From our first humble days with only one employee, through a very quick ramp up to a fully staffed office, and ending in third quarter 2009, Rocket Venture’s clients have received almost $28M in investment, grants, sales, licensing agreements, and joint development efforts.  That’s not just a couple of “lucky” entrepreneurs – that number represents the success of twenty-six different early-stage companies!  That doesn’t count any money from the State of Ohio, either, such as grants from the Alternative Energy Program.  We only measure how much “New” money comes into these Ohio businesses.  It also doesn’t include other deals in the works, which we expect will dramatically increase that total.

Why is this important and what should it mean to you?  Well, if you are an entrepreneur with a technology idea, it means that we have a proven track record of success and you should talk to us to see if we can help you.  If you are looking to relocate a business, it means that Northwest Ohio is on the upswing and will continue to be a great place to be based.  If you are a tax-payer, it means that we have taken $5.5M of a Third Frontier bond issuance and leveraged a 5.1 return.

Even though these are great numbers, some of the impact on Northwest Ohio is a little tougher to see.  We are accustomed to hearing about “new jobs” and large existing companies moving here from out of the area.  We don’t often hear about or think about how companies get started and what needs to happen before an entrepreneur can even hire the first person.  But that is what Ohio’s Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Signature Program is designed to do – help position companies for that initial step and continued growth.  We are taking the lessons from the start of the glass industry in Toledo, the auto industry in Michigan, and more recently personal computer industry in Seattle in order to apply them here today.  We are creating industries from small groups of related technologies.  Those industries will take hold, grow, expand, and grow some more.  It will take some time to see the full effects of our efforts today, but the point is that these numbers indicate we are on the right track. 

Craig Ortega
Program Manager

Tags: Add new tag, Economic Development, Money, ODOD, Ohio, Starting a business, Strategy, Technology, Third Frontier Posted in Current Ventures, News, Ohio, Technology | Comments Off

Since their inception in 2008, Rocket Ventures and Launch, programs of the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), have prioritized the need to communicate their services to entrepreneurs and technology-based startup companies across Northwest Ohio. Through proactive outreach efforts, both Rocket Ventures and Launch have reached more than 6,000 people. This year alone, these programs have reported more than 300 inquiries among potential clients.

Yet, we also understand that this ongoing awareness campaign for Rocket Ventures and Launch is still relatively new and there are many people still unaware of our $22.5 million venture capital fund and the services it provides.

As evidence, in the Nov. 1 issue of Toledo Free Press, a print advertisement criticizing economic development efforts in Toledo claimed that local agencies cannot directly help small businesses because such assistance is tied to bank financing, and there are currently no loans being offered. The advertisement also named the RGP as one of a handful of taxpayer-funded entities which have produced no results.

As part of the RGP’s continuing education and awareness campaign, I will clarify a couple points in order to provide a better understanding of our organization.

First, the RGP is a privately funded entity, which does not receive local taxpayer dollars. In 2005, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce spearheaded a funding campaign to privatize the RGP which cut us free from local tax money and strengthened our standing with national site consultants.

Secondly, Rocket Ventures does invest in early-stage companies that have strong potential in the northwest Ohio marketplace, primarily in bioscience, alternative energy and advanced manufacturing. So far, the program has awarded 26 development grants exceeding $1.24 million to early-stage companies. In addition, Rocket Ventures has made nine pre-seed investments of more than $3.6 million.

These grants and investments, along with the support of Launch, have helped in the commercialization of 60 new startup companies in northwest Ohio since the start of 2008. Our goal through Rocket Ventures is to commercialize 100 new startups by the end of 2010.

Moving forward, we will continue in our efforts to promote the many opportunities for technology entrepreneurs through our Rocket Ventures and Launch programs. We understand that a successful awareness campaign will ultimately generate greater deal flow, which means the commercialization of great technology into our marketplace. The end result will be a diverse and growing economy, greater investment in the region, and new high-paying jobs.

I encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about the Regional Growth Partnership as well as our Rocket Ventures and Launch technology program to contact me at (419) 252-2700 Ext. 307, or at weathers@rgp.org.