Buzz

Details set for annual sustainable energy forum

Youngstown Vindicator Thursday, May 16, 2013

The fifth annual Youngstown State University Sustainable Energy Forum, featuring more than 200 academicians, energy-industry leaders, government officials and entrepreneurs, will take place June 3 and 4 at Youngstown State University.

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Middle-market companies from Ohio choose open innovation to achieve competitive advantage

Nine Sigma, Inc. Thursday, April 18, 2013

NineSigma, Inc., of Cleveland, the leading innovation partner to organizations worldwide, today announced several new clients they will work with under the Ohio Third Frontier Open Innovation Incentive (OII) Program. As part of the program, NineSigma received a grant from the State of Ohio to help middle market companies, with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, leverage Open Innovation strategies.

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Ohio declares STEM education, entrepreneurship economic cornerstones

Black Innovation and Competitiveness Initiative Thursday, April 18, 2013

Johnathan M. Holifield, NorTech’s Vice President of Inclusive Competitiveness affirmed, “This potential game-changer for Ohio is an economic competitiveness imperative. Ohio must cultivate a larger, more diverse and inclusive STEM pipeline to produce more job-creating entrepreneurs. This program will accelerate those efforts.”

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Ohio ranked second in auto parts jobs

Dayton Daily News Thursday, April 11, 2013

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing is the largest source of manufacturing jobs in the United States, according to a study released Monday by the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association.

The industry directly employs more than 734,000 American workers and generates nearly $355 billion toward the gross domestic product, 2.3 percent of total U.S. GDP, the report said. The study was conducted with IHS Inc., a provider of analytics.

In Ohio, 89,423 workers are employed in making auto parts, making the state second to only Michigan, which has 102,624 workers directly employed in the industry, according to the association. Indiana was third with nearly 80,000 workers.

“With a presence in all 50 states, this industry is important to the health and success of American manufacturing and to the future of this country,” Bob McKenna, the association’s president and chief executive, said in a press release on the study.

In the Dayton area, companies like DMAX in Moraine, Tenneco in Kettering, Behr Thermal Products in Dayton, Ahresty in Wilmington and many others work for the auto industry, supplying General Motors nationwide or Honda in Ohio, among other original equipment manufacturers.

Read the story here.

Ohio science, tech groups target youth innovation

Canton Repository Thursday, March 28, 2013

A new scholarship program is being launched to encourage Ohio students to become high-tech inventors and entrepreneurs.

Believe in Ohio will be a youth commercialization and entrepreneurship program offering incentives for achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

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3-D printing institute awards $4.5m to six projects

Crain's Cleveland Business Thursday, March 28, 2013

The new 3-D printing institute in Youngstown has awarded $4.5 million to six research projects designed to help turn the process into a more mainstream manufacturing technique.

The research teams will be adding $5 million of their own money to fund the projects, according to a news release from the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which was created with a $30 million federal grant awarded in August.

Three of the six teams will include local researchers, according to the release from NAMII, which was mentioned by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union speech in February.

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Number of new businesses filing with state hits record

The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, February 28, 2013

A record number of companies and organizations filed to do business in the state of Ohio last year, Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office said.

In all, 88,068 new entities filed to do business last year.

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Obama cites Youngstown, NAMII in State of Union

The Business Journal Thursday, February 28, 2013

President Obama touched on a number of policy initiatives during last night's State of the Union Address ranging from job creation and clean energy to troop drawdowns and gun violence, but it was his shoutout to the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute that caught the attention of the Mahoning Valley and lawmakers who represent the region.

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Additive manufacturing center receives boost to its credibility

The Vindicator Thursday, January 31, 2013

Its name doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as GM Lordstown, V&M Star or Utica shale exploration, but it is no less important to the Mahoning Valley’s future as any of the other pillars of the economy.

Although still in its infancy, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) in downtown Youngstown has brought national and international attention to the region. If the announcement in August of the institute’s establishment was a crowning achievement for the Valley, the recent recognition by the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation opened the door to instant credibility.

Brookings and Rockefeller included the NAMII in its Top 10 list of the most innovative economic development initiatives across the country.

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Studies show Youngstown Business Incubator is having a far-reaching impact

The Vindicator Thursday, January 17, 2013

Two studies released Thursday show the Youngstown Business Incubator has a far-reaching economic impact, which it believes will bolster an already strong reputation and attract more startup companies.

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The crowdfunding crowd is anxious

The New York Times Thursday, January 17, 2013

To its advocates, crowdfunding is a way for capital-starved entrepreneurs to receive financing that neither big investors nor lenders are willing or able to provide. To others, it represents a potential minefield that could help bad businesses get off the ground before they eventually fail, and in some cases could even ensnare unsophisticated investors in outright fraud.

Those fears are partly why the Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed rules allowing crowdfunding that were supposed to take effect this month as part of the JOBS Act (Jump-Start Our Business Start-Ups), signed by President Obama last April. The S.E.C. is wary of loosening investor protections that have been in place since the 1930s.

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youngstown business incubator shows off its role in city's resurgence

The Business Journal Thursday, January 03, 2013

Those who relocated from the Mahoning Valley years ago and returned for the holidays might not recognize the city they left.

Today Youngstown is in the midst of an economic renaissance, officials boast, and the Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown State University and the Oh Wow! Roger and Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science and Technology demonstrate why.

“We want to introduce people who have left Youngstown to the New Youngstown, the new high-tech Youngstown," said Mike Hripko, director of technology-based economic development at the YSU College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, as he welcomed visitors to the YBI.

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Ohio advances on Forbes list of 'Best States for Business'

The Toledo Blade Thursday, December 20, 2012

Ohio rose to 33rd from 38th and Michigan remained at No. 47 in Forbes’ new list of “Best States for Business.” The rankings, at forbes.com/best-states-for-business, compare the states in six categories.

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What it really takes to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, December 20, 2012

Innovation and entrepreneurship are the engines of economic growth. For decades now, cities and communities across the United States have tried to infuse themselves with those two properties by emulating Silicon Valley, a never-ending quest to become the next Silicon Somewhere.

Brad Feld’s terrific new book, Startup Communities, takes us inside the real ecologies of innovation and entrepreneurship. Feld, co-founder of venture capital firm Foundry Group, serves on the boards of numerous high-tech companies. He recently chatted with Cities about his new book.

Read the full story here.

Ohio among top states for tech growth

The Business Journal Thursday, December 13, 2012

A national study on high-tech jobs released Thursday shows that Ohio is quickly establishing itself as a hub of high-tech job activity. The Buckeye State is home to three of the top 25 cities for tech job growth -- more than any other state.

Read the full story here.

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