WARREN, Ohio – The growing presence of YBI, formerly Youngstown Business Incubator, in Warren is expected to give entrepreneurs and manufacturers in Trumbull County greater access to the resources, expertise and connections needed to expand their businesses and drive regional economic growth.
By managing Brite Energy Innovators’ downtown Warren facility, YBI plans to use the space as a hub for business assistance programs, technology adoption and collaboration between startups and established companies. The initiative builds on YBI’s long-term goal of supporting innovation across the Mahoning Valley and helping diversify the local economy.
“On August the 19th, YBI and Brite formally announced our partnership. We’ve worked together for years, but this really took us to the next level,” said Barb Ewing, YBI CEO.
Ewing said the partnership allows YBI to bring its programs and staff closer to businesses in Trumbull County while also helping Brite attract new clients and activity to its facility.
“They have a program called their CXO program that now our portfolio companies can take advantage of. It brings in talent and expertise from a wide variety of different fields to help a company launch,” she said. “On the other side of the equation, we are now actually managing their facility in Warren, trying to identify new clients to move into the building and just trying to generate more economic activity in the building.”
While Brite focuses on developing energy technology startups, YBI supports a broader mix of industries.
“YBI has taken a very different approach to our growth,” Ewing said. “We are still a technology incubator and still work with software [and] health care but have a special emphasis on advanced manufacturing companies. But we’re also the Minority Business Assistance Center for the eastern corridor of Ohio.”
Ewing said having a permanent location in Warren allows YBI to work more directly with companies and entrepreneurs where they operate. “This allows us to bring all of those resources to the table – everything that we do – and have a space to work out of, a physical presence in the community, to remind everybody that we’re here,” she said. “They know that we’re a resource that’s here to help them take that step.”