Queen City Angels awarded $2 million from Ohio Third Frontier

The inventor or scientist working on a new idea in the basement just got some potential help in the form of $2 million awarded by the state of Ohio to Queen City Angels. QCA is a Cincinnati-based early-stage venture fund that works with companies that are still in the "alpha stage."  They've identified a need, are working on a product or concept to meet it, but usually have no customers or revenue yet.  But they need capital to get their ideas to the next stage, maybe do some market research, develop a business plan in deeper detail.
 
"Companies that get this money typically wouldn't get this funding anywhere else," says Tony Shipley, chairman of Queen City Angels.  The Angels, in collaboration with the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and Tri-State Growth Fund, was awarded the grant for its Pre-Seed Fund III from the Ohio Third Frontier Success and Pre-Seed Funding Initiative.
 
Along with early funding, the Angels provide mentoring and business expertise to early-stage companies, both of which help them get to the next level and seek funding from later-stage venture capital groups. "This allows them to get enough traction to move into later funding stages," Shipley says. The Cincinnati grant was part of $7.5 million awarded by the Third Frontier program to QCA and five other Ohio early stage capital and entrepreneurial assistance organizations.

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Ohio Department of Development