Progress with entrepreneurship

Compendium Blogwareâ??s announcement today
that it raised $1.6 million in private funding is another brick in the wall as the Indianapolis area and the state continue
their push to build a culture of entrepreneurship.

Investors are showing more interest in young companies than any time in memory, says Bill Oesterle, a former partner in the
Indianapolis venture capital firm CID Equity Partners and now CEO of fast-growing Angieâ??s List.

Success stories are becoming more common, he notes. Exact Target, the e-mail firm, and Aprimo, the marketing software developer,
are examples. So is Suros Surgical Systems.

But the successes need to be more outlandish, he adds. More companies need to â??come out of nowhereâ?? and grow to dominate their
industry. Brightpoint, which climbed to become the worldâ??s largest cell phone distributor, pulled it off.

â??Itâ??s tempting to have a narrow focus on entrepreneurship,â?? he says. â??The beauty of entrepreneurship is, you have a lot of
people thinking creatively.â??

Oesterle thinks life sciences startups are some of the most promising prospects. Armed with a unique technology and regulatory
approval, they have potential for explosive growth.

What do you think? Are there any local companies with the cleats to become the next Brightpoint?