Fintech71: Where Financial Leadership Meets Industry Innovation
Ohio is a catalyst to never before seen industry collaboration
Andrew Deye
JobsOhio
The program received support from national, industry-leading financial institutions and insurance companies that got involved in the program through mentorship and other means. This includes leaders such as Huntington National Bank, KeyBank, Progressive Insurance, Grange Insurance, CardinalCommerce, Visa, Fifth Third Bank, Mastercard, PNC Bank, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, First Federal Lakewood and Safelite Group.
Eager to share expert insights and do business with fintech innovators, the industry leaders found the program just as rewarding as the cohort did. JobsOhio’s board of directors held its public meeting at Fintech71 on Dec. 18, 2017. The meeting included a presentation from Cheryl Lebens, Vice President, Chief Risk & Strategy Officer of Grange Insurance, and Adrian Becker, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Steady, about the power of collaboration between the traditional and startup companies.
Lebens emphasized that Grange Insurance’s involvement was one of the biggest shakers of the company’s year. Lebens also noted that Grange Insurance intends to innovate to help shape its future, choosing to disrupt itself rather than be disrupted.
Grange Insurance saw that Fintech71 was the right fit for a chance to evolve, strongly identifying with mutual interests in promoting Ohio and furthering financial services. The company hoped that its participation would grow jobs, build relationships and help gain insight around accelerators and startups. Lebens said the benefits of participating in Fintech71 exceeded expectations.
Site Development Strategy Key to Early Opportunity Zone Success
Marketing helps but a fancy web site cannot replace a strong site development plan that illustrates an Opportunity Zone is prepared for development. Creating an Opportunity Zone site development plan involves five steps that includes the creation of site plans and infrastructure finance strategies, enacting land use entitlements and tax incentives, advocating for a state and local Opportunity Zone public policy agenda, marketing the Opportunity Zone and seeking professional guidance to operate an Opportunity Zone by seeking investors.
read moreThe Answers to Four Questions Determine if Your Region Behind in the Opportunity Zone Battle
Maybe it is a silly question since the ink on the IRS regulations are not dry nor are the even written in ink but economic development, elected officials and real estate developers are asking the question—is our region already behind in attracting capital for Opportunity Zones? The answer to four questions determines if your region is behind in this critical economic development opportunity.
read moreGlobal Design Expert Reveals Key Innovation Corridor Elements
The Uptown Consortium enlisted Sasaki, a global planning and design firm, to complete the master plan for the Uptown Innovation Corridor in Cincinnati. Bringing a broad, comprehensive vision to the table, the firm is working to articulate a thoughtful implementation framework that balances land use, urban design, placemaking and real estate strategies. The result is an execution roadmap to create a world-class urban district.
read more