Award, Accelerator Spotlight Carmel

One credential highlighted by the Indiana Chamber in today’s announcement that Carmel is its 2015 Community of the Year is the presence of more than 75 national headquarters. The leaders of two companies based in the Hamilton County city are joining forces to open the Carmel Business Accelerator to help launch more home-grown startups. Residential Warranty Services Inc. and SWAN Software Solutions LLC say the 6,000 square-foot space will initially include around 30 office and cubicle spots.
The center will be privately funded, located at 136th and Meridian Street and is expected to launch November 1. In addition to physical space, Thornberry says the Carmel Business Accelerator will offer consultation services and connect partners with software, marketing, publishing, web development, customer relations and even venture capital expertise. The space is located in the same complex as RWS and SWAN Software Solutions.
Thornberry says the collaboration with SWAN Software Solutions founder and Chief Executive Officer Alex Morozov was sparked by conversations at the office park where both businesses reside. SWAN Software Solutions is a software developer and information technology services provider with a small number of Carmel employees and 90 contractors spread throughout five European offices. RWS has around 85 employees and a footprint that covers nearly all of the U.S. and Canada.
The city has announced the expansion or location of nine businesses within the last year, involving as many as 1,390 new jobs. Mayor Jim Brainard says "for the past 20 years, our city has been on a mission to reinvent what it means to live in a suburb. We have worked hard to avoid the pitfalls of traditional suburban sprawl and instead embraced a shared vision of redeveloping our urban core, encouraging a walkable, sustainable community and challenging developers to pay close attention to architecture and density to maximize both the beauty and the value of their projects
Carmel will receive its Community of the Year award November 4 at the Indiana Chamber’s 26th Annual Awards Dinner.
RWS President Nathan Thornberry says the accelerator will be primarily geared toward tech entrepreneurs, but will help any interested business “take that next leap.”
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard tells Inside INdiana Business industry diversity is one of Carmel’s keys to success.