Enterprise Appalachia Offers Ready Access to Business Capital for Ohio Entrepreneurs

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Experts agree there are four ideal location criteria for entrepreneurial start-ups: access to business capital and support services, access to supply chain and markets, access to knowledge and labor, and access to a balanced life. To help Ohio entrepreneurs evaluate the criteria, internationally recognized start-up and entrepreneur publication Inc. magazine has announced the development of a series of white papers, the first of which was just published and focuses on "Finding Funding" (http://www.inc.com/obdc/index.html). All of the funding resources included in the Inc. white paper are abundant in Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia.

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One example of a company that recently benefited from Enterprise Appalachia's access to capital is Global Cooling (www.globalcooling.com), headquartered in Athens, Ohio. Global Cooling secured a $1 million grant through Ohio Third Frontier, a 10-year, $1.6 billion initiative to foster the creation of jobs through innovation, research and development and the commercialization of next-generation products. The company also was able to secure angel financing through two technology angel funds connected with Southeast Ohio's TechGrowth Ohio program. The combination of these funding sources will get Global Cooling to a Series A financing round in early 2011.

But business capital is only part of the formula for successful growth. Global Cooling also had the team and resources to make their growth a reality. As Controller Bill Morgan says, "In Southeast Ohio, you have access to a terrific talent pool of line workers, engineers and executives with extremely strong work ethic. They appreciate a company that is good to them and will reward that company with hard work and loyalty."

Huge incentives exist for Ohio entrepreneurs looking to start their business in Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia Region. Access to business capital is just one of them. Inc.'s "Finding Funding" discusses sources of business capital and key considerations for entrepreneurs, which include: the bank of family and friends, angel investors, bank loans and lines of credit, venture capital and government funding.

"Most entrepreneurs agree that finding business capital is one of the most challenging aspects of new business development. Like the Global Cooling story illustrates, the accessibility of funding options in Ohio's Enterprise Appalachia Region is abundant and can help a company start and grow into a successful entity," said Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition.

In addition to ready access to capital, Appalachia Ohio also offers ability to deliver on the ideal location criteria for an entrepreneur-friendly environment: ready access to knowledge and labor, and access to supply chains and markets. To learn more about the strategic advantages of Ohio's Appalachia Region, visit http://ohiomeansbusiness.com/enterprise_appalachia/.

About the Ohio Business Development Coalition

The Ohio Business Development Coalition is a nonprofit organization that provides marketing strategy and implementation to support Ohio's economic development efforts. For more information, visit www.ohiomeansbusiness.com.

SOURCE Ohio Business Development Coalition