I have lived and worked in Ohio my entire life.

In middle school, I reached out to local venture-backed companies and corporations to help sponsor our community science fair. After a lot of door-knocking, several stepped up and donated.

In high school, I sought hands-on experience in cardiovascular research at local university labs. After many cold emails, one lab opened an internship opportunity for me.

In college, I dropped out of Ohio State to try to build a medical device company. My academic advisors didn’t just sign off—they actively encouraged me and rooted for my success.

At every step along the way, Ohio and its institutions supported my increasingly ambitious pursuits. And I don’t believe my experience is unique. I’m bullish on Ohio because the support, resources, and encouragement I’ve received as an Ohioan are deeply embedded in our community. For that reason, I believe Ohio possesses a unique, statewide potential for investors, entrepreneurs, and champions of the state to come together and fuel its most promising growth opportunities to new heights.

I spent my 20s—and the latter half of my teens—launching, scaling, and ultimately exiting a medtech startup, Genetesis, in my hometown of Mason, Ohio. Over the decade I spent building the company, I often encountered skepticism from outside Ohio about whether the state had sufficient talent, capital, or network density to drive outsized outcomes for customers and investors.

We dealt with that skepticism the best way we knew how: we put our heads down, built, and proved the skeptics wrong—and the supporters right.

Looking back now, I can say objectively that Ohio is undeniably fertile ground for bringing people, capital, and opportunity together in a uniquely powerful way. My lived entrepreneurial experience, combined with the emergence of The O.H.I.O. Fund, is proof that hard things can—and should—be built here. I hope my journey resonates with and helps me connect with other Ohioans who are eager to take on those same hard challenges.

Ohio was firmly among the top five largest U.S. economies in the 1950s and 1960s, when its manufacturing sector was at its peak, before deindustrialization began in the 1970s. Now, more than 50 years later, we are entering a new era of reindustrialization—powered by modern technologies across industries ranging from biotech to advanced manufacturing. These are industries Ohio has quietly led in all along.

I believe The O.H.I.O. Fund, together with our broader network of partners and advisors, has the opportunity to pair capital with conviction and unlock a durable flywheel built on decades of earned, if understated, leadership.

What this means for Ohio’s future is a return to its rightful place as a top-five economy in the United States. I’m grateful to be part of The O.H.I.O. Fund, where we are working relentlessly to help make that future a reality.