It has been an honor to play a small role in Startup Grind’s global growth and impact. Startup Grind is now in 175 cities and 80 countries, and I've had the privilege of leading Startup Grind in Columbus for two years. I don’t know if I am any good at selecting the right speakers and coming up with interesting questions, but I get a lot of positive feedback and many people come back -- so that gives me some solace that its going okay.
Give First, Help Others, Make Friends.
The best part of Startup Grind’s mission is that it isn’t about the organization and or about me -- it’s about the people that engage with the platform we’re providing: those who come for inspiration, advice, and support for their entrepreneurial journey.
If you’ve come to one of our events in Columbus, I hope you had a fun and valuable experience, got involved in asking questions and meeting people, and came away with new ideas.
And if you haven’t, where have you been instead? Get yourself to one of our events! We’ve got beer, pizza, interesting people to get to know, and awesome expertise from entrepreneurs and investors.
Learning from the Best & Brightest
Startup Grind is also about the people who give their time to share their experience and expertise -- the good, bad, and ugly. I’m thrilled to get the chance to meet, get to know, and have a chat with people that are helping to shape Columbus. I am grateful for the people that have agreed to grab mics with me. It is such a pleasure digging into and discussing your story.
Some of the folks who’ve joined me include:
- Matt Scantland, covermymeds
- Sean Lane, Crosschx
- Jeff Wilkins, Facilities Management Express
- John Huston, Ohio Tech Angel Fund
- Mike Lanese, SmartCrowdz
- Rich Lansdale, NCT Ventures
- Tanisha Robinson, Print Syndicate
- Chris Olsen & Robert Hatt, Drive Capital
- Liz Lessner, Columbus Food League
Check out the full list, with videos from our chats, here.
Startup Grind depends on the generosity and participation of those who have taken and supported others on the entrepreneurial journey. There is no greater gift than to share your knowledge with those that are coming behind you. Thank you.
Partners who Care
It’s about the partners who join us and support us. Startup Grind could not have evolved into the organization we are without the support of Mary Grove and the team at Google for Entrepreneurs. Thank you, Mary and team.
Startup Grind Columbus is supported by and made possible by some terrific people and organizations including the team at Rev1 Ventures where the event is held each month. Our other sponsors are Brickier & Eckler, GBQ, Heartland Bank, Laurel Ventures (Errol D’souza) and of course our team at AWH.
Also need to do a shout out to some Columbus startup collaborators:
- Brian Zuercher and Dan Rockwell at Wakeup Startup for inviting me to do some mini-Startup Grind interviews as part of their event each month.
- Jay Clouse and Suzy Bureau at Startup Weekend Columbus for inviting me to do a Startup Grind chat inside of the last two Startup Weekends.
- Brian Zuercher, Nick Sequin and the rest of the Columbus Startup Week for coordinating a Startup Grind last year and for including us this year. Special thanks to Jeff Lyttle and the team at JPMorgan Chase for again being the catalyst for Columbus Startup Week.
There seems to be a daily list of startup hot spots and ecosystems. I don’t know how valid the lists are. I guess the publicity is good when your city shows up on one. What I do know and that has been confirmed by doing Startup Grind for two years is that Columbus has a robust, evolving, and engaged startup community. We’ve got a lot of people working on building enormously impactful companies.
I’m happy to be part of it. Let’s keep grinding Columbus.