Just about every entrepreneur is looking for funding for their startup; this is particularly true for technology companies.  Republished here with permission from the author (The Tech Czar himself), is a great recap of economic incentives for the high tech sector.  From the city level to the state, whether it’s tax credits or loan funds, the information below is a wide-ranging snapshot of incentive options for your high-tech startup. A big thanks to Michael and LNE for pulling this together.

NEOinc would add to the list to include the Innovation Loan Fund at Lorain County Community College (grants up to 25K, loans up to 100K), and the Cuyahoga County New Product Development Fund, administered by MAGNET (loans up to 60K).

Without further ado - on to the incentives. Continued

Cleveland sports may not be working out the way we had hoped here in early June, but the economic development activities in our region certainly seem to be bearing fruit.

At the Team NEO Economic Development Impact Awards last week, ten awards were handed out recognizing various organizations and initiatives for their positive economic impact our our region.  Here’s a recap of the winners in the various categories:

• Asset Creation: Akron’s BioInnovation Institute
• Business Attraction: Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber
• Business Expansion: Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.
• Business Retention: City of Akron, Greater Akron Chamber, County of Summit, Summit County Port Authority
• Foreign Investment: Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County
• Fostering Entrepreneurship: Lorain County Community College Foundation
• Marketing Cleveland Plus: Cohen & Co.
• Minority Business Development: City of Lakewood & LakewoodAlive
• Public-Private Partnership: Maple Street Commerce LLC. City of North Canton, and Stark Development Board
• Workforce Development: Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Center of Cuyahoga Community College

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It’s mid-May and Cleveland basketball is still being played, so “positive change” is definitely underway! Here’s two eight more “W’s”!

After a couple months that were a bit light on the positive news, there was lots to choose from in April.  What was maybe most surprising were many articles about significant capital and job influxes coming into Ohio and Northeast Ohio.  250 jobs here, $14M of investment there, and all of a sudden things aren’t looking so bad after all.

Lastly, if you are a entrepreneur looking for funding for a product-based business, you have until Noon, Friday the 15th to take advantage of the Cuyahoga County New Product Development and Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, administered by MAGNET.  Long term, low interest loans of $15K, $40K and $60K are available through this competitive program.  Details, documents and contacts are all available online.

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Do you need funding to help develop a new product or know someone who does?  If so, MAGNET has loan funding that helps entrepreneurs or small businesses bring their ideas to reality.

MAGNET administers the New Product Development and Entrepreneurship Program, Product Innovation Loan Fund on behalf of the Cuyahoga County Department of Development.  In the last four years, the fund has provided over $3.5 million for new product development in NE Ohio and $500,000 in additional funds are now available.  Results of the program have been outstanding with loan recipients attracting over $18 million in additional investment, generating almost $9 million in revenue through the sales of over 330,000 product units, and creating 124 jobs.

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Maybe it’s the Cavs, maybe it’s the Spring weather (come on, it was just two days of snow), but things are starting to feel like they’re looking up.  With a two week Wall Street rally and the beginnings of optimism, perhaps the worst is behind us.

While the entrepreneurial spirit continues to run high and NEOinc incubators have seen no shortage of innovation over the winter, we would particularly like to recognize the growing student entrepreneur movement.  Colleges and universities throughout NE Ohio are embracing entrepreneurship through education, programs and competitions.  NEOinc, along with it’s partners, continues to be impressed by the quality of the business concepts and the professionalism of the students.

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Reports from Indians training camp on the news…  “Intriguing” Brown’s trade rumors…  Cav’s are headed (positive thinking) to the NBA Finals…

All three can only mean one thing: Spring is just around the corner.  While NE Ohio weather supports this notion one day, and denies it the next, both the calendar and the sports report confirm that Opening Day, an NBA title and daffodils can’t be too far away!  So in that spirit of rebirth, growth, and a little positive thinking, we offer the February positive change recap.

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Happy New Year!

…and “good riddance” to 2008 many are saying.  While there’s little comfort in the uncertainty before us, the symbolism of a fresh start associated with the new year was certainly welcome.  Granted, even our rose-colored glasses are becoming a bit tarnished these days, and the recap seems to get shorter every month, but there are bright spots and individuals, organizations, and officials trying to head us in the right direction.  The foundation they are building will set us up for greater success not if, but when the recovery happens.

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If you’ve been on the NEOinc site lately, you probably noticed our new addition: a Regional Entrepreneurial Calendar.

Any page you are on, whether it’s the home page or a blog post, will have the next five upcoming events listed in an “Upcoming Events” window on the left-hand side.  The full calendar can be viewed on it’s own page, accessible from the top menu.  The calendar is fully interactive and offers a number of ways to interact with both the calendar and individual events.  We think you’ll find two aspects of the calendar particularly useful:

1. The calendar has it’s own RSS feed.  Subscribe to the feed and you’ll automatically get updates in your feed reader whenever we add events to the calendar.
2. You can easily add events of interest to your own personal calendar.  When viewing the calendar, simply check the box next to the event you are interested in, then click the “Add to my Calendar” button at the top of the calendar.   Multiple calendar formats are supported, including Outlook, Yahoo and Google.

NEOinc would like to thank MAGNET for hosting the calendar.  It is actually a subset of MAGNET’s comprehensive Regional Datebook, listing events of interest from around the region.

While NEOinc member incubators regularly host events of interest to entrepreneurs, we know our events are just the tip of the iceberg.  If you have an event of interest to entrepeneurs, and would like it included in the NEOinc Regional Entrepreneurial Calendar, send details of your event to:

Lynne Brakeman (MAGNET)
lynne.brakeman@magnetwork.org

Please include as much detail as possible about your event, making sure to include the event’s contact person, website and registration link (if available).

NEOinc is pleased to provide this calendar of events to our region’s entrepreneurs, partners and support organizations.  We hope you find it valuable and take the time to contribute your events.

I think it’s fair to say that no one was particularly upset bidding farewell to 2008.  What a year!

The winds of change are blowing however, and NEOinc continues to see positive entrepreneurial activity throughout the region.   Incoming requests for assistance for all our member incubators remains strong.  Cuyahoga County kicked off a new support program for high potential technology startups.   VC and investment activity is still strong, albeit perhaps a bit more cautious, with most investors telling us to continue bringing them good opportunities.

So while the list of news items below is perhaps not as long as usual, NEOinc and all it’s partner organizations remain very optimistic about the state of Northeast Ohio entrepreneurship.

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Between the temperature drop and the snow on the ground it’s safe to say our Indian Summer is over and we are making the turn toward winter.  NEOinc wishes you and yours a safe, healthy and joyous holiday season.

The current economic climate is challenging to say the least, and positive news, let alone positive change, has been in scarcer supply than months past.  However, it is said “you find what you look for” and there are still plenty of bright spots to report this month.  In particular, a number of regional entrepreneurs either launched their businesses or received significant funding. 

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