Tom Sudow of the city of Beachwood has been steadily building a reputation for his commmunity as one of a business-savvy, business-friendly town that both understands and can cater to the needs of start ups. Beachwood has been especially successful in attracting non-US companies to set up their US operations here in Northeast Ohio. A team recently returned from Israel with partnerships that could add to the area’s high-tech community and help create municipal wireless networks. The Beachwood Chamber of Commerce’s plan can be found here in our Action Plans section (you may need to save the file in order to open it). Here Tom expands on how the Chamber operates:

Tell us a little bit about the role the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce (“BCC”) plays in Northeast Ohio’s economic landscape. How do you see BCC transforming Northeast Ohio?

The Beachwood Chamber of Commerce has a unique public/private partnership with the City of Beachwood. The BCC provides economic development services for the City. Beachwood is a high amenity pro-active community which has a remarkable business community. In partnership we are building for the next generation.

The BCC created the Beachwood Business Development Center (“BDC”) in partnership with the City of Beachwood and Cleveland State University to assists international and domestic startup companies looking to make a sales-and-marketing footprint in the United States.

The BDC accelerates the growth of these entrepreneurial companies, stimulating company formation and job creation through an array of business support services and resources.

BCC has actively worked to recruit high tech and bioscience companies from Israel and France. We have brought 20 international companies to Beachwood in the past 32 months. We have an on-going operation of working with companies in those two countries. We have many important partners in those countries. We make it easy for companies to co-locate to Beachwood and Northeastern Ohio.

How does your role as Director impact the BDC?

· As the Director, I assist the Executive Committee to ensure the most-qualified companies enter the BDC
· I assist in providing access for occupant firms to angel investors and venture capital firms as well as knowledge of grant-funding opportunities
· I monitor portfolio companies and provide business development and strategic alliance support when needed
· I develop and maintain productive relationships with partners, government entities, financial community, vendors, customers and other interested parties

Where do you see BDC five years from now? Ten years from now?

The BDC was created as a proactive economic development engine for the City of Beachwood. Over the next decade and beyond, the BDC will continue to assist entrepreneurial companies to develop into thriving corporations which continue to support the City of Beachwood. Furthermore, the City of Beachwood and its economic development arm, the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce, will continue to support the city’s long-standing companies along with the many graduates of the BDC.

Why did you decide to develop an action plan for the TechFutures project?

We are eager to promote Northeastern Ohio as a place to work and live. It is a remarkable location, which often received a “bad rap”. TechFutures is a wonderful to tool to tell the good things that are happening right here in NEO. Beachwood is one piece of a number of organization helping start up business grow and looking at the world as being flat.

Beachwood/NEO is becoming home to many international tech and bioscience companies. This is an important story to tell. Beachwood has worked closely with companies from Israel and France. This but, one important part of the story of this region. Over 20 international companies have set up shop in Beachwood in the last 2 ½ years. Most are doing wonderfully. It shows it can happen here!

What are the top three things you need to accomplish/implement this year as a result of your action plan?

Since its inception in June 2004, the BDC has assisted its 21 companies to raise nearly $35 million in financing as well as hire 125 employees. The BDC will continue to assist its companies to reach these financing and personnel objectives, allowing them to reach their commercialization goals. And once these firms graduate the BDC, we will persist with our commitment to their collective growth as well as assist in the further development of other startups.

Secondly, the BDC has implemented a primary focus in company recruitment toward five industry clusters: Healthcare/BioScience, Technology, Alternative Energy, Aerospace and Homeland Security. We need to continue to strengthen our partnerships with the area’s organizations concentrating in these segments to ensure the best startup candidates are relocating and co-locating to Beachwood.

Finally, along with the other economic development organizations, we must continue to educate the region about what our objectives are and how the region’s assistance is vital to prolonged growth.

How do you think these will benefit your organization as well as Northeast Ohio as a whole?

Along with any region, Northeast Ohio must maintain strong relationships with its many businesses – large and small. By nurturing its companies, and thus, growing them organically, the region will have to do less in actively recruiting established companies.

Northeast Ohio is highly regarded in several industries, including healthcare, aerospace as well as others. The area needs to play upon its strengths and remain the geographic center for these industries. With its focus on these clusters, Beachwood is doing just that.

If you could partner with any organization to help you achieve your goals, who would it be and why?

As mentioned, the BDC focuses on five separate clusters or industries in its search for companies to bring to Beachwood. These clusters are Aerospace, Health Care, Technology, Alternative Energy and Homeland Security. So organizations in these areas are of highest interest to us as partners.

The BDC has established collaborative partnerships to help strengthen its focus in the development of these clusters with such organizations as BioEnterprise, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation Innovation Center, Cleveland State University, One Cleveland as well as many others. BDC will continue to strengthen and maintain these relationships as well as develop new ones with organizations and individuals who want to build a stronger Northeast Ohio.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Northeast Ohio’s future?

The biggest challenge facing Northeast Ohio’s future is Northeast Ohio itself. More specifically, Northeast Ohio suffers from low self-esteem which it must overcome.

What do you see as the most important opportunity that Northeast Ohio needs to take advantage of in order to transform itself into a more technology driven, knowledge based economy?

Simply, Northeast Ohio needs to capitalize on its own human assets. The area can claim many wonderful high schools and colleges and it is the region’s responsibility to keep the graduates of these institutions in the area.

What do you love about living and working in Northeast Ohio? Why?

Northeast Ohio is a wonderful community full of world-class arts, sports and educational resources and institutions. It is a business-friendly environment allowing entrepreneurs and corporations alike to thrive, providing a brilliant standard of living for all families.