JumpStart: IdeaExchange Blog

One of the more commonly used acronyms in today’s business development arena is the term TBED or “Technology Based Economic Development”. In short, TBED efforts seek to identify and commercialize new technologies that have the potential to become significant new businesses which in turn help to revitalize regional economies, create new jobs, regain our country’s competitive advantage, etc. The challenge with most TBED efforts is that they generally fail to fully engage the broader community – particularly the historically underserved populations of minority groups and women. While I have seen a noticeable increase in the involvement of women (though clearly there is more work to be done) - led by such organizations as Springboard Enterprises, Phenomenelle Angels, and Golden Seeds LLC., to name a few; minority populations remain significantly underrepresented. Given the documented realities of our shifting national population trends which call for ethnic minorities to represent roughly half of our nation’s population over the next 20+ years, we can no longer afford to not fully engage all members of our community in TBED activities.

As significant TBED resources are invested in our nation’s colleges and universities to help commercialize new technologies, a few areas that our academic institutions can consider include:

• Hiring more diverse professors in Science, Chemistry, Biology, etc.
• Working closer with minority and women focused economic development organizations to form more structured partnerships
• Working with minority executive recruiters to identify top management talent for new ventures
• Connecting with such national organizations as:
  • The PhD Project, an organization focused on driving more minority professionals to doctoral programs and business schools - www.phdproject.org
  • National Association of Blacks in Bio - www.nab-bio.org
  • American Association of Blacks in Energy - www.aabe.org
  • Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership - www.httponline.org
  • New America Alliance – www.naaonline.org
  • TiE, Inc. - www.tie.org

As for the host of other TBED organizations in our regional and national community, we simply must do a better job of engaging and connecting with diverse populations. Information dissemination is critical. To ensure that opportunities are being effectively communicated and reaching non-traditional audiences, TBED organizations must adopt new and creative methods of sharing information through diverse media channels and outlets, forming new collaborations with leading minority and women focused organizations, and investing the necessary time and resources to ensure that the connections actually happen and are sustained.

It’s time for new and innovative collaborations to spring up whereby budding new concepts such as TBED are commonly known and embraced by all citizens in our increasingly diverse community.

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.

I just read a copy of the Global Detroit Study, which “revealed the important role that the foreign born play in transitioning our region’s struggling auto manufacturing economy into to the New Economy”. This wasn’t a surprising conclusion given the facts revealed in the study, by the NVCA, and in Richard Herman’s book “Immigrants Inc.”:

• Foreign born people comprise only 12.5% of the U.S. population but possess half of all new Ph.D.s in engineering.
• Foreign born people account for 45% of all new Ph.D.s in life sciences, physical sciences, and computer sciences; and 40% of all new masters degrees in computer sciences, physical sciences and engineering.
• In the workplace, 24% of all scientists and engineers with bachelor’s degrees are foreign born and 47% of all scientists and engineers with doctorate degrees are foreign born. One quarter of all practicing physicians in the U.S. are foreign born.
• Foreign born people are 1.8x more likely to start a business than those born in the U.S.
• Over 50% of tech companies in Silicon Valley have a foreign born founder (including Google, Yahoo, Intel, PayPal, Sun Microsystems, and YouTube).
• Foreign born inventors apply for around 35% of international patent applications filed within the U.S.
• Foreign born people founded 25% of all public venture backed companies in the U.S. between 1995 and 2005, and within the high tech arena, this ratio shot up to 40%.

This is not a new phenomenon; consider American history and the entrepreneurial legends of the past: DuPont, Pfizer, Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, and Diebold were all started by foreign born people. Even Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland before emigrating to the U.S. with his parents and becoming one of the most influential entrepreneurs and industrialists of his time.   

10% of JumpStart Ventures portfolio companies have been started by foreign-born entrepreneurs, including: Echogen Power Systems, Embrace Pet Insurance, Electron Database, CardioInsight, and Great Lakes Pharmaceuticals. All of these companies have been making tremendous progress, as we have been reporting through JumpStart Connect and other vehicles. The team at CardioInsight is a great example of many of the statistics demonstrated above: Ping Jia and Charu Ramanathan, two co-founders, were here getting PhDs from China and India, respectively. In the course of their research, they identified a technology with commercial potential, and have been working on growing the company since. CardioInsight has not only raised JumpStart Ventures money, but also brought in a CEO to lead the company through the next stage of growth, one who has previously led exits in a similar space. Where is the CEO from? Canada.

We need more of these types of stories in Northeast Ohio, plain and simple. Whereas Northeast Ohio and particularly Cleveland grew into a leading city in the U.S. because of immigrants, the rate at which these people have come to the region has slowed dramatically in the last fifty years. Luckily, lots of people are worried about this and there are several initiatives around town to make Northeast Ohio more welcoming to immigrants. One that I find incredibly exciting is TiE Ohio, the Ohio Chapter of The International Entrepreneurs. A little over a week ago, the chapter featured a talk by Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita, the founder and CEO of 3 year old Quality Electrodynamics (QED), a company on Forbes’ 25 Most Promising Companies list with over 60 employees today. Dr. Fujita’s story is similar; he arrived at Case from Japan to get a PhD, incubated his company for two years while proving out his imaging technology, and since that time, has secured global customers such as Phillips and Siemens, leaders in the field of imaging and MRIs. This event was just an example of the activities TiE is leading in the region; in the fall, they will have the International Entrepreneur Awards, a business plan competition for entrepreneurs, more networking support, and most of all, mentoring opportunities. I want to see you at the next event.

Other ways you can get involved with this exciting Northeast Ohio community of foreign born entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurs-to-be? 

1. Engage with JumpStart’s Launch100 program to get help growing your early-stage business.
2. Sign up for Inside Inclusion and JumpStart Connect to hear the latest and greatest on everything related to entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio.
3. Hire an intern. There are a number of foreign-born students at local universities whose education and experience will benefit your company. Let me know if you are interested.
4. Share your stories with us so we can share them.

Any other ways I didn’t mention here? Let us know!

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.

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.

Raising investment capital for your business in any economic environment can be a very challenging endeavor. When there is significantly less available capital to go around, as well as minimal availability and access to credit, raising capital can seem all but impossible. Despite the challenges that the current economic environment brings, many entrepreneurs are still able to secure the investment capital that they need to grow their businesses by being flexible in adopting some new growth strategies, while remaining focused on a few time tested principles.

To borrow an old cliché that I think is appropriate: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Now is not the time to lick your wounds and bathe in a pity party. Rather it is the best time to refine and polish up your strategy, nurture key relationships, and continue to press forward with enthusiasm until your goal is achieved.

To learn more about how to succeed with investors in these challenging times, particularly for minority and women entrepreneurs who often have additional hurdles to overcome, please join me for a workshop in Youngstown on August 25th called, “Growing Your High Potential Company,” as we take a deep dive into proven strategies that (if adopted) can significantly increase your odds of success with investors. Go here for more information and registration details.

Perseverance under trial is how winners are created and champions are crowned. Dig in and continue to improve your game, and you too will weather the current storm.

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.