Technology advocate Techpoint is considering merging into the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership–a move that would leave CICP CEO Mark Miles atop all three of Indiana’s major business-development initiatives.
Former Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis is attempting to build a virtual version of Indiana for policymakers to wander. If successful, the new IT system could help shape Statehouse debate on a host of subjects.
Four former top scientists at Eli Lilly and Co. have formed a Carmel-based company to develop diabetes therapies–a venture observers say has the potential to become the kind of blockbuster success BioCrossroads was built to stimulate.
To shore up local government’s enormous financial shortfalls, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has begun investigating whether it wants to push for a downtown casino–a politically explosive idea that would face widespread opposition.
Fast-growing West Lafayette-based medical-device maker QuadraSpec Inc. announced this month that it raised $3.9 million in venture capital from a syndicate of investors. For a 2-year-old Hoosier startup, that’s a jackpot. But CEO Chad Barden is already searching for more. “You have to start on it right away,” he said. “Now it’s easier to get an audience, but the diligence is no less strenuous.” Since forming in 2004, QuadraSpec has attracted $8.1 million, including multiple grants from the Indiana 21st…
Leaders of the growing Hispanic community have high ambitions for a new business-mentoring program with a modest price tag. In October, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Business Council will debut its volunteer “Mentor/Protégé” initiative, which will annually match three promising Hispanic companies to local professionals that can spur their growth. Whether the Hispanic firms need help with accounting, legal counsel, supply chains or sales, the Chamber will leverage its network of contacts. And if the threecompanies-per-year pace is…
A disaster-recovery-software maker with major operations in Indianapolis is planning an initial public offering that could accelerate the company’s growth.
It didn’t take David Pfenninger long to get back into the game. Just months after selling Carmel-based Internet-test provider Performance Assessment Network Inc. in April for $75 million to St. Louis-based TALX Corp., Pfenninger is betting on another Internet venture: an online music marketing and management startup called BubbleUp. Pfenninger initially remained part of PAN’s local management team after the acquisition, but stepped down this summer, retaining a role as a consultant. “I thought it was time to make a…
Bankers like to see plenty of collateral when they underwrite loans. Insurance agents don’t have many hard assets to show them. Free toasters won’t smooth over this credit dilemma. But the leaders of the Carmel-based Oak Street companies boast they can. And they’re poised to capitalize with a fast-growing specialty lending firm. “The first line of our vision statement says we’ll build a long-term sustainable financial-services firm,” said Oak Street Chairman Steven Alonso. “It’s our strategy to diversify.” Founded in…
Interactive Intelligence Inc. has been on a wild ride since its initial public offering seven years ago. The communications software maker saw its shares shoot as high as $50 its first few months of trading, only to have them wallow below $5 for years after the tech bubble burst. But now the company is back in favor on Wall Street.
An Ohio program launched in 2003 to urge development of extremely earlystage companies has already spurred investments worth $239 million in 68 Buckeye startups. Venture capitalists would like to duplicate the program here. But their proposal has been languishing at the Indiana Economic Development Corp. for a month. “We have the application. We haven’t done anything with it,” said IEDC Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Bruce Kidd. “This is a classic steeple chase. You’ve got lots of hurdles to…
Taking a page from Purdue University’s playbook, Indiana University has quietly put its economic-development efforts under review. IU hired Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group this month to examine its process of economic development and evaluate whether it matches Gov. Mitch Daniels' business-first agenda.
Call it a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs with a happy ending. After enduring a failed sale to a venture-capital-backed California firm, managers of NoInk LLC in January bought back the assets of their shuttered company and resurrected it. Now, just seven months later, they’ve sold NoInk again-this time to an acquirer who offers a better fit. “So many small companies are desperate for money, but don’t [just] take money at any cost,” said NoInk President David Kerr. “Be aware of…
For the last eight months, Indiana’s resident high-tech guru has been quietly developing a new IT firm. Few details have been leaked to the public. But in September, a national media blitz will announce the launch of ChaCha Search Inc., Jones’ new human-assisted Internet search engine.
In the overcrowded Marion County Jail, early release of dangerous inmates has become an unpleasant fact of life. To slow the tide, Sheriff Frank Anderson is considering a radical new solution: full privatization.
During his first months in office, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ top priority was engineering a stay of execution for the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, 90 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Losing its 5,200 employees and contractors would have been a devastating blow to the region. Daniels’ lobbying effort in Washington, D.C., was so successful that the Association of Defense Communities last month recognized him as “2006 Public Official of the Year.” But troubles with local financing for a new business park…
Over the last three years at the helm of Indiana Venture Center Inc., one thing became all too clear to Steve Beck: Not much money is available locally for early-stage companies. So he’s going to raise some himself. Last week, Beck, 59, announced he’s stepping down as Indiana Venture Center president to become co-managing director of IVC Equity Partners, a new local seed capital fund. His IVC Equity cofounder is Scott Prince, 38, a Columbus native and Indiana University graduate…
The July 21 announcement by Lilly Endowment Inc. that it will reduce its holdings in Eli Lilly and Co. by $2 billion will have enormous repercussions. It’s meant to decrease volatility in the endowment’s assets, but it also erodes one of Lilly’s key antitakeover provisions.
City Securities Corp., one of the largest investment firms based in Indiana, has purchased Columbus, Ohio-based ReCasa Financial Group LLC, a specialty lender focused on rehabs of dilapidated houses.
For the last half-decade, Indianapolis has shown greater job gains than any other large city in the Midwest. During the same period, the Indy Partnership has been responsible for the area’s economic development.
