Indiana Lags Behind Neighbors on VC Investment

Ting Gootee is the chief investment officer for Elevate Ventures.

A new report from Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures says Indiana remains behind other states in the Midwest for venture capital investment. The 2018 Indiana Venture Report shows the state accounted for only 0.22 percent of all venture capital dollars last year. Ting Gootee, chief investment officer at Elevate, says while there is room to grow, Indiana is on the right path.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Gootee said a venture community requires different types of ingredients to grow.

"Our general business climate is still very much ahead of many other states around the country and also on our neighboring borders," said Gootee. "The next set of ingredients we’re looking at are ideas, talent and capital and all of those are necessary to create the type of businesses that will grow from one entrepreneur to a great team and experience hyper growth."

Indiana venture capital deals totaled $253 million in 2018, which is up nearly 70 percent from the previous year. The report says Indiana remains below the national average for VC investment as well.

Gootee says, despite the fact that Indiana has all of the ingredients, one might ask why the state hasn’t seen the type of growth that matches or exceeds its neighbors. She says it’s a slow-build process.

"It takes a long time for a company to go from one entrepreneur to the type of ExactTarget exit," said Gootee. "I think we’re hopeful we’re just seeing the beginning of that growth phase and the next few years will be very interesting in terms of seeing the type of breakout companies, the type of emerging, high-growth companies that are going to be a ripe target for the growth capital we would like to see or VC dollars that come into Indiana."

You can view the full report from Elevate Ventures by clicking here.