Friday, March 02, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Innovation Fund, which provides support for technology-based entrepreneurial endeavors and emerging businesses, has awarded $150,000 to companies affiliated with the Youngstown Business Incubator, YBI and Youngstown State University announced Thursday.
YBI portfolio companies via680 and Campus Shift were awarded $100,000 and $25,000, respectively, and Quixby, a virtual YBI portfolio company, received $25,000 afrom the fund, which was established by Lorain County Community College in 2007.
YBI and YSU are among the partners in the fund, which is supported and administered through a regional and state network of higher education, government and economic development partners that also includes Ohio’s Third Frontier Program.
The $100,000 award to via680 will be used by the company to further develop Ving, a web application that enables users to create multimedia communication packages with video, surveys and documents, for market entry. Ving sends secure messages through email and provides reports that show if a message was received, read and understood.
According to Tony DeAscentis, CEO of via680, “2012 has really kicked off strong for via680. We have an excellent team on board. Our business is growing and momentum is strong. Add to that this recognition by Innovation Fund and you’ll find this technology start up clearly pointed in the right direction.”
In addition, the fund awarded $25,000 to Campus Shift for early stage development. Campus Shift offers a textbook search engine that allows students to compare textbook prices in real time, and arrange for a direct sale or swap. Campus Shift also connects student populations to local businesses in order to keep them updated on special savings and events.
According to Derek Haake, founder and CEO, “I founded Campus Shift because as a student, I was spending nearly $1,000 per semester on textbooks. Campus Shift empowers students to take matters into their own hands and swap their books, saving them hundreds of dollars per year.”
Another company affiliated with YBI, Quixby, also received $25,000 in funding. As a virtual portfolio company, Quixby receives support through the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network, but is not physically located on the YBI campus. YBI is a member of the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network.
“We are proud to work in this unique program to boost entrepreneurship in northeast Ohio,” said the president of YSU, Cynthia E. Anderson. “This is not only good for the economy, but the internships and other opportunities that it affords are good for our students as well.”
Barb Ewing, YBI chief operating officer, expressed her appreciation for YSU’s support of the Innovation Fund. “This is one of those instances where you can definitely say that the ‘whole is greater than the sum of the parts.’ If we are going to be able to continue to drive our economy forward, our region has to be able to tap into these types of resources,” she remarked.