NorTech has released its annual Northeast Ohio High-Tech Economy Brief (pdf), which analyzes performance of the region’s technology economy. The Brief also compares Northeast Ohio to the remainder of Ohio, the Midwest and the U.S. from the perspective of employment, output, productivity and average wages in high-tech industries in 2008.

Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech said of the report:

The data reinforce the importance of Northeast Ohio’s technology industries to our region’s economy and its workforce.  It also shows that Northeast Ohio is continuing to transition to a more diversified economy driven by growth in our high-tech industries. However, this type of transition takes time. As our economy begins to recover from the recent recession, now is the time for the public and private sectors to accelerate investments to keep momentum moving forward.

Download/View the Northeast Ohio High-Tech Economy Brief

OK….that was pretty cool.

On the heels of our ten-page spread in the May edition of  Inc. Magazine, a crew from the British Broadcasting Corporation was in town this past Sunday and Monday filming interviews.

They want to do a story for BBC America on the New Youngstown, the Youngstown Business Incubator, and the technology park we are building. As their Executive Producer said, “The BBC is interested in showing that world-class innovation can surprisingly come from the most unlikely of places”.

Celebrate the surprisingly New Youngstown.

The world is watching.

Jim Cossler

CEO & Chief Evangelist
Youngstown Business Incubator

The Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) has named Dr. Cynthia Anderson to its Board of Directors.  Dr. Anderson was recently named the seventh president of Youngstown State University (YSU).

“YBI’s success in fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation is at the center of Youngstown’s rebirth,” said Cynthia E. Anderson, president-designate at Youngstown State University. “I look forward to working with YBI and its Board in building on that momentum and making Youngstown and Youngstown State University a nationally-renowned center of technology and innovation.”

“YBI is honored that Dr. Anderson is joining its Board,” states Garry Mrozek, chairman of YBI’s Board of Directors.  “YBI and YSU have developed several innovative entrepreneurial initiatives that are catalyzing technology-driven economic development in the Mahoning Valley and we look forward to future collaborations.”

Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in business education from YSU, a master’s degree in business education from Ohio State University and an Ed.D. in education administration from the University of Akron.   Her professional experience includes teaching high school business education at Westerville South High School, holding the position of vice president for Student Affairs at Youngstown State University for the past 15 years, working as assistant provost for academic planning and for the last 10 years serving as a marketing instructor at YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration.

Akron Global Business Accelerator client Knotice recently was awarded a 2010 Excellence in Business award by the Greater Akron Chamber.

Knotice delivers direct digital marketing software solutions to marketers across a variety of industries. Direct digital marketing is interactive marketing that is “addressable,” having the ability to identify the recipient of a marketing message. Knotice is working to change the way online marketers conduct programs to help them grow revenue, reduce cost and provide their customers with meaningful and relevant online experiences.

Congratulations Knotice!

Summit Data Communications – AGBA Client

For the second time in three years, the National Business Incubation Association has selected Summit Data Communications as a finalist for Outstanding Incubator Client in the Technology Category. The NBIA advances business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, the NBIA Incubation Awards honor business incubation programs and client companies that exemplify the best of the industry.

Summit is a client of the Akron Global Business Accelerator in Akron, Ohio, which won the NBIA’s Incubator Innovation Award in 2008. For four years, the Akron incubator’s mentoring and business assistance have helped Summit establish and maintain a healthy business.

Summit also has been named as a recipient of a Crain’s EDGE Award. EDGE is an organization that enhances economic development in Northeast Ohio through innovation and entrepreneurship. EDGE helps value-creating companies succeed though education, innovation, and relationship-building, while cultivating a culture that is supportive of entrepreneurial ventures. An EDGE metric identifies the Northeast Ohio companies that are creating the most value for themselves and their communities.

“Northeast Ohio is our home, and we are dedicated to creating value here,” said Chris Bolinger, Summit’s VP of Sales and Marketing. “By providing market-leading products and high service levels to a worldwide customer base, we are creating rewarding jobs not just at Summit but at partner companies in our region.”

Last year, in the teeth of the recession, Summit increased staff by 30%. This year, Summit is continuing to grow by addressing customer requirements for reliable and secure Wi-Fi connectivity in challenging environments around the world.

Syncro Medical Innovations – YBI

Add yet one more “award winning” company to YBI’s portfolio.

Congratulations to the entire Syncro Medical Innovations team for being named one of just three statewide finalists for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award.

Syncro was honored for their groundbreaking research that resulted in Blue Tube™, a cutting-edge enteral feeding tube that is rapidly guided to proper placement by external magnets.

To  learn more about this wonderful life saving medical innovation, visit www.syncromedical.com.

Are you or is someone you know looking for funding to develop a new product?

If so, the Cuyahoga County New Product Development Loan Program, administered by MAGNET, has low interest loan funding available to help small businesses or entrepreneurs bring their ideas to reality.

A funding round is now open. Completed applications will be accepted until Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

The application process has recently changed.  Please visit http://www.magnetwork.org/programs/county_loan.htm for more specific program information and instructions on how to submit an application.

Funding is available to small businesses or entrepreneurs with prior year sales of less than $50 million who have an idea to develop a new product that will be manufactured in Cuyahoga County for at least 7 years.

The application process is competitive.  Applicants will have their submissions reviewed and approved by a committee consisting of local business leaders, venture capitalist, designers, and entrepreneurs.   Loans are made in phased increments ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 depending upon how much development has already been completed and what remains to be done.  Funds can be used for activities such as market research, patent services, industrial design, engineering and prototyping efforts.

The loans are 10 year loans.  They are interest and payment free for the first three years after disbursement.  The loan balance is then amortized over the remaining seven years of the loan (at an interest rate of 3.5%), during which time monthly payments of principal and interest are due.

Full details of the program are available at http://www.magnetwork.org/programs/county_loan.htm.  If you have further questions, please contact Barbara Paul at 216-432-5322 or barbara.paul@magnetwork.org.

VADXX Energy LLC, recently received a $75,000 state grant to turn old tires into synthetic crude oil.  Turning scrap tires and rubber into synthetic crude has long been one of the holy grails in the energy industry.   Guess what?  VADXX is doing it right here in Northeast Ohio.  Keep your eye on this company.

Read the full story here on Ohio.com.

There are two words that are music to the ears of a startup company trying to take an advanced technology offering to market.

Reseller agreement.

Ladies and Gentlemen, strike up the band! Bruker-AXS, lead division of the Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR), a worldwide provider of high-performance scientific instrumentation with 90 business locations on all continents, has entered into an agreement to globally resell YBI portfolio company Zethus Software’s cumulus::CyberLab, a product that allows for secure, resilient, collaborative, remote use of instrumentation and the associated data collected.

CyberLab was developed through a federal grant secured by Representative Tim Ryan from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

The two words that describe the anticipated results of this worldwide collaboration between Zethus and Bruker?

Jaw dropping.

Jim Cossler
CEO and Chief Evangelist
Youngstown Business Incubator
330.884.6262
www.ybi.org

As reported on Recordpub.com, Vadxx Energy LLC, a regional startup supported by two NEOinc incubators (AGBA and MAGNET), is exploring a public/private partnership with the Portage County Solid Waste Management District. The District and Vadxx are exploring a public-private partnership to turn plastics into fuel, with the district supplying the raw material and capital and Vadxx operating a pilot plant at the recycling center site on Mogadore Road. Portage County’s is the largest publicly-owned recycling operation in the state, said director William Steiner.

Vadxx Energy LLC, who are developing a process to take plastic refuse and other petroleum-based waste and turn it back into synthetic crude oil and natural gas, also had an opportunity to overview their technology to the Governor, who saw “no downside” to the proposed partnership, where the District and Vadxx would share profits.

University Hospitals Case Medical Center has spun off Fluence Therapeutics Inc., licensing to the company photodynamic therapy technology for the treatment of psoriasis and other skin diseases, according to MedCity News:

It’s the first time the Cleveland medical center has made a pre-seed investment in a start-up company, according to the center’s release. Fluence Therapeutics is housed at the Akron Global Business Accelerator, which is part of the city’s Biomedical Corridor District.

Cleveland attorney and entrepreneur Warren Goldenberg has become Fluence Therapeutics’ founding chief executive, said Stephen Behm, technology management director at the Center for Clinical Research and Technology UH Case Medical Center. “He has a successful track record with early stage companies,”  including CardioInsight and Imalux, that were developed at Case or University Hospitals, Behm said in the release.

Read the entire article on the MedCity News site.