Buzz

Ohio University student media innovation contest offers $20k in prizes

Ohio University Thursday, January 31, 2013

Ohio University students will compete for $20,000 in cash prizes with the mid-January kick off of the Scripps Innovation Challenge, one of the nation's most unique contests to come up with creative solutions to problems posed by media companies. Click here for more information.

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.

Read the full story here.

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.

Read the full story here.

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.

ohio should stay the course on energy efficiency, says expert

Crain's Cleveland Business Thursday, November 29, 2012

Recently, FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron recommended to the Ohio Legislature changes to Ohio's energy efficiency portfolio that would essentially freeze the energy efficiency mandate found in Senate Bill 221 at current levels. As currently written, Senate Bill 221 calls for Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) to undertake energy efficiency improvements by 2025 equal to 22% of 2008's energy consumption. FirstEnergy's proposed changes would end the mandate at the less than 3% cumulative reduction required to date.

Ohio's Legislature should consider carefully any request to alter Ohio's course on energy efficiency. For many reasons, a reduction in the energy efficiency goal does not appear to be a good idea at this time.

Read the full story here.

ohio is the envy of the nation -- at least when it comes to jobs

Bloomberg Businessweek Thursday, November 01, 2012

Chrysler Group LLC is hiring more than 1,100 new workers at its sprawling Toledo, Ohio, manufacturing complex. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is looking for hundreds of bankers in Columbus. And the Cleveland Clinic has been adding registered nurses at such a clip that it rented out the Cleveland Browns football stadium for a job fair.

Long an emblem of rust belt decay and despair, Ohio is now outpacing the national economy.

Read the full story here.

environmental group says wind energy is blowing more jobs into ohio

Statehouse News Bureau Thursday, October 04, 2012

The nation’s wind energy industry is growing, and that’s helping Ohio, according to a new report by an environmental group. The Natural Resources Defense Council says its new study finds that a wind farm, consisting of something like 10 wind turbines, creates a lot of jobs.

Read the full story here.

ohio looks to turn $2b college research into profit

Dayton Daily News Thursday, August 23, 2012

Read the full story here.

venturebeat suggests investing venture capital in ohio

Venturebeat Thursday, July 26, 2012

"For investors looking to go off the beaten track to find quality deals, Ohio might be the answer," Mitchell Rosich, partner at Athenian Venture Partners, writes in VentureBeat.

"According to the most recent Ohio Venture Capital Report, venture capital activity in Ohio was up more than 80 percent in 2010, surpassing the national average, which was up only 20 percent."

Read the rest here.

starbucks turns to ohio, not china, for coffee mugs

The New York Times Thursday, June 28, 2012

For Ohio pottery, a small revival. Read the full story here.

now coveted: a walkable, convenient place

The New York Times Friday, June 01, 2012

WALKING isn’t just good for you. It has become an indicator of your socioeconomic status. Read the full story here.

innovation showcase highlights Athens area's leadership

The Athens News Thursday, May 31, 2012

To hear it from venture capitalist David Wilhelm, Athens is an emerging bell cow in Appalachia for entrepreneurship and technology investment.

Wilhelm, an Ohio University grad who served as chair of the Democratic National Committee in 1993-94, has managed campaigns for Bill Clinton, Paul Simon, Joe Biden and Richard M. Daley, and who now runs a venture capital firm, keynoted the BioVenture & Innovation Showcase at OU on Thursday.

Read the full article here.

innovation engine accelerator at ohio university now accepting applications

Ohio University Thursday, May 03, 2012

The Innovation Engine Accelerator is a digital media business accelerator located in Ohio University's business incubator, the award-winning Innovation Center. Made possible by public and private support, the Innovation Engine Accelerator is launching its inaugural 10-week boot camp class providing seed funding of up to $20,000 each for five teams this summer. Applications are available now. Click here to read the full article.

crowdfunding leaders unite to advocate for regulatory framework and industry support

crowdsourcing.org Thursday, May 03, 2012

On Wednesday, April 18, the crowdfunding industry’s 13 top debt and equity crowdfunding platforms and industry experts met to create a Statement of Intent for a lasting organization that will champion, advocate for, and represent the global crowdfunding industry. Two days later, this group—the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Association, or CFIRA—presented its Statement of Intent to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). CFIRA’s complete Statement of Intent can be found on www .Crowdsourcing .org .

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