More than $1 billion in venture capital has been invested in northeast Ohio companies during the past five years -- a commitment to growing firms that, in time, could result in more than 40,000 jobs.
Not just that, but 2009 seed funding for the newest northeast Ohio firms was the highest in four years.
That's the lowdown as presented Tuesday by the Venture Capital Advisory Task Force, a group of regional venture community members who have been formally tracking such investments since 2006.
While the report isn't all rosy -- total venture capital investment was down significantly between 2008 and 2009 -- VC leaders said they're encouraged by the fact that 2009 seed stage investment -- $18 million spread among 27 companies -- is rising while national numbers remain flat. They call it a sign that state job-creation programs are working.
The regional task force report shows that the largest single investment sector in northeast Ohio was in healthcare, in which $729 million was invested in 69 companies. The second largest sector was "cleantech," in which 33 companies benefited from $115 in equity capital.
Cathy Belk, chief marketing officer for Jumpstart, a venture development organization that accelerates the progress of early-stage businesses in northeast Ohio, says the report demonstrates the important role the Ohio Third Frontier, the Ohio Investment Tax Credit Program and the Ohio Capital Fund have played in growing Ohio jobs. She says it also points to the need to keep those funding sources available for future entrepreneurs.
The report mirrors an announcement by the Ohio Third Frontier Tuesday that seed and early stage investments in Ohio increased by 67 percent in 2008 while national numbers declined about 20 percent.
Source: Cathy Belk, Jumpstart, and wire sources
Writer: Gene Monteith