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Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, Ohio has been quietly building a reputation as a startup destination.

Like many other emerging startup ecosystems, Ohio packs the one-two punch of a low cost of living and access to top-level talent from local research universities such as the University of Ohio.

Bright minds from the state’s bountiful universities have flocked to cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati, the latter of which is home to a .

The state’s startup credentials are also bolstered by an established insurtech hub in Columbus, which is home to just the right kind of workers.

“The magic ingredients exist here,” Alex Frommeyer, the co-founder of Columbus-based dental insurance startup [Beam Dental](/org/beam-dental/org-chart"Beam Dental's org chart"), said in an interview with The Org. “The skill sets that are just plentiful [in Columbus] are some very, very specific insurance roles, like underwriting and actuarial science. There’s also the insurance versions of legal and compliance, of marketing, and of roles in customer service or account management.”

This convergence of talent and affordability has led to a boom in Ohio’s startup scene in the past year. As of November 2021, Ohio-based companies have raised over $2.2 billion in venture funding — double what Ohio’s startups raised last year

Given the Buckeye State’s burgeoning status as a startup destination, we decided to take a look at five prominent and promising startups that have set themselves up for success in 2021.

1. Olive

Olive is a Columbus-based unicorn improving the efficiency of healthcare spending by using AI to automate monotonous and error-prone administrative workflows. The venture is led by CEO Sean Lane, who was drawn to the healthcare industry after he witnessed the prescription drug abuse problem in his hometown of Gallipolis, Ohio. The company, which was founded in 2012, surpassed employees nationwide this past September and has even begun to startups, , through its in-house venture capital studio called Olive Ventures.

2. Loop

Columbus, Ohio’s Loop is an exchange-first returns platform designed for e-commerce. The company was founded in 2017 and raised led by CRV, with participation from Shopify and Renegade Partners in August 2021. The company’s software helps guide e-commerce shoppers through the returns process and handles steps like shipping labels and refunds to help retain their business. This offering is becoming an increasingly more important part of the logistics industry as last year holiday returns are estimated to have cost retailers $101 billion, .

3. Empora Title

Empora Title, which emerged from stealth in early December 2021, aims to digitize the outdated and slow-moving real estate title process. The startup is fresh off a and is backed, in part, by real estate tech giant Opendoor. Empora’s solution, which provides users with a dashboard to upload documents and information and track the progress of transactions, is currently only available in Ohio, but the company says it aims to expand nationally soon.

4. Beam Dental

[Beam Dental](/org/beam-dental/org-chart"Beam Dental's org chart") is another Columbus success story. The dental insurance startup was founded in 2012 and has raised a total of $160 million in equity after its in March 2021. The company’s recent growth has been electric as it doubled its member base in 2019 and 2020, and is looking to do so again this year. Beam Dental’s insurance products are available in 41 US states and are accepted at more than 400,000 access points nationwide.

5. Splash Financial

Founded in 2013 by CEO Steven Muszynski, Splash Financial is on a mission to help consumers save money while still paying back their student loans. Over the past summer, the student loan refinancing marketplace and technology platform raised a little over to build out its lender network and automated underwriting platform.