Jennifer Simon
About this Executive:
Name:
Jennifer Simon
Company:
Ohio University Innovation Center
Interview Topics:
Venture Development
Region:
Region 7 - Southern Ohio
According to the National Business Incubation Association, business incubators generate up to 20 times more jobs than any other federally funded community infrastructure project – at a fraction of the cost per job.
Nearly 30 years ago, this insight inspired the creation of Ohio University's Innovation Center. Since then, the first university-based incubator in the state of Ohio and only the 12th in the U.S. has nurtured more than 80 companies and created more than 1,000 jobs in Ohio's Appalachian Region.
Focused on information technology, biosciences and alternative and sustainable energy, the Center offers a home – complete with offices, conference rooms, shared office equipment and advanced laboratory equipment that includes the only commercial wet labs in Southeast Ohio – where startup businesses in these industries can grow.
Jennifer Simon became director of the Innovation Center in the spring of 2009 after working on economic development initiatives for Athens County and Appalachian Ohio.
In its current 36,000 square foot home, opened in 2003, the Center now houses 17 prospering startup businesses.
However, the Center has capacity to support more start-ups, and Simon's goal is to encourage more entrepreneurs to leverage its resources – benefiting the companies and the community as they create jobs and tax revenues. She noted that companies incubated at the Innovation Center generated an estimated 152 jobs, $9.4 million in labor income and $784,366 in state and $1,179,727 in federal tax revenues in 2009.
But incubators are only as successful as the companies they serve. The harsh reality for small businesses is that only 50 percent survive the first five years, due to factors such as inexperienced management, insufficient capital, poor location, lack of planning or even uncontrolled growth.
Fortunately, the Center's location in Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia Region allows resident entrepreneurs to take advantage of an ideal startup environment that provides all of the criteria for business success: access to supply chain and markets, access to business capital and support services, access to knowledge and labor and access to a balanced life.
To help entrepreneurs overcome startup, management and expansion challenges, Simon and her staff provide business coaching, seminars and the opportunity to network with others in the same industry, among other support services.
Access to business capital and support services increases the odds that a startup company will survive – and eventually thrive. The Innovation Center helps companies connect with Enterprise Appalachia's abundant sources of startup capital, including angel investors and special programs such as Ohio Third Frontier, the state's 10-year, $1.6 billion initiative to foster creation of high-paying jobs through innovation, research and development and the commercialization of next-generation products.
Entrepreneurs also have ready access to knowledge and labor in Appalachian Ohio. In fact, several Innovation Center companies developed as an outgrowth of research conducted at Ohio University, one of 25 institutions of higher learning in the region. Students graduating from these institutions often seek to remain in the area because of its natural beauty and a quality of life that allows them to balance professional and personal success.
An ideal location within 600 miles of 60 percent of the U.S. population allows entrepreneurs to take advantage of commercial networks in Ohio and surrounding states, providing ready access to supply chain and markets.
And, with the completion of bypasses on Route 33 through the state, the region will become even more accessible. "With the completion of U.S. 33, the corridor going up to Columbus, it's easier for company executives to fly in and out of Port Columbus International Airport," Simon said.
Simon points out that the entrepreneurs in Athens and the surrounding region want to stay. The business-friendly environment, growth opportunities and talented workforce fuel the growth of these small businesses, but the welcoming community and balanced lifestyle make them want to remain in the area.
"There's so much to do around here," she said. "Business owners have the time and ability to hike and bike and pursue other leisure activities such as attend productions by the region's rich performing arts organizations as well as an abundance of festivals."
She plans to build on the Innovation Center success – and that of the companies it serves – by bringing more start-ups to the region and adding resources to help companies make the transition from startup to healthy, growing enterprise.
"In this economy, people are becoming more innovative and entrepreneurial – they're creating jobs rather than seeking them," Simon said. "The Center and the community are working hard to offer them support."
She believes that choosing a location within resource-rich Enterprise Appalachia will increases the odds of business success for these companies, bringing more jobs, technology and innovation to the area.