By Gongwer Staff
Posted: March 19, 2022 10:37 AM

Ohio may soon have its own version of South by Southwest.

But the key is branding the event and the state as an exciting home for new ideas.

InnovateOhio's Executive Committee is exploring the possibility of expanding the inaugural PITCH X event to capitalize on excitement surrounding the Intel development, while also positioning Ohio as a future leader in several industries.

Like the tech, film and music festival in Austin, Texas, organizers are envisioning a multi-day event that incorporates pitch contests, parties and concerts that will draw visitors while also building hometown pride.

"We've got to create FOMO (fear of missing out)," said Mark Kvamme, co-founder and partner of Drive Capital.

Falon Donohue, InnovateOhio chair and Narya partner, said the event could happen as early as September if dates and venues are chosen.

PITCH X involved a series of videos featuring university entrepreneurs discussing their technologies that are headed toward commercialization, with the ultimate goal of connecting them to private sector investors.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said while the event had great representation from academia, there wasn't as much involvement from the investor community as intended.

"Without the investors, this was not what it could be," he said. "If we do another, we've got to get more of those people in the room."

According to Mr. Kvamme, the problem was that there are hundreds of pitch events and investors can only go to so many.

Michael Triplett, co-founder, president and CEO of Armatus Bio, said it should have a focused topic, like gene therapy, and Ms. Donohue said there needs to be added value to convince investors to attend.

The committee suggested incorporating cocktail hours, parties and other opportunities to mingle, as well as collaborating with well-established events like the Memorial Tournament and soliciting investment from JobsOhio, Intel Capital and Intel Foundation, among others.

"It's a simple Tweet saying 'We want to do this. Who's in?' People are already doing these things, so let's do it all on one weekend," said Will Lucas, CEO and founder of a William Lucas Company.

"When you announce, entrepreneurial people will take their piece. You have something like Afrotech and people will throw club nights because they want to take advantage of the crowds. "Like a mall, we're organizing cornerstones. They see the opportunity and build around it," he said.

Ms. Donohue said it could also be an opportunity to showcase Ohio's investment opportunities.

"Let's get more people to bet on Ohio," she said.

Vivek Ramaswamy, founder and executive chairman of Roivant Sciences, said Texas, Florida and Tennessee, states that have hometown pride, each have a brand specific to their state, affiliated celebrities who serve as evangelists and low taxes.

"I think we make Ohio the place for the citizen entrepreneur," he said.

Lt. Gov. Husted asked the committee to send thoughts on the possible event, including potential partners, branding, how to be competitive and how it would fit into the future vision of Ohio.

Intel & Broadband: Mr. Husted said Intel officials will be in Ohio next week, when they will be making workforce announcements to help people understand the related career opportunities.

There will be 3,000 direct Intel jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and 10,000 downstream jobs per phase, he said.

There are 140 Ohio companies that already supply Intel, with many more likely to fall into that category, and the state is actively engaging several other supply chain businesses that are now looking to move to Ohio.

"There are more than enough opportunities for Ohioans…. If you want to do this, this is where you'll want to be," he said.

Ohio also continues to invest in the TechCred Program, which this month announced $5 million for the latest round. There is also $300 million going to Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland Innovation Districts, which Lt. Gov. Husted said should create 47,500 new STEM graduates.

Mr. Husted said he did not yet know when Intel's incentive details will get rolled out at the Tax Credit Authority.

Mr. Husted also said there should be some "great announcements very, very soon," related to high-speed internet. The state developed its own mapping tool for broadband and will be deploying $250 million in grants to expand high speed internet in the next couple weeks.

The lieutenant governor also announced Thursday he has appointed Bernie Moreno, who recently exited the U.S. Senate race, to the InnovateOhio executive committee.