Washington:  Battered for decades by the loss of manufacturing, the outmigration of talented workers, and a sluggish entrepreneurial spirit, the states and metropolitan areas of the Great Lakes region have long struggled to remake the area's once powerful economy.  The region still lacks the venture capital investments needed to help translate the huge amount of innovation these assets generate into the high value firms, products, and services that, as the Great Recession recedes, will define the next economy.  The dearth of venture capital has not gone unnoticed, and over the years several states in the region have undertaken initiatives designed to encourage innovative start-up companies, entrepreneurship, and venture capital formation.

This paper presents investors, community leaders, and governmental officials with a venture capital strategy aimed at helping the Great Lakes region successfully overcome these challenges. It is based on the premise that Great Lakes region has several of the key prerequisites for successful venture investing-including the capacity to create innovative products and services that can become investable deals, a knowledgeable investor community, and a growing support structure that can help lower investor risks and costs-but that concerted, collaborative actions by a range of stakeholders are needed to create and sustain a virtuous cycle of venture investment, entrepreneurship, and firm growth in the region.

For a downloadable copy of the report, click here.