TechGROWTH Ohio:
A little help goes a long way
By Samantha Pirc
Southeast Ohio may not be the first place that comes to the minds of adventurous entrepreneurs with a business plan, but one program is working to change that. TechGROWTH Ohio connects early-stage, technologically innovative companies with the tools for growth and sources of capital needed to get up and running.
Located at the Ohio University Voinovich School, TGO helps companies by offering everything from expert human resources to business consulting advice, and procuring investors or capital required to get a product to market. It is one of six programs receiving funding from the Ohio Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Signature Program Initiative working to create a culture of support for entrepreneurs and an infrastructure for business investments in different regions of Ohio.
"We are always looking for entrepreneurs," says TGO Director John Glazer. "If there are Ohio grads out there developing new technology, this is a call to action for them to come home."
TGO has invested nearly $1 million in three companies, and has assisted more than 30 clients with $2.3 million in grants and services. These investments have helped area companies generate nearly $20 million in additional economic activity, including co-investments, loans, grants and sales. TGO targets seed-stage technology companies in sectors including, but not limited to, interactive digital technologies, alternative energy, bioscience and bioagriculture.
The diversity of the companies receiving assistance shows the range of ingenuity and innovation embodied by local entrepreneurs. With TGO’s backing, Third Sun has become the area's leading provider of clean energy systems for homes and businesses, and Toobla founders Bob Falcone and Jake Saxbe are developing a Web site for saving and sharing Internet content through visual bookmarks.
By partnering with different organizations, agencies, economic development professionals and regional leaders such as David Wilhelm, TGO has created a network of support for entrepreneurial activity. Wilhelm worked closely with Lynn Gellermann (also of Adena Ventures), Mark Weinberg of the Voinovich School and David Wight at the university’s Edison Biotechnology Institute to bring together the initial concept of a partnership for the application and secure the grant.
TGO partners also include Ohio State University South Centers, East Central Ohio Tech Angel Fund, WesBanco, the Muskingum County Business Incubator and the university’s Innovation Center.
The impact that TGO has on the area is two-fold: It transforms it into a region that is conducive to entrepreneurial enterprises while simultaneously creating jobs, says Gellermann, TGO's new executive director. "Our goal is to create new companies around new technologies and to help build the next generation of employers," he says.
Posted 12-15-2009
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