During the past two months, over 100 business ideas and business cases were generated by participants in the current cycle of Ag-Bio Cluster stakeholder sessions underway in Northeast Ohio.  That number will easily double by the end of June when the first phase in the Fund For Economic Future (FFEF) initiative to advance the Ag-Bio business case portfolio concludes. 

A major goal during this first phase is to introduce a process that fully supports the ongoing trek toward start-up taken by business ideas and cases within the Ag-Bio Cluster portfolio.  The blue-colored portion of the graphic below outlines various stages in the development of business ideas and cases once they are listed by name, location, and owner.

However, successful business growth in the Ag-Bio Cluster is more about business sustainability than business start-up alone.  As a result, the approach used places individual business ideas / cases within a localized, integrated business ecosystem in order to build their capacity for resilience, persistence, and ongoing adaption.  This positioning occurs within the green-colored, six-step "Business Sustainability" process nested in between the first and second steps of business idea / case development.

To read more about the Business Idea / Case Development Process and the attendant Business Sustainability Process, please refer to the posting, Processes to Assure Successful Launch and Longevity of Businesses in the Ag-Bio Industry Cluster for Northeast Ohio.  In order to view the posting, you may need to be a member of the Advance NorthEast Ohio Partners group.  Membership is open.  To join, go to the Groups page and click the "Join" link to the right of the Advance NorthEast Ohio Partners line item.

While the current deployment of these two processes is in Northeast Ohio, they may have far wider application in other regions as the Ag-Bio industry cluster gains momentum.  Regardless of your location, if you feel they have relevance, please experiment and comment on your experiences.  Your suggestions on how to improve the processes are greatly appreciated. 

By mid-April, a summary of business ideas and business cases by name, location, and owner brought forward during the stakeholder sessions will be posted separately in the Advance NorthEast Ohio Partners group.  Your review of this listing will assist in identifying key characteristics of various business clusters or ecosystems.  Furthermore, it will trigger opportunities to replicate business models associated with a given business ecosystem from one area to another.

Looking forward to your input and feedback as this initiative continues to unfold!