Head over to Ohio.com for the full story and details.

Congratulations to FMI and AGBA!

And a very high profile one at that.

Marv has now also agreed to serve as the Chief Scientist of the Case Connection Zone, Case Western Reserve University’s groundbreaking research program bringing gigabit fiber to the home, the first of its kind in the entire country. In this new capacity, Marv will coordinate the overall research agenda for the program as well as serve as a key public face for a project that has gained considerable national and international interest.

OK…so when Case Western Reserve University goes in search of a Chief Scientist for one of its nationally recognized, groundbreaking technology research programs, they find the person is already at the Youngstown Business Incubator.

I think that just speaks volumes regarding the quality of the programs we are offering in the Surprising New Youngstown, Ohio!

Jim Cossler

CEO & Chief Evangelist
Youngstown Business Incubator

Quoting Tracy Kitts, COO of the National Business Incubation Association, a couple key economic development metrics involving incubators were cited:

• Success rate of companies nurtured in an incubator is 87% versus 44% for those going it alone
• More importantly, 84% of companies graduating from an incubator stay in the community

Read the rest of the article over on Business News Daily for the full story and lots more metrics.

YBI’s Chief Development Officer, Julie Michael Smith, states “YBI is committed to offering programs and seminars to entrepreneurs and businesses that help them grow by using information technology solutions, encouraging innovation and sharing best business practices.”  This year, YBI’s Chief Imagination Officer Tyler Clark has offered classes on website development, social networking and search engine optimization which have been well-received and surveys report a desire for more topics.

“The Youngstown Business Incubator is one of the Valley’s most valuable assets for economic development and the Learning Lab will assist even more entrepreneurs grow their businesses in our community”, says Janice E. Strasfeld, executive director of The Youngstown Foundation. “The Youngstown Foundation is proud to continue supporting YBI’s vital work through this grant to expand the Learning Lab.”

The renovated Learning Lab will be completed in early 2011.

About the Youngstown Foundation

The Youngstown Foundation supports the broad spectrum of the community’s nonprofit 501(c) (3) organizations including the arts and culture, education, economic/community development, health, human services and the environment.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio is launching a program with $40 million in federal and state stimulus funds to invest in advanced-energy projects, with the goal of creating more “green-collar” jobs in the state.

The Ohio Energy Gateway Fund, which Gov. Ted Strickland announced in his State of the State address in January, is ready to accept applications for funding, officials said last week.

The goal is to provide funding for at least 12 projects in the state related to advanced energy, said Mark Barbash, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Development.

Examples include companies that need to buy equipment or convert traditional manufacturing facilities to build parts needed for wind turbines, solar panels or other advanced-energy production, he said.

“We’re just tremendously excited about this,” Barbash said.

State officials had said that they expected to start providing funding for the program no later than May, but Barbash said it took longer than expected to establish the program and to ensure that the mechanisms were in place to track the funding.

The state has hired two investment managers, EnerTech Capital and Arsenal Venture Partners, to review applications and make funding decisions. The state also has hired an adviser, USA Energy Advisers, to oversee the process.

The managers must match the public funding at least dollar for dollar and could bring in other private investment for the projects, meaning the $40 million state investment should yield at least $80 million in funding, officials said.

The program is using $30 million in federal stimulus funds and $10 million in state money from a separate stimulus initiative; $30 million is going to EnerTech and $10 million to Arsenal Venture Partners.

There are no specific job or investment requirements attached to the money, but the idea is that the program will help complete funding for projects and allow them to produce results quickly, Barbash said.

The expectation is that the managers can start making funding decisions within 90 days, said Mark Shanahan, Strickland’s top energy adviser.

EnerTech, based in Philadelphia and Toronto, started a website for applications for funding last week. Arsenal, with offices in Florida, California and Michigan, is expected to start accepting applications this week, Shanahan said. Both managers also were required to establish offices in Ohio.

The investment managers were selected from among five applicants, in part because of the potential projects they had in their pipelines, Barbash said.

Strickland announced the program as part of the state’s efforts to encourage advanced-energy jobs, in part to help ease the blow from the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs.

mniquette@dispatch.com

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

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

“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.

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!

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.