Latest Third Frontier grant fuels TechColumbus' development plans

BYLINE: Kevin Kemper

Four months after initially giving Central Ohio less money than other regions to jump-start technology companies, the state has sent the region a third award that, combined with the previous two, is the maximum amount of funding possible.

Now TechColumbus, the agency coordinating the region's tech development efforts, plans to implement a host of programs over the three years, which could be a boon for early-stage companies and create technology jobs for the area.

The state Department of Development's Third Frontier Commission doled out six regional awards in November for its Entrepreneurial Signature Program, a three-year, $85 million program designed to increase technology-based entrepreneurial commercialization in the state. At the time, $6.8 million went to a contingent led by TechColumbus, compared with between $11 million and $12.4 million for other groups around the state.

But the commission completed funding for Ohio's six regions March 28, giving each between $2.6 million and $6.5 million to spur technology development.

Central Ohio was awarded $6.1 million in March, and combined with the November award and a December infusion of $2.1 million, received a total of $15 million for TechColumbus' programs, the maximum award.

TechColumbus wasn't alone in getting the maximum funding, said Nikki Jaworski, a spokeswoman with the Development Department.

The northeast, northwest, west-central and southwest regions of the state each received $15 million, while the southeast got $10 million, she said.

Looking for firms 'with legs'

TechColumbus is combining the state's $15 million with $7.5 million it has raised from 17 area partners, including the cities of Columbus, Dublin and Upper Arlington, Franklin County, Huntington Bancshares Inc., Nationwide Financial Services Inc. and Ohio State University.

"The whole program is envisioned as a way to put new-technology funding on steroids in the region," said Ted Ford, TechColumbus' CEO. "We've built a program that we think is very innovative."

One aspect of the program is dubbed the Tech Genesis Fund, which received $2 million from the Third Frontier Commission in December. William L. Indest, vice president of capital access and formation at TechColumbus, said the fund will identify early-stage tech companies to help them determine if a product is marketable.

"We're looking for companies that have the legs to become sustainable," Indest said. "Companies that can attract follow-on investment from banks, venture capital funds and angel investors."

If TechColumbus succeeds at identifying marketable technology businesses, every dollar it sends to a company should attract $10 more in investments on average from other sources, Indest estimated.

Indest sees regional development potential in information technology, medical devices and health-care startups, as well as advanced materials and energy-related companies.

TechColumbus also plans to use some of the money to develop satellite business incubators in Dublin and New Albany.

Both of those communities contributed $750,000 toward the projects that will help fledgling companies by allowing them to share resources and get access to business expertise.

TechColumbus intends to use the money to fund three jobs - one each at OhioHealth Research Institute, Columbus Children's Research Institute and OSU's Office of Technology Licensing - to find products and technologies that can be commercialized and turned into technology companies.

By accepting the Third Frontier's $15 million, TechColumbus is required to provide money for companies in an area comprising Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Hocking, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, Ross and Union counties.

Indest estimated an initial 10 to 14 jobs would be created by TechColumbus to implement its programs, and that those jobs would be spread throughout the 15-county region.

TechColumbus plans to use about 10 percent of the $22.5 million to administer the programs.

To save on overhead, Indest said, TechColumbus plans to partner with the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio, a state small-business assistance program that runs offices in nine of the 15 counties in the region.

Over the next three years, TechColumbus expects to be busy handing out money to tech startups.

"The money will be all gone in three years," Ford said. "It's really a jolt to local companies."

If that happens, Central Ohio could stand out as a technology-friendly region, Ford said, which may in turn persuade the state to continue another round of funding for the entrepreneur signature program.