MANSFIELD -- When the BrainTree Center for Business Innovation director gets going, he throws around a lot of names and some pretty big numbers. Bob Cohen's most recent one, $360,000, is designed to boost the area economy.

The local business incubator will get the money as part of $12.4 million grant awarded by the Third Frontier Project's Entrepreneurial Signature Program to NorTech, a technology-based economic development group.

ESP was created by the state to "significantly increase technology-based entrepreneurial commercialization outcomes in six defined geographic regions and focus on technology-based sectors offering important economic development prospects."

"This funding will allow us to provide a new and improved level of entrepreneurial support services in northeast Ohio," NorTech President and Chief Executive Officer Dorothy C. Baunach said, "working with entrepreneurs and innovators at their earliest stages to accelerate business creation, development, productivity and jobs."

Cohen said Braintree is part of a group of incubators and investment funds set to receive money over the next three years to promote technology and entrepreneurship. Locally, that means a new position specifically designed to work with start-up tech businesses.

He explained the modern business model involves three components -- idea, capital and management -- but "very seldom" does one person have all three. The grant money will be used to help bring the idea person together with an "angel investor" to provide money and an entrepreneur to provide marketing and management advice.

One entrepreneurial support positions will be at Braintree and serve counties along U.S. 30. "We have the biggest expanse of territory," Cohen said, "with the fewest entrepreneurs."

For now, Cohen will fill that entrepreneurial support role and the search is on for an incubator manager. He would like to have someone in place by April, and said Braintree is slightly ahead of the other four incubators.

Working with entrepreneurs will involve a screening process, Cohen said, to separate worthwhile ideas from those that should be approached with more caution. Some people are still under the incorrect impression there are "tons of government grants out there," he said, and BrainTree will try to inform them about what funds are available for things like product testing and prototype creation.

Grant money will be used to pay the entrepreneurs in residence, which includes many successful start-ups. They may work with several businesses or may actually move to the community where the new entrepreneur is located.

Cohen said Richland County as a community made a "conscious effort" to align itself with the northeastern Ohio because this area has been "out here on our own." BrainTree has joined nearly a dozen northeast-based economic organizations "just to give more visibility" to the area. The efforts are "part of attracting resources to our area to attract business to our area," he said.

lkmiller@nncogannett.com 419-521-7240

Originally published March 13, 2007