Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise

What Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise does

Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) is a non-profit business incubator and entrepreneur resource center founded in 2001 and headquartered at 151 Innovation Drive, Suite 210, Elyria, Ohio, on the campus of Lorain County Community College within the Desich Business & Entrepreneurship Center. GLIDE is governed by a tripartite partnership among the Lorain County Commissioners (government), the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce (private sector), and Lorain County Community College (higher education), a structure that combines public funding, business community access, and academic resources to support regional economic and job growth in Northeast Ohio.

The organization delivers four integrated service lines: Business Startup Services (process-focused guidance covering market research, intellectual property, business planning, talent acquisition, and sales/marketing), a Student Entrepreneurship Program that pairs portfolio companies with LCCC student interns, an on-campus Incubator Space offering furnished offices, conference rooms, and shared services, and Access to Resources connecting entrepreneurs to funding opportunities and the broader regional ecosystem. Underlying technology is not proprietary — the firm is a services and facilities platform rather than a software company — and there is no documented API, SDK, or AI/ML component.

GLIDE does not publicly disclose pricing or fees; its funding model is built on grant and partner support from its three founding institutions, supplemented by modest program-related charges. Since inception it reports having assisted more than 6,842 entrepreneurs and mentored over 300 companies, with portfolio companies generating $673M in cumulative revenue growth, raising $926M+ in follow-on funding, and creating more than 1,200 jobs. The organization serves technology-focused startups across the Northeast Ohio region through direct, in-person engagement at its Elyria facility.

Name

Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise

Legal name

Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise

Website

http://www.glideit.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Short description

GLIDE is a non-profit business incubator and resource center in Elyria, Ohio, funded through a partnership of Lorain County government, the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce, and Lorain County Community College to support technology-focused startups across Northeast Ohio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Incubation Services

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Business incubation services
• Startup mentorship programs
• Entrepreneur resource center
• Small business advisory
• Technology startup support

Headquarters

HQ city

Elyria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

GLIDE is a business incubator and resource center that provides business development services, mentorship, and physical incubator space to technology-focused startups and entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio. Its offering centers on four integrated service areas: Business Startup Services covering market research, IP guidance, business planning, and sales/marketing; a Student Entrepreneurship Program connecting startups with college interns; physical Incubator Space with furnished offices, labs, and conference rooms; and Access to Resources including funding connections and ecosystem integration.

Product overview

GLIDE is a business incubator and resource center offering four integrated service areas: Business Startup Services (market research, IP guidance, business planning, talent, and sales/marketing support), the Student Entrepreneurship Program (connecting startups with LCCC interns), Incubator Space (furnished office/lab facilities at Lorain County Community College), and Access to Resources (funding connections and business ecosystem integration). These services work together to support technology-focused startups from ideation through commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Startup Services
• Student Entrepreneurship Program
• Incubator Space
• Access to Resources

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,842+ entrepreneurs assisted
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lorain County Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner and host institution providing campus location for GLIDE's operations. Enables access to student talent pool for intern placements and provides educational opportunities for students interested in entrepreneurship. Located at the Desich Business & Entrepreneurship Center.
• Lorain County CommissionerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment founding partner providing public funding and institutional support. Represents the government sector in GLIDE's unique public-private-higher education partnership model aimed at stimulating economic and job growth in Lorain County.
• Lorain County Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate sector founding partner representing the business community. Provides private sector perspective and business network access as part of the unique partnership combining government, private sector, and higher education.
• Innovation Fund AmericaminorOthersProvides B Award funding program that GLIDE entrepreneurs can access through the student entrepreneurship program. Innovation Fund America supports startups through various award types including the B Award funding.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global for-profit accelerator network running large cohorts of startups with seed investment and mentor networks. Comparable as an accelerator serving tech founders, though at much larger scale and with equity-based economics.
• MassChallenge: Large-scale global nonprofit accelerator running multi-sector cohorts for early-stage startups. Comparable in nonprofit-anchored, no-equity-take accelerator model and broad founder support programming.

Direct peers

• JumpStart Inc. Cleveland-based nonprofit venture development organization providing mentorship, capital, and ecosystem support to tech entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio. Directly comparable in mission, regional footprint, and public-private partnership structure.
• Rev1 Ventures: Columbus, Ohio-based tech startup incubator and seed fund combining capital, corporate connections, and programming for early-stage companies. Closely comparable as an Ohio-based startup support entity with mixed funding and program-based model.
• 1871: Chicago-based nonprofit technology and entrepreneurship hub providing incubator space, programming, and corporate connections to early-stage startups. Comparable as a large-scale nonprofit business incubator/hub model.
• NorTech: Cleveland-based nonprofit technology advocacy and cluster-development organization focused on accelerating tech-driven growth across Northeast Ohio. Directly comparable in regional economic-development and tech entrepreneurship mission.

Others

• Burton D. Morgan Foundation: Northeast Ohio-based private foundation funding entrepreneurship education and youth entrepreneurship initiatives across the region. Comparable as a NE Ohio entrepreneurship-funding ecosystem participant adjacent to GLIDE.

Regional players

• Bounce Innovation Hub: Akron, Ohio-based startup hub and incubator operating in the same broader Northeast Ohio innovation ecosystem. Comparable as a regionally-focused, partnership-driven incubator for tech and innovation-driven entrepreneurs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GLIDEincubator
• Facebookfacebook.com/GLIDEincubator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise