Smart Business Magazine, June 2017

June 2017 Smart Business Akron Canton 19 informed by data but not ruled by data Whitehead says Members do a lot of soul searching in regard to whats working and whats not and successes are deconstructed to determine exactly what role the Fund played Weve learned where we have been less successful is where we said Oh youre something that really has high potential so we ought to have an industry cluster around that but yet the conditions werent right for it really to flower Whitehead says Weve since learned that we need to understand where the opportunities are but then follow and see where there may be momentum in the community He says there currently is momentum around additive manufacturing and a belief that Northeast Ohio could emerge as a hub for that industry But not all bets pay out The Fund previously considered instrumentation and controls as highly promising The region he says was well positioned to compete and there was interest but it never got liftoff despite the fact that it looked good on paper because there just wasnt sufficient support for it Regional vs local In our regional economy employers dont necessarily feel like theyre attached to just one area The Fund says that many Northeast Ohioans work in a different county than the one in which they live for example 20 percent of residents who work in Lorain Cuyahoga Medina Geauga and Lake counties live outside of those five counties But that doesnt mean individual communities can be ignored So in one sense were regional but in another sense people still identify with their community What weve learned in our 13 years of this is that the beauty comes in this nexus of realizing that we need local solutions in a regional context Whitehead says That means support for entrepreneurs need to play out in unique ways whether aggregated at the regional level or through a more localized mechanism he says If were wanting to help a 15 million business grow in Massillon or Elyria who is in the energy business theyre going to want somebody local who can call on them who can know them and so forth But at some point they may want to talk to and access expertise that can be built regionally he says Looking back to 2002 Whitehead says there was a sense that the region was flat on its back and the future was bleak He believes that has changed There is now I think a palpable sense that there are industries in which we are able to compete and that were not only winning sports championships but more importantly were building profiles in industries like additives like biosciences like the coatings business and that there is a belief in a future We have been contributors to that along with others How to reach Fund For Our Economic Future 216 456 9800 or www thefundneo org Weve partnered with the business community on making sure we have a business development system that is really growth oriented rather than simply chasing smokestacks BRAD WHITEHEAD PRESIDENT FUND FOR OUR ECONOMIC FUTURE Photography courtesy of Fund For Our Economic Future