TechGROWTH Ohio director discusses “new frontier” of economic development

TechGROWTH Ohio executive director Lynn Gellermann gave an interview on Spectrum News 1, discussing the development accelerator’s role in cultivating a new culture of entrepreneurial growth in Southeast Ohio.

TechGROWTH is a $52 million public-private partnership with Ohio University, Ohio Third Frontier and private investors, housed at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, that provides business advising, services and investments to regional technology startup companies and innovators.

In the segment, Gellermann explained some of the unique elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Appalachia, including ways in which startup companies like those incubated by TechGROWTH can benefit the workforce in counties with high rates of unemployment.

“We think we’ve built a really strong entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Gellermann said. “It is challenging in some ways to do this work in a rural setting as opposed to (Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati), but we think we’re onto something.”

Gellermann also discussed the value of TechGROWTH’s being a part of Ohio University and the way in which OHIO takes its economic leadership role in area seriously. He commended other university partners and initiatives, including the OHIO Innovation Center and the Ohio Innovation Fund, a partnership between OHIO and Ohio State University.

“Fortunately, (OHIO) takes its leadership role very seriously in the region of Appalachian Ohio,” Gellermann said. “It’s not a place where you have very many large corporations or others that are going to take that leadership position. So, for a decade and a half or more, Ohio University has really been the anchor of getting things started, including TechGROWTH.”

Visit Spectrum Local News to view the entire interview.