Entrepreneurship Program - This program, partially supported by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, subsidizes summer internships at TechLift Advisors-supported companies for Northeast Ohio students of any major attending Purdue University.
  • Subsidy up to 56% of paid wages
  • For more information, contact Kate Hanna with JumpStart at kate.hanna@jumpstartinc.org

So what are you waiting for? Design an internship and sign up for one ASAP. It’s a “win, win, win, win, win” proposition!

Chris Mather is President, JumpStart Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. Previously, he managed a number of technology initiatives in Northeast Ohio for NorTech. Before entering the economic development world, Chris ran a number of technology companies in Northeast Ohio and New England, including Ion Optics Inc., where he raised $6.7 million in venture capital, and Apsco Inc. and Gould Instrument Systems. Prior to that, he spent 13 years in sales, marketing and management roles with Hewlett Packard after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Electrical Engineering.

Yesterday The Burton D. Morgan Foundation announced a $3M challenge grant to JumpStart, which will hopefully enable us to raise an additional $9M in support from public and private entities interested in JumpStart’s venture development model. These resources will enable JumpStart to continue to make a significant impact, helping hundreds of companies with their business goals and linking them to the capital they need to succeed. JumpStart intends to invest in dozens of Northeast Ohio companies each year that have the promise to attract significant follow-on resources down the road. For more on this grant, see the Plain Dealer blog post.

Before I got involved in economic development at JumpStart, I had a chance to get to know Burt Morgan. He was an incredibly creative, insightful and outspoken entrepreneur. The Burton D. Morgan Foundation truly brings his vision of fostering the entrepreneurial spirit to life.

We are excited and grateful for the confidence that the Morgan Foundation has demonstrated in JumpStart with this challenge. We are also excited about the progress Northeast Ohio early-stage companies are making and the increased interest from national investors.

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.