Happy birthday to us, and a sneak peek at the future

"Ohio is at the forefront of a new economy," we wrote in our first issue, "creating new ideas, innovative businesses and new jobs needed for the 21st century."

That's still our goal. Two years later, hiVelocity is still working hard to bring you stories others aren't telling.

Over the past two years, nearly 100,000 unique visitors have landed on our pages. And a quick look at what they read helps us understand what has been most popular.

The best read stories of the last year?

The top read feature was Val Prevish's Aug. 25 story about research giant Battelle, which has world-wide influence but little name recognition among the general population.

Our May 5 piece on the potential of shale gas was the second-best read story.

And the third best-read feature was one called "Employment Enjoyment: How some do it." Written by Gabriella Jacobs, the story took a look at how some workplaces make work fun and help employees avoid burnout.

But if you dig deeper, the stories that have consistently landed on our top 20 or top 30 list have focused on entrepreneurs or entrepreneurship.

The top-read feature story over the last two years was one called "Ohio's young entrepreneurs prove age no barrier." That story was published in January 28 of last year.

Other popular pieces included our Oct. 7, 2010 feature on Hart Main, a 14-year-old Marysville kid who's built a candle company catering to men. Or consider our story on Dave Hunegnaw, a serial entrepreneur we wrote about in January of this year. Or, our August 2011 Q&A with Candace Klein, who started Bad Girl Ventures to help women with ideas find traction in the unforgiving world of startups.

Indeed, it is startups that create most of the new jobs in this country. In a study published last July,  the Kauffman Foundation wrote that "startups aren't everything when it comes to job growth. They're the only thing."

According to the Foundation's analysis, startup companies "are responsible for all net job creation during most years, while existing firms . . .  are usually net job losers."

As we prepare for our third year, hiVelocity will continue to bring you features, company news and innovation and job news from all around the state. Stories people care about.

But going forward, hiVelocity will work even harder to capture and document Ohio's entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the stories of those who are creating companies -- and new jobs -- driving our content. 

As part of that new focus, we will be adding a new feature called Founders. Starting with our Oct. 6 issue, these will be profiles of business leaders who have started and grown companies.  Using a Q&A format, founders will explain why they formed their companies, what has contributed to their growth and who has helped them along the way.

Our intent is to bring you not just the stories, but the people, who are moving Ohio's new economy ahead in 2011 and beyond.

So, get ready. We are.