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Innovative Solutions Inc.
31
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After getting his bachelor’s degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2002, Dave Nevogt went to work in finance at Abbott Labs in Chicago. He found himself bored.
“I wasn’t feeling challenged,” he said. “I felt like there was more out there. As I continued to work, I realized I was learning, but at a very slow pace. I was putting together reports, budgeting, things like that. I wanted to understand the company and why it ran the way it did.”
Then, in 2003, his dad made him an offer that proved to be pivotal: He said he’d buy him a $500 course in how to take one’s skills and knowledge and convert them to an online business—as long as Dave was willing to follow through.
He was and he did. The result is McCordsville-based Innovative Solutions Inc., which makes online tutorials and DVDs that teach people how to improve their golf game. Nevogt, 31, works with golf pros from Hilton Head, N.C.; Houston; and Arizona, who provide the advice. His job as owner of the company is to work with the pros to make the advice relevant and to sell the material, which can be found at purepointgolf.com.
“A lot of it has to do with making things simple, actually,” said Nevogt, who has a handicap of 12 or 13. “Everyone wants to be complex and in-depth with the information. You have to get it down to a level where you realize they’re not going to be in front of you, so you have to put them in your shoes.”
The company had $500,000 in revenue in 2005 and generated $1.2 million in 2010. Seven years in, Nevogt finds himself fending off challengers and the higher costs of doing business. One way he’s doing that is by getting into software like iPhone and Droid apps, rather than direct sales.
“We’re hoping that has an impact to generate leads at less-expensive rates and converting those leads into one of our brands,” he said.•
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