Source: Business First of Columbus - by Kevin Kemper
Central Ohio business leaders are looking to raise $100 million to spur the region’s promising startup companies into the next stage of growth.
A consortium including the ColumbusChamber, TechColumbus, the Columbus Partnership and local entrepreneurs has been quietly working over the past year to put together a venture capital fund of funds that would gather money from within and outside the region to invest in home-grown companies looking for elusive cash in the recession.
“We’re looking at a road map – who is going to invest, how much will be invested – and at the end of that we’ll be able to go out and raise money,” said Rich Langdale, managing partner of Columbus-based VC firm NCT Ventures LLC.
“The whole goal is to create enough capital in the market to fund rapid growth of these companies coming out of the incubator,” said Ted Ford, CEO of TechColumbus, which promotes the region’s tech economy and runs the TechStart business incubator on Kinnear Road. “Definitely it’s a lever that we’ll use to attract other venture capital funds.”
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