NEOinc announced that the Beachwood Business Development Center has been accepted as an affiliate member of NEOinc.  “Affiliating Beachwood with the NEOinc family of incubators will strengthen the entrepreneurial support network in northeast Ohio,” says Wayne Zeman, Chair of NEOinc and Vice President of Venture Development for MAGNET.

The Beachwood Business Development Center is an accelerator for technology-based local and international businesses, providing space, administrative support and technical assistance to help early stage businesses achieve economic self-sufficiency.  It operates in partnership with the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce, the City of Beachwood and Cleveland State University’s Nance College of Business Administration.  Since forming four years ago, the BBDC has attracted over 30 firms from the U.S. and six other countries.  Together those firms have raised over $81 million in equity capital, employed 326 worldwide as of the end of 2008, and house 30 employees today within the BBDC alone.

“We are proud to be included with the other NEOinc technology incubators,” said Vince Adamus, CEO of the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce.  “Many of our client entrepreneurs are on the verge of developing revenue for their innovative services and devices, and their talents and capital add great value to Northeast Ohio.  Participation in NEOinc will allow us to more formally collaborate with the other NEOinc members to the benefit of all of our clients and the region.”

About NEOinc

The Northeast Ohio Incubator Collaborative (NEOinc) provides coordinated services to entrepreneurs desiring to start technology-oriented businesses in the 21 counties of NE Ohio.  It was formed by the Edison funded incubators in NE Ohio; namely The Akron Global Business Accelerator, Braintree Business Development Center in Mansfield, the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) in Lorain County, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) Incubator in Cuyahoga County, and the Youngstown Business Incubator.  It now includes the Beachwood Business Development Center.  Individually each of these incubators provide high quality managerial and facility services to entrepreneurs including business concept assessment and coaching, links to appropriate sources of funding, links to business specialist resources like attorneys and accountants, and flexible lease terms on low cost office, lab and manufacturing space.  Collectively, the NEOinc incubators serve as a front door “entry point” into the entrepreneurial support network which exists across the region.  Through a recognized point of contact with one of the NEOinc incubators, entrepreneurs of all types throughout the entire NE Ohio region will either be served directly or referred to the most appropriate other support entities.

For more information call Wayne Zeman of MAGNET at 216-432-4197 or Mike LeHere of the Akron Global Business Accelerator at 330-375-2173.