JobsOhio president and star venture capitalist Mark Kvamme says he believes the state’s entrepreneur and investment communities are close to a breakthrough.
That is to say, some Ohio company out there is about to unleash transformational technology that not only disrupts an industry, but that establishes an entirely new industry.
“I fundamentally believe we’re close to the iPod moment,” said Kvamme, an ex-Apple programmer who started with the company before it went public in 1980.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
He just isn’t sure exactly what that moment is, or what company will create it. It could be a billion-dollar exit or an “aircraft carrier”-sized company that grows to employ thousands, but he said it will put Ohio “on the map” as a place for investors to park their cash the way Apple’s IPO did for Silicon Valley in 1980.
Kvamme spoke at a meeting of the Ohio Venture Association in downtown Cleveland, with the theme of his talk centered on drawing comparisons between the histories of Ohio and Apple. Each enjoyed early success, Apple revolutionizing the personal computer and Ohio boasting a vibrant entrepreneurial community around the turn of the century. (Kvamme claimed the U.S. boasted 50 millionaires in 1920 and 30 of them were from Ohio.)
Then each fell on hard times, Apple with a near-bankruptcy in 1997 and Ohio with the loss of tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs (not to mention that whole burning river thing in Cleveland, which Kvamme helpfully illustrated by including an iconic image in his presentation).
Now, Ohio is like Silicon Valley before the Apple IPO — the “ecosystem” to successfully nurture young companies is there, but Ohio has yet to enjoy a big exit that creates a large number of wealthy people who’ll reinvest that money in the state.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
“We’ve built the foundation, but we haven’t built the home yet,” he said.
So what needs to happen in Ohio’s investment community to build that home?
“One thing we really need to work on is series B growth-stage money,” he said. “We don’t have the folks who can [lead] the $10 million round, the $20 million round.”
And Kvamme had one more memorable observation for the venture capitalists in the room to keep in mind: “LPs are lemmings.”
