News

Rocket Ventures Makes $500,000 Investment
Rocket Ventures, the venture capital program of the Regional Growth Partnership, recently invested $500,000 in Turning Point LLC as a part of a Series A round of financing.

Click on the link below to read the press release in its entirety.

http://rocketventures.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/turning_point-7-10.pdf

Articles

Northwest Ohio is a hotbed for technology and innovation. Take some time to read through articles which shine a bright light on our region.

Local Dentist Debuts Oral Health Products
Toledo Free Press
Branam Oral Health Technologies has started shipping products designed to reduce tooth decay in children to pharmacies and drug and food stores around the world.
Read More…

New report bodes well for Toledo area’s technology
Toledo Blade
A new government report predicting energy use in the United States for the next quarter century has good news for northwest Ohio, showing large increases in the use of technologies such as solar energy and biofuels that were pioneered locally.
Read More…

Solar energy industry brings a ray of hope to the Rust Belt
LA Times
Areas hard-hit by the U.S. automakers’ slump are pitching themselves to green technology firms. Workers and machines that used to crank out cars are now making parts for solar and wind power plants.
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Ohio looks to renew program to boost tech jobs
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Shannon Swift was another statistic in the downfall of Ohio’s once great industrial engine, a victim of layoffs first at Delphi and then General Motors.
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Greening the rustbelt
Economist.com
XUNLIGHT CORPORATION, a small manufacturer of solar panels, sits on a quiet street in Toledo. It has a professor as its president, about 100 employees on its payroll—and a lot of bigwig visitors. In October 2008 Sarah Palin, then the Republican vice-presidential candidate, used Xunlight as the setting for a speech on energy policy. Other guests have included Ohio’s governor, two senators and a congresswoman. And no wonder: the firm provided evidence to support a seductive hope, that the green economy can help to revive the suffering rustbelt.
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Its Economy in Shambles, The Midwest Goes Green
Worldchanging.com
It took awhile, but the U.S. Midwest finally has recognized that the industries that once powered its economy will never return. Now leaders in the region are looking to renewable energy manufacturing and technologies as key to the heartland’s renaissance.
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So You Want to Start a Tech Business, Part 2
E-Commerce News
It’s safe to say that anyone who’s serious about starting a business must have a certain amount of built-in intestinal fortitude. So, when the first 100 or so potential sources of funding don’t pan out, it’s time to get unconventional. That could mean dipping into retirement savings or life insurance policies — or joining forces with a complementary startup that’s already wrangled some cash.
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High-Tech Start-Ups Put Down Roots in New Soil
The Wall Street Journal
High-tech start-ups are increasingly setting up shop in places previously not known for attracting high-tech firms.
A number of cities, such as Kalamazoo, Mich., and Toledo, Ohio, are offering grant money and tax breaks to high-tech start-ups, just as the usual venture-capital hot spots, such as Silicon Valley and Boston, continue to see a pullback in venture lending. Many of the nontraditional cities require that start-ups receiving grants invest in their area, leaving companies little choice but to locate — or relocate — their businesses.
Read more…

Media Coverage

Rocket Ventures is frequently in the news!

Here you can read local and national articles that involve Rocket Ventures, the start-up companies with which we work, and other Northwest Ohio business news.

Rocket Ventures Client Company DenDroCo Selected to Compete in Cleantech Open
July 13, 2010

New technology built in NW Ohio relieves pain
May 6, 2010

Toledo Blade Endorses Yes on Issue 1 for Ohio Third Frontier
April 5, 2010

Venture fund gives $237,000 to 6 area firms to spur growth
April 2, 2010

Rocket ventures invests in 6 local firms
April 2. 2010

Renewal of Ohio Third Frontier will be Issue 1 on the May 2010 Ballot
April 1, 2010

Dynalifter Floats Like a Butterfly, Lands Like a Plane
December 11, 2009

Xunlight Corp. to get $4.1M stimulus loan
December 9, 2009

Legacy Kit offers organization for life planning
December 3, 2009

VentureTech matches money with business
November 12, 2009

Plastic Technologies, Inc.
November 5, 2009

Applied Technologies
October 27, 2009