In Ohio, https://development.ohio.gov/bs_thirdfrontier, the Third Frontier Commission is going to provide $10 million to help innovators create new products, advance technologies, and build new startup businesses. The Ohio Third Frontier’s “Entrepreneurial Services Provider” (ESP) Program https://thirdfrontier.com/bs_thirdfrontier/esp.htm provides resources in the state to help entrepreneurs get their ideas to the market place.
Funds through ESP program were provided to two groups. The two groups receiving funding included ProMedica Innovations www.promedica.org ($4,375,000) and the Entrepreneurs Center Inc. http://tecdayton.com located in Dayton ($2,900.00).
The funds provided through the ESP program awards enable innovators to have mentoring, access to investors and capital, business support, assistance developing intellectual property and marketing strategies, plus workspaces.
The State of Ohio provides other assistance to innovators. For example, Ohio Third Frontier’s “Commercial Acceleration Loan Fund” http://development.ohio.gov helps Ohio companies build products and processes where they may otherwise have difficulty securing funding because of the risk associated with developing technologies.
The company Centerline Biomedical www.centerlinebiomedical.com received a “Commercial Acceleration Loan Fund” for $1,260,000 to commercialize their surgical navigation technology. The technology “Intra-Operative Positioning System” (IOPS) is used to navigate catheters and guide wires and ultimately devices.
The Ohio Third Frontier “Technology Validation and Start-Up Fund Awards” http://development.ohio.gov/bs_thirdfrontier/tvsf.htm are given to state institutions of higher education and to other nonprofit research institutions. This funding is used to demonstrate that a technology is commercially viable through activities such as testing and prototyping. The goal is to license the technologies to companies.
The University of Toledo www.utoledo.edu was awarded two $50,000 grants to further develop a device to help stroke victims suffering from difficulty in swallowing, and then developed a compound to improve the treatment of bone defects.
In additional funding from this award program, Cleveland State University www.csuohio.edu and Kent State University www.kent.edu were jointly awarded for $400,000 to form the “TeCK Fund” to help move technology produced by universities into products.
Companies aiming to license institution-owned technologies can also receive funding to accelerate commercialization by doing market research and further prototyping.