• In 2011, Ohio created JobsOhio and rewired its dealmaking, a structural shift that continues to give Columbus an edge in incentives and workforce.
• OSU’s research engine and a decade of civic execution made the region a credible organizer; Intel’s New Albany campus and hyperscale data centers added customer gravity.
• To convert scale into speed, the region should stand up “procurement-as-capital” sandboxes and keep founders at the center of the narrative.
On a winter Friday in February 2011, Ohio privatized economic development.
House Bill 1 created JobsOhio, a private statewide development arm later funded via a long-term liquor enterprise lease, a design meant to move at the speed of business. The effort got a slow start, and was criticized for it. Supporters saw a vehicle for coordinated, long-horizon bets; critics warned about transparency.
JobsOhio is powerful and the envy of economic development leaders around the country.
Close to 15 years later, JobsOhio is powerful and the envy of economic development leaders around the country for its prowess in balancing both megaprojects and a pro-entrepreneurship strategy.
As the Rust Belt state’s biggest metro region, Columbus is where that structural bet shows up most clearly, with a civic machine that can line up sites, talent and industry.
The new Advancing Regional Innovation Economies (ARIE) report published by the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center featuring analysis by Heartland Forward argues the region is now one of the country’s best at supporting fast-growth entrepreneurs.
Why Columbus pulled ahead among the state’s multiple metros
Like other statewide economic strategies, JobsOhio is precise and vocal about investing across the state.
Back in 2022, I interviewed CEO J.P. Nauseef, alongside workforce lead Kristi Clouse. Nauseef was exacting in his focus.
“Every deal that we do is required to produce a return on investment for Ohioans,” Nauseef said. “The payroll taxes generated by the net new jobs always is more than the dollars of incentive that went in.”
Still, all of Ohio is not equally thriving: Cleveland and Cincinnati are still middling, post-industrial regions, albeit ones with early entrepreneurial sparks. In contrast, with the help of land annexation, Columbus is one of the largest regions in the country.
The Nasdaq ARIE report picks up what local organizers know: The Ohio State University is a top-tier R&D anchor and steady source of talent, IP and spinout potential. Plus, megaprojects like hyperscale data-centers have loudly attracted capital and population dynamism alongside on-the-ground ecosystem building has created a spark.
In this way, Columbus also demonstrates that statewide investments aren’t enough. Local execution matters too.
That’s the throughline in the Advancing Regional Innovation Economies framework: ideas matter, but execution compounds. If Columbus turns megaproject momentum into first customers and pre-seed velocity, today’s state-enabled wins become tomorrow’s homegrown breakout companies.
Download the report to see the metrics behind the idea, and the actions that can make it possible.
