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?
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?
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ExactTarget meets your criteria as a 'come from nowhere' industry leader...They are by far the most innovative and important player in the Email Marketing space. They have completely changed the game and revolutionized data driven marketing.
Compendium is on the same track. What we are doing is brand new on one hand, and on the other, Compendium is capitalizing on the fastest growing trends in business today.
What's often missed in all the talk about Life Sciences is that Indianapolis is home to some of the most important Internet Marketing Software Companies in the industry. Leaders like ExactTarget, Aprimo, WebLink...startups like Compendium, Vontoo, Chatterspike, Last Piece, MarketPath.....
What makes these companies unique...other than being from Indianapolis is the focus on SaaS and building software tools for business and organizations as opposed to individuals. It might not get as much press as a FaceBook or Twitter, but there is a lot more value created for the customers...
Chris Baggott
CEO
Compendium Blogware
www.compendiumblogware.com