Entrepreneurial Connection

ENTREPRENEURIAL CONNECTION A NORTHEAST OHIO NETWORK COMMITTED TO STARTUP SUCCESS

THE JUMPSTART ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORK

accelerates the

successes of diverse, high growth Northeast Ohio entrepreneurial early stage companies by providing seed capital, space and advice, and helping these promising firms access and leverage the right resources at the right time in their development.

entrepreneurs start here: jumpstartnetwork.org

“ManuscriptTracker would never have gotten off the ground without people who have been extremely supportive, giving me advice and connecting me to resources.”

Brian Boyer | ManuscriptTracker

WHAT IS THE NETWORK? The Network is a formal group of entrepreneurial support resources that are located across the 21 counties of Northeast Ohio. These partners work together to provide efficient, complementary and costeffective support to the region’s promising high growth firms.

The members of this Network fall into several major categories: •incubators and accelerators •investors in early stage opportunities •entrepreneurial education programs •innovation-focused research foundations •other sector-specific entrepreneurial support organizations

WHO DOES THE NETWORK HELP? The Network helps early stage Northeast Ohio companies in high growth sectors such as healthcare, IT and cleantech, mainly by providing funding and/or significant high-impact business assistance. These growing businesses may have received lowcost or no-cost services including (but not limited to) help accessing capital, recruiting and hiring a key team member, signing an early customer, developing their board or even creating marketing materials.

NETWORK PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS The business incubator provides affordable lab, manufacturing and office space (as well as technical, administrative and professional services) to biomedical, IT, advanced materials and advanced energy companies. akronaccelerator.com

As part of its efforts to support, educate and champion manufacturing, MAGNET provides a comprehensive package of business assistance services to support the growth of companies and significantly shorten the time it takes them to get to market. magnetwork.org

The regional forum introduces angel Akron Regional Change Angels investors to promising technology companies, with a particular focus on those leveraging the region’s strengths in healthcare, IT, polymers and advanced materials. uakron.edu/archangels

JumpStart provides critical support (such as mentoring, investment, talent attraction and marketing) and connections to diverse, early-stage entrepreneurial companies in order to accelerate their growth. jumpstartinc.org

This collaboration between hospitals, higher education institutions and funders accelerates translational research to biomedical commercialization, focuses on education initiatives, and improves access, prevention, treatment and disease management. abiakron.org

THE JUMPSTART HIGHER EDUCATION COLLABORATION COUNCIL This organized collaboration of 22 Northeast Ohio-based higher education institutions and community members connects these institutions to their communities, JumpStart and the Northeast Ohio entrepreneurial community.

This business formation, recruitment and acceleration initiative provides management, networking and funding assistance to help Northeast Ohio healthcare companies grow and commercialize bioscience technologies. bioenterprise.com

Through a combination of a customer-centric curriculum, mentoring, business development and investment, the LaunchHouse Accelerator program helps promising tech startups in software, mobile apps and hardware/robotics achieve success. launchhouse.com

The nonprofit accelerator helps launch and grow innovative, scalable web- or tech-based startups via a combination of mentoring, networking and funding. bizdom.com

The organization stimulates the development of regional innovation clusters in advanced energy and flexible electronics by designing growth strategies with government policy leaders, and building relationships among cluster members to foster funding, research and business opportunities. nortech.org

The 75,000-square-foot technology incubation and entrepreneurship facility gets business ideas headed in a profitable direction by providing access to a variety of resources—including low-cost collaborative spaces, mentoring, funding and business assistance. braintreepartners.org A comprehensive regional innovation center, resource hub and business incubator, GLIDE offers assistance across the entire business development continuum, from idea assessments and educational resources to access to capital. glideit.org

A contributed capital and “sidecar” pre-seed investment fund, North Coast Angel Fund focuses on young tech companies with significant growth potential in the biosciences, advanced materials, information technology and energy industries. northcoastangelfund.com

The University is committed to active engagement and support of innovation, technology development and entrepreneurial activities, including technology commercialization in the biomedical industry and an enriched biomedical incubator. neomed.edu This nonprofit institute enhances the state’s aerospace competitiveness by fostering research and technology development, and bringing together the best companies, universities and government entities for collaborative research, technology development and commercialization projects. oai.org The research arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, OARDC works with government and industry leaders to capture and grow the agricultural biosciences sector and to transform research into new business ventures and jobs. oardc.ohio-state.edu The mixed-use facility cultivates research and technical potential, with the overarching goal of developing and commercializing early stage cleantech, energy and natural resource technologies. tbeic.org This nonprofit entrepreneurial center and business incubator supports the development of commercially viable business-to-business (B2B) software companies and other compelling technologies by offering support, education and space to entrepreneurs. techudson.org The nonprofit University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF) aids technologybased economic development by supporting and commercializing university research. uakron.edu/research/uarf.dot The incubator helps accelerate emerging businesses—specifically information technology and B2B software—by providing an array of critical development resources, including facilities, equipment, entrepreneurial counseling and networking opportunities. ybi.org

THE NETWORK’S IMPACT

$

1.5B

cumulative risk capital raised by client companies to-date

2,568 direct jobs created and retained by client companies

SELECT NETWORK CLIENTS

The BoxCast video-sharing broadcast box allows anyone with a video camera to conveniently stream live video through websites, email, Twitter and Facebook. boxcast.com •BoxCast received an Innovation Fund award, a Cuyahoga County North Coast Opportunities Fund loan and MPAcT grant from MAGNET; the latter enabled the company to manufacture its video-sharing broadcast box more easily and cost-effectively.

power systems $

128M

cumulative revenue generated by client companies in 2013

Echogen Power Systems develops and manufactures an engine that recovers thermal energy from a wide variety of sources and transforms it into usable energy. echogen.com •Echogen launched in the Akron Global Business Accelerator and received both funding and assistance from JumpStart.

824 clients that have received significant business assistance

30% companies receiving assistance that are minority- or women-owned

Renter’s BOOM is an innovative online solution that connects property managers with potential tenants using socially integrated leasing. rentersboom.com •JumpStart and MAGNET client Renter’s BOOM (which is also a Bizdom portfolio company) received a Tech Sprout grant through the Braintree Business Development Center and an Innovation Fund award.

Pre-Seed and Seed Funds

Funding Partner

Akron BioInvestments Funds Alliance Startup Fund Appleseed Microfinance Barberton Growth Fund

Incubators and Accelerators Ohio Third Frontier is an

Canton Entrepreneur Launch

Akron Global Business Accelerator

Cuyahoga County North Coast Opportunities Fund

BioEnterprise

Glengary LLC

Bizdom

Innovation Fund,

Braintree Business Development Center

Founded by the Lorain County Community College Foundation

JumpStart Evergreen Fund

Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE)

Tech Sprout

JumpStart Inc.

Wooster Opportunity Loan Fund

Other Service Providers ARCHAngels Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron IdeaCrossing NorTech

LaunchHouse

Venture Capital and Angel Funds Concept Capital North Coast Angel Fund

Northeast Ohio Medical University

TECHudson The Incubator at MAGNET Youngstown Business Incubator

Educators The JumpStart Higher Education Collaboration Council

Ohio Aerospace Institute Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center

internationally recognized $2.3 billion technology-based economic development initiative.

It supports existing industries that are transforming themselves with new, globally competitive products and fostering the formation and attraction of new companies in emerging industry sectors. Ohio Third Frontier provides funding to Ohio technology-based companies, universities, nonprofit research institutions and other organizations to create new products, companies, industries and jobs.

University of Akron Research Foundation

NETWORK-AFFILIATED REGIONAL FUNDS CAPITAL SOURCE

AMOUNT

TYPE OF FUNDING

GEOGRAPHICAL REQUIREMENTS

Akron BioInvestments Fund (Rapid Commercialization Loan Fund)

up to $250,000

loan (convertible note or equity)

City of Akron

Alliance Startup Fund

up to $35,000

low-interest loan

City of Alliance

Appleseed Microfinance

$1,000-$35,000

loan

Northeast Ohio

Barberton Growth fund

up to $50,000

low-interest loan

City of Barberton

Canton Entrepreneur Launch

up to $250,000

convertible note or equity

City of Canton

Cuyahoga County North Coast Opportunities Fund

$25,000-$125,000

low-interest loan

Cuyahoga County

Innovation Fund of Lorain County Community College Foundation

up to $100,000

Series A grant, Series B loan

Northeast Ohio

JumpStart Evergreen Fund

up to $250,000

convertible note

Northeast Ohio

Tech Sprout

up to $2,000 for NE Ohio up to $6,000 for Braintree tenants

micro-grant

Northeast Ohio

Wooster Opportunity Loan Fund

up to $100,000

low-interest loan

Wayne County