JumpStart: IdeaExchange Blog

If you’ve been paying attention lately, you’ve heard a lot about Issue 1 from us. That’s because we think it’s fantastic, as do the people you have elected as your Ohio House and Senate Representatives, among others. But, how often do you hear about an Ohio issue from someone in California? If you do, it must be good. Well, guess what - that’s what’s happening here. Third Frontier (the program that will be renewed if Issue 1 passes on May 4th) is getting attention across the nation, including The Huffington Post in California.

Don Reed says “Between now and May 4th, Ohioans will vote on Issue 1: a spectacular jobs program. It is an urgent reason to go to the polls: in person, or by absentee ballot…If I lived in Ohio, I would run, not walk, to the nearest computer - investigate the issue, maybe even get an absentee ballot, so I could vote early - and vote yes…Let us hope, that like another old saying, ‘As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.’”

Read the rest of his thoughts on the topic, including all the reasons he would vote yes. I couldn’t agree more!

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.

Recently, Rich Bendis, the former CEO of InnovationPhiladelphia and nationally renowned TBED (technology-based economic development) expert launched a daily news digest called Innovation Daily. You can find this digest here.

If you are someone who cares about anything related to global and national issues surrounding the topics of invention, commercialization, angel and/or venture capital, and public policy do yourself a favor and subscribe to this free service.

Rich has done an incredible job of aggregating news and stories that are relevant to his readers – I look forward to reading it everyday.

Happy Holidays and I wish you all the best in 2010!

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 do not envy anyone in State leadership today. The tsunami in our national economy which first hit Washington DC has now come to Columbus.

Since the state of Ohio, from a constitutional perspective, cannot have a bi-annual budget deficit, now is the time for some very hard decisions. No matter what the final decisions are, all of us are going to feel real, significant financial pain, or at least real disappointment.

Every decision has significant pro’s and con’s — spending cuts, increased taxes, gambling. The fact is there are no perfect solutions to help Ohio move easily forward.

Press clippings that speak to this challenge include: Columbus Dispatch, Dire costs to fixing budget hole, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Both parties in the state budget debate fear decisions that could leave them vulnerable to campaign attacks, and Akron Beacon Journal, Closing Ohio budget gap would be painful.

Now is the time where government leadership really counts and while the decisions have not been made to date — but will be made by June 30th — I have to say that I have been impressed by the leadership in the State across the board.

Like it or not, these decisions and their impact on Ohio’s future may very well be the most important decisions in our lifetime.

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.