Tuesday, September 16, 2014YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Anyone who doubts that companies in the Mahoning Valley could achieve world-class status need only look to the Youngstown Business Incubator.
Tuesday morning, the research outfit University Business Incubator Index, based in Stockholm, Sweden, announced that the organization has ranked the YBI as the No. 1 university-affiliated business incubator in the world.
“The one thing that I really hope this award does is put the nail in the coffin at the disbelief that has sometimes held this community back,” said Jim Cossler, the CEO and “chief evangelist” at YBI. “It puts in the mind of everyone -- every one of the portfolio companies, in the arts organizations, in the education organizations -- that you can do it here.”
Principals from UBI Index were at the YBI to make the announcement. Last year, the downtown incubator was ranked 11th in the world.
Druv Bhatli, co-founder of UBI Index and director of research, reported the Youngstown incubator performed consistently strong across all of the evaluation criteria, which made it stand out among other incubators in 67 countries.
Incubators were evaluated according to economic impact, the value it brings to its client companies, and the organization's ability to produce success stories and stay attractive to the marketplace. The YBI is a technology-driven incubator that houses 32 portfolio companies in four buildings downtown.
“We're looking for an incubator that performs well across the board,” Bhatli said. “We're looking for an incubator that can create an economic impact that can provide value to its client companies.”
Much of that economic impact is derived from the business network these incubators establish, a vital component for portfolio companies that want to take their products to market, Bhatli continued. “Youngstown provides an exceptional network to their client companies,” he said. “When companies need to scale up and commercialize, they need to have access to that marketplace. Without that access, the companies would never become a big success.”
Cossler reiterated that the YBI network was one of the major components of the operation that most impressed UBI. “We think we've built the most, or one of the most, powerful external networks in the world. It's a network of over 7,000 people that we can reach into to find the exact expertise, the exact knowledge, the introduction to the exact company that one of our startups wants.”
Among the other university-affiliated incubators UBII ranked among the top 10 in the world included organizations from Italy, Chicago, France, China, Mexico and Sweden.
Another Ohio incubator, TechColumbus, based in Columbus, was ranked third on the UBI Index.
Accolades from lawmakers trickled in shortly after the announcement. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13, said the incubator "has been creating amazing work for years and this recognition underscores what many in the state have been able to see firsthand. The state of Ohio continues to see economic growth and this award highlights the incredible talent of the people and organizations of Northeast Ohio."
Ryan also touted the talents of the YBI's staff, including Cossler and Chief Operating Officer Barb Ewing, and its 32 portfolio companies as important assets to the region's economic rebirth.
"The hard work and perserverance it took to achieve this global honor has helped inject investment into our state and, most importantly, given our young people opportunity to come back to live, work and raise their families in our region," Ryan said.
Brown echoed Ryan's sentiments. "This award proves what so many of us already know -- the Youngstown Business Incubator's success is unmatched internationally," he said. "YBI provides the tools to help Mahoning Valley businesses compete on a global scale, but this is only the beginning."
Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel, who attended the press event, praised the collective work of YBI's management, its innovative companies, and their relationship with YSU as a catalyst for redefining the Mahoning Valley.
“I've stood at a podium before when they said you were the best in the country, but I have never stood at a podium where the recognition was that the Youngstown Business Incubator and its university partners are the best in the world," Tressel said. "Anything can be done here."
Tressel said good ideas are necessary, but it's executing these ideas and turning them into successful ventures that set organizations such as the YBI apart from others.
“This is a day we'll all remember,” Tressel said. “But it's also a day that will catapult us into the future.”
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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