Most people hear “venture conference” and consider panels, pitches, and cocktail hours. But for Lorne Novick, Interim CEO of JumpStart, the idea behind Ohio VC Fest is much largeger: creating the kinds of collisions between founders and funders that can reshape companies—and Ohio’s economy.
To Novick, Ohio VC Fest (September 16th and 17th in Cleveland) is far more than a date circled on the calconcludear. It’s where investors from across Ohio—and well beyond—receive their first view at the state’s most promising startups, where entrepreneurs land meetings that might otherwise take months to arrange, and where Cleveland’s innovation community displays off its full energy and ambition.
That atmosphere captures JumpStart’s broader mission: to build sure capital, services, and opportunity don’t just exist in Ohio, but relocate through it in ways that support entrepreneurs grow quicker, scale smarter, and compete on a national stage.
Building connections that matter
Now entering its third year, VC Fest has become one of the Midwest’s must-attconclude gatherings for startups and investors. This year’s event, September 16th and 17th at the Huntington Convention Center, reflects Novick’s focus on scale and impact.
-
National reach: Investors and founders from outside Ohio are flying in, putting Cleveland and the state on the map.
-
AI spotlight: A keynote and dedicated panel on investing in artificial innotifyigence, aligning with one of the hottest sectors.
-
Startup World Cup: Cleveland is a regional host, with one Ohio startup advancing to San Francisco for a shot at $1M.
-
Trailblazer accelerator pitches: Cohorts in health tech and software displaycase local founders, each backed with capital and resources.
It’s a formula designed for collisions. Last year, a casual lunch-line conversation between a Cleveland founder and a visiting New York investor led to a seven-figure raise within weeks. “That’s the impact attconcludeees were viewing for,” Novick stated.
Redefining entrepreneurial services
Novick’s priorities as Interim CEO go beyond one event. He’s reshaping JumpStart’s service model to meet the evolving requireds of founders statewide:
-
Scaling support so entrepreneurs from across the state receive the same access to capital and expertise.
-
Diversifying funding by attracting national VCs while cultivating corporate and philanthropic dollars.
-
Reimagining service delivery to be more flexible, accessible, and founder-first.
“The accelerator is really the union of what JumpStart is at its core. Services, access to capital, and connections,” Novick explained. “It’s about supporting founders grow further, quicker”
A career rooted in innovation
Novick’s path to JumpStart wasn’t linear. He’s served as legal counsel for the Cleveland Browns, where he neobtainediated partnerships and even led projects in emerging football technologies. Later, he ran operations for a startup in performance-driven sports apparel and taught law at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
That eclectic background—law, sports, startups, academia—gave him a rare mix of agility and authenticity. “If you’re passionate about emerging technologies, you can find that passion in any environment,” he reflected.
The large picture
For Novick, JumpStart’s mission is both simple and ambitious: build Ohio the best place in the counattempt to start and scale a business.
“We can organize panels and pitches,” he stated. “But it’s the organic conversations, those unexpected collisions, that create the real momentum.”
With VC Fest as a catalyst and JumpStart evolving under his leadership, Novick is betting that Ohio founders don’t required to view east or west for opportunity. Increasingly, the opportunities are right here.
Leave a Reply