The Meet, Destroy, and Refer Game for Black African American Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs in Ohio
My renewable energy company Allen Hydro Energy Corporation (AHEC) http://www.ahecEnergy.com was a semi-finalist for the 2010 TechColumbus Innovation Awards held downtown in Columbus, Ohio on 2/3/11. It was a great award presentation sponsored by big corporations. I wish they would put one tenth of that effort toward assisting Black African Americans Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs. Not one was among the finalist. The Department of Development, TechColumbus, Columbus City Department of Development and Third Frontier do a poor job of outreach to Black African American Innovators and Entrepreneurs. There always seems to be some reason why we don't qualify for funding, technical support and rarely facilitate relationships with Venture Capital or Investors. If we are persistent, we can get a meeting, but no access to funding or technical support. Usually, at the end of the meeting, after they have attempt to destroy our self-confidence and self-esteem or try to make us feel guilty for asking for help, they always offer us a referral to someone else. I call it "Passing The Buck Game", where another agency funded by our tax dollars to assist entrepreneurs get to take their turn at doing the same thing. The result is that many Black African American Innovators simply give up. From my own personal experience as a Black African American Innovator, Inventor and Entrepreneur, I suspect this is their Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for how Black African American Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs are to be treated. In Ohio, I hope Governor Kasich is serious about reforming this process.
Now I know some of you who attended last night's TechColumbus Awards still feel the buzz from all the excitement, but ask yourself if you had to choose, would you have chosen the same winners? JumpStart Inc., Third Frontier and TechColumbus are wonderful concepts, but judge them by their results with Black African Americans. I had no illusions that my company’s large-scale renewable energy innovation which offers a global solution that solves the world’s energy problem would win.
I never offer criticism without solutions. It's the nature of true innovators to always seek improvements. I suggest that Governor Kasich change leadership of the staff he controls and demand that tax dollars be use to support all innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs. He should create a process where innovators can register with his office and he would refer those name with Third Frontier, JumpStart, Inc., TechColumbus, Department of Development any any agency responsible for creating jobs in Ohio. They must be required to provide proof that they did more that hold a meeting with innovators, inventors or entrepreneurs and offered them another referral. The buck should stop with them. They should be required to provide proof of their results on their website and to the Governor’s Office of their effort to outreach, engage and support all Ohioans with opportunity to participate in a meaningful way. It wasn't Former Governor Strickland who failed, it was the people who ran job creation and economic development programs who made the decisions that led to his rejection at the polls. A wise lesson for Governor Kasich. Will they remain in charge and keep doing business as usually. Black Faces in high places have produced little, if any, results for Black Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs from the White House to the State House. Leadership produces results, not excuse!
Any agency policy and employees, supervisors and administrators that have not or do not treat all Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs the same should be revised or fired and replace with new leadership and policies that focus on re-engineering the process of seeking out, (recruiting) innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs. Innovation and Invention is a unique gift at birth. Entrepreneurship is a set of skills that can be learn.
Finally, Black African American Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs must be aware of history and the nature of business. We must learn to collaborate, cooperate and collectively pool our resources as other communities do, to develop innovative products and services that create jobs for our communities and compete in the marketplace. Those of us gifted with innovation and invention bear the honor and responsibility for the economic empowerment of our communities and must demand that if TechColumbus, ThirdFrontier, JumpStart, Inc., Department of Development and other state, regional, county, city and local agencies can find ways to support others with all our tax dollars, then they must stop systematically excluding Black African Americans. Innovation knows no color! Just my honest opinion.
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