The Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University and Jumpstart, a resource company for entrepreneurs, say men and women in business in Northeast Ohio are upbeat about the entrepreneurial climate here. Of the 350 individuals who responded to the survey, most said the region has a well-trained workforce, good infrastructure and promising networking opportunities. They are confident in their own ability to start new companies if they could get the start-up money - but there's the rub. Over 60% say venture capital is very hard to find here. Ziona Austrian directs the Center for Economic Development at CSU.
Ziona Austrian: We asked about capital from friends and family, venture capital, bank loans and angel capital. And the main weakness they described was in angel and venture capital.
Austrian says this puts Northeast Ohio at a significant disadvantage with other regions around the country where wealthy investors are networked with entrepreneurs, something she hopes this region will be able to develop in the future. Lisa Ann Pinkerton, 90.3.