The Incubator at MAGNETThe Incubator at MAGNET
Update - April 2011
Greetings!

In my previous update, I was counting the ways that Spring was right around the corner.  One of those ways was Indian's Opening Day, when MAGNET held a "Client Appreciation Day" at the ballpark.  Over 30 MAGNET clients attended, including several incubator tenants, and were treated to lunch, an autograph session with Lenny Barker and the Tribe's opening day pairing with division rival Chicago White Sox. 

The White Sox prevailed that day in a 15-10 slugfest, but checking the standings this morning, the Tribe is in first place in Central Division with the best record in the American League.  With LeBron's defection, and an uncertain season ahead for the Browns (if there IS a season), we're left with the Indians as our best hope for a winning team this year in Cleveland (unless of course you want to venture down to my town and watch our perennial champs...).
Leaping Cat
Flickr: Christian Holmé

While most of you out there are probably chuckling a little right now given Cleveland's sports history, you entrepreneurs know what I'm talking about: a little something called Faith.  As entrepreneurs, we have our up days and our down days, but without faith in our vision and potential there is no reason to keep trying. 

Entrepreneurs are some of our true pioneers, and their tolerance for risk and uncertainty remind me almost daily of the following quote on faith I came across recently:

 

"When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly." - Patrick Overton    



This month I've got some changes to the TITC process, a recap of the inaugural TiEQuest competition and more client successes.

Dave Crain
Director, Entrepreneurial Services, MAGNET
dave.crain@magnetwork.org
216.432.5310

As always, if you know someone that would be interested in what we're doing here, use the "Forward to a Friend" button at the bottom of this E-Mail. 
Ohio Technology Investment Tax Credit (OTITC) Program Changes

One of the most popular State of Ohio programs in support of high-growth entrepreneurial activity is the Technology Investment Tax Credit (TITC) program.  With the program, qualified investors in approved entities can get a credit on their State taxes of 25-30% of the investment.  Becoming a qualified entity has become nearly a requirement for start-ups around the region.

Recently, the program's manager relayed some changes/announcements to the program:
  1. The Ohio Department of TAX has determined that IRAs are not qualified to receive TITC tax credits.  They are not considered pass through entities and do not incur state tax liabilities so an IRA can neither utilize tax credits or pass tax credits on to the beneficiary.
  2. Questions on the Investor application pertaining to investment limit are being deleted.  It was determined that the limit is only applicable at the time of qualification and not applicable to subsequent investments up to the Investor limit (typically $250K).
  3. The State expects to be moving to electronic mail instead of physical letters to companies and investors for approval notice in the near future.  Tax credit requests and mailings will remain hardcopy only.

The TITC program remains as popular as ever.  In addition to the changes above, it was noted that 2010 was the biggest year ever for the program with a 50% increase over 2009.  Over $5.3M of tax credits supporting more than $21M of investments were issued.

 

As an Edison Incubator, The Incubator at MAGNET is authorized to receive, process and forward both entity and investor applications for TITC approval.  Please call me if you have any questions about the program or are considering submitting an application. 

TieQuest Ohio
March 23rd I attended the TieQuest Ohio business plan competition finals, at Hyland Software. IRxReminder, as presented by CEO Anthony Stearns, was selected as the winner out of what I thought was an extremely diverse and interesting field of finalists.  So a hearty "Congratulations" to Anthony and IRxReminder for their selection as the overall regional winner.

As a contributor to the prize package, The Incubator at MAGNET offered one year of incubation space, with all privileges, to a winner matching our entrance qualifications.  With the visibility his win at TiEQuest Ohio garnered his company, Anthony has plenty of choices in the region as to where to land.  Whether or not you see a "new tenant" announcement for IRxReminder in an upcoming newsletter, join me in wishing Anthony and his company the best of luck.

The International Entrepreneurs (TiE) Ohio was founded in 2008 as the 50th chapter of the global TiE network, the world's largest organization for fostering entrepreneurship. TiE Ohio is poised to fulfil a critical niche in Northeast Ohio's business development landscape by focusing specifically on immigrant, international, and minority entrepreneurs within the region, and by encouraging other such entrepreneurs to consider NEO as a place to launch their new businesses. TiE Ohio provides focused support to entrepreneurs through mentoring, networking, and business education programming.  

 
Tenant News

 

The Amicus Group (TAG) is a software development company focused on the judicial sector.  Offering process reengineering, installation, configuration, data conversion, interface development, project management and training and testing,  TAG is a certified Cuyahoga County Small Business Enterprise and a member of both the Akron Global Business Accelerator (AGBA) and The Incubator at MAGNET.  Founded in 2008, the company is an Ohio corporation with offices in Akron, Cleveland, and Columbus.

 

Recently, The Amicus Group, in partnership with Tyler Technologies, was instrumental in the successful implementation of the Odyssey Case Management System in Forsyth County, Georgia.  TAG provided training, implementation and live support services for an integrated solution that involved over 100 users in multiple offices including Superior Court, State Court, Magistrate Court, Juvenile Court and Probate Court as well as Prosecutor, Pretrial Services and the Indigent Defense Office. 

 

The project which began in the fall of 2009, included two (2) phases: civil which went live in April, 2010 and criminal which when live in March, 2011.  In addition to implementation services, TAG also was commissioned to analyze and develop an interface between the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office and Odyssey.  

 

Like what you read here?  Please consider forwarding our update to a friend who might also be interested, or joining our mailing list if the E-mail was forwarded to you.  Our monthly E-Mails are a great way to stay up to date with us.

Join Our Mailing List


You can also catch up on past updates via our E-Mail Archives page.

For regional events of interest, NEOinc's regional entrepreneurial calendar lists speakers, events, workshops, conferences and seminars throughout the region targeted at technology entrepreneurs and small businesses.  You can subscribe to the calendar to be notified when new events are added.
 
If you have an event of interest to entrepreneurs, getting on the calendar is free, and easy.  The calendar is hosted by MAGNET and a quick E-Mail with event details sent to Lynne Brakeman will get your event included.