A Rising Tide: Investing in Columbus Tech
Columbus is a city that I am more than proud to call home. I was born here, I grew up here, went to school here, and I’ve built my last few companies here.
The Central Ohio region, with Columbus at it’s heart, is primed for growth. The foundation is set:
- Columbus is home to the headquarters of multiple Fortune 500 corporations.
- It’s the center of one of the world’s top research universities (Go Bucks!), developing some of the most talented graduates in the country.
- Organizations like Rev1 Ventures, Drive Capital, and Lumos Innovation are making incredible strides in infusing resources and capital into growing ventures.
- A focus on the arts that has driven a renewed appreciation for creativity and culture.
Looking more granularly into the Columbus tech scene, I’ve developed a persistent and passionate commitment to contributing toward the growth of this community. However, passion and belief won’t be the ultimate impetus behind building a community of entrepreneurs and technologists on the level of the nation’s top tech cities. There are two things that we need to bring us to that level: innovation and culture.
My company, Ghost Lab, was created in an effort to become a catalyst for innovation in Central Ohio. By being one of the only strategic innovation-focused development and design companies in the region, we work everyday to connect founders with the resources they need to develop their visions for disruptive and impactful companies. I offer pro-bono strategic consulting to student founders and discounted services for local startups in an effort to push rising Columbus entrepreneurs towards significant venture and personal growth. My hope is that providing these resources and technology services at a hands-on, on-the-ground level, we can inspire amazing ideas through empowerment and collaboration.
We hope our initiative to help build great tech companies in Columbus can set an example for others, but we can’t connect everyone on our own. So, when I heard about a new podcast growing in the city called 614Startups, I was hooked. Elio Harmon (founder of 614Startups) is sharing the stories of Columbus startup founders and connecting them on a platform we can all relate to. His mission is fundamental to building a culture behind our tech community. We are all working on solving complex problems through our projects, and face similar challenges on that journey. By promoting connectivity and community between the distributed ventures and teams in our city, we can interact and empower each other towards greatness. I see a vision for the Columbus of tomorrow, where all the innovators and entrepreneurs in our city work together to solve bigger problems than we can ever attack as individuals. It’s been such a pleasure to hear the stories of some of my clients and friends on Elio’s podcast, and I am excited to share my story in the coming months. By learning more about the people in our ecosystem, we can work as a community to find support where we are lacking and provide assistance where we excel. I think this is the start of the creation of a connected culture amongst Columbus startup entrepreneurs, and I am excited to see where it takes us.
About Ghost Lab
We’re a top-ranked UX/UI design and software development agency. We strategize digital products that create 10x impact and empower clients. — www.ghostlab.io
