State highlighting entrepreneurship with new initiatives
Gov. Eric Holcomb has declared this week Global Entrepreneurship Week in Indiana, and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. is launching a pair of initiatives to support entrepreneurship throughout the state. A new online portal is currently in development, designed to provide a variety of resources – both financial and non-financial – to Hoosier entrepreneurs. The state has also established Entrepreneurship Indiana, an annual publication that aims to “honor the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and inspire future founders and innovators.”
IEDC Vice President of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Julie Heath tells Inside INdiana Business the online portal seeks to help entrepreneurs get past certain roadblocks.
“Very often, [entrepreneurs are] solving for problems that haven’t been solved for before. So they see an unmet need and they create a product or a service or an experience to meet that need, and the guaranteed thing in entrepreneurship is that there is no blueprint for what hasn’t been done before,” said Heath. “So, there is going to be a point where entrepreneurs get stuck, and we want to get them unstuck as quickly as possible.”
One year ago, the IEDC announced it was partnering with San Francisco-based Startup Genome to analyze the state’s entrepreneurial climate.
Heath says the analysis found that one of Indiana’s strengths is local connectedness, which refers to how quickly one can get help from others, whether that’s investors, experts or other founders.
“We are globally competitive in this strength,” she said. “We actually see now causation between getting help quickly and faster revenue growth. The way we’ve rephrased it in terms of this cultural strength here in Indiana is it’s ‘Hoosier Hospitality’ applied to entrepreneurship. The regions with the highest level of local connectedness accelerate all of their startups twice as fast in quarterly revenue growth.”
Heath says individuals will be able to use the portal to find non-financial resources such as accelerators, incubators, coworking spaces and mentor networks, as well as financial tools such as investment, loan and grant opportunities.
The online portal is currently being beta tested by organizations that support Hoosier entrepreneurs, and will also be tested by entrepreneurs themselves. Heath says the feedback from that testing will inform when the portal will launch to the public.
The Entrepreneurship Indiana publication is being published in partnership with Indianapolis-based PATTERN. The inaugural edition is available now and spotlights 100 entrepreneurial success stories in Indiana.
“We have success stories hiding in plain sight all over the state,” said Heath. “We have people starting businesses in every county and innovating in every county. So, the point of this storytelling is to really elevate those stories, shine a big old bright light on our homegrown companies that are changing our economy of tomorrow.”
The IEDC says the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has a “significant impact” on the Indiana economy. Last year, Hoosier companies under five years old contributed an estimated $11.5 billion to Indiana’s GDP, according to the state.
Entrepreneurship is one of the “Five Es” outlined by Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers when he took office last year.
“Entrepreneurship has been and continues to be an essential driver of Indiana’s economic future,” Chambers said in written remarks. “Our innovation ecosystem has unlimited potential and deserves continued cultivation and resource allocation. This week, we honor and thank our entrepreneurs – the risk takers, dreamers and innovators who are fundamental to our state’s economy.”
The IEDC is also hosting three regional Global Entrepreneurship events this week, at the dates and times below:
- Central Region: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 4-6 p.m.
The Center – Heritage Group | 6320 Intech Way, Indianapolis, IN 46278 - North Region: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 4:45-6:30 p.m.
Lerner Theater | 410 S. Main St., Elkhart, IN 46516 - South Region: Thursday, Nov. 17, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
The Mill | 642 N. Madison St., Bloomington, IN 47404