Building Startups in Ohio: Kaleigh Gallagher on Founders, Capital & the Midwest

What does it take to build an early-stage company in Ohio today — and how is the environment changing for founders across the Midwest?In this episode of Built in Ohio, OhioX President and CEO Chris Berry sits down with Kaleigh Gallagher, Vice President of Tech Services & Network Management at JumpStart, to talk about what she’s seeing across Ohio’s startup ecosystem.A former founder herself, Kaleigh brings experience from multiple sides of the startup world. She shares how that experience shapes the way she works with entrepreneurs today, what founders are doing differently than they were a few years ago, and where early-stage companies still need the most help.The conversation also goes inside JumpStart’s Trailblazer Accelerator, which works with pre-seed and seed-stage Ohio software and healthtech companies through intensive advising and specialized startup services without taking equity. Chris and Kaleigh discuss what separates companies that accelerate from those that struggle, what success looks like at the end of an accelerator, and how the needs of software and healthtech founders differ.They also pull back to look at the broader Midwest venture market: whether investors are genuinely looking beyond the coasts, what Ohio still has to prove, and what could materially change the region’s startup trajectory over the next five years.Finally, Kaleigh previews VC Fest, returning to Cleveland September 29–30, with programming around AI and frontier innovation, healthtech, startup showcases, and curated meetings between founders, investors, and corporate leaders.Built in Ohio is an OhioX podcast featuring technology leaders having an impact across the state and conversations about the companies, ideas and innovations shaping Ohio’s future.For more information on JumpStart, please visit: https://jumpstartinc.org/For more information on Ohio VC Fest, please visit: https://ohiovcfest.com/Connect with Kaleigh on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherkaleigh/