Scott Watanabe looks to transform digital textbooks
Watanabe, son of the late Eli Lilly and Co. scientist, has hired investment bankers to help raise $10 million for his business, Encompass Media.
Entrepreneurship
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City program benefits veteran-owned businesses
The city’s Veteran Business Enterprise program aims to increase the representation of veteran-owned businesses on city projects—an
effort that has generated $217,000 in contracts for such firms so far.
MAURER: Now is not the time to fear failure
Failure does
not have to mean you’re through. Mistakes are inevitable in all businesses. A better test of the character of someone
in business is how he or she reacts to failure.
Pace of life sciences venture capital deals in Indiana picks up
After no Indiana health and life sciences firms announced venture capital deals in the second quarter, five did so in the
third, and two more have already this month.
Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship program expands
Due to high demand, the Orr fellowship will place 20 fellows starting with its 2010 class. It anticipates
placing 40 fellows in 2011 and 80 in 2012. The program is designed to match top graduates of Indiana colleges with entrepreneurial
companies.
Indianapolis-based FAST Diagnostics gets funding from BioCrossroads’ seed fund
Money will help the company refine its tool to treat acute kidney injury.
Debt collectors try soft approach
Recession forces entrepreneurs to rework bills. Cracking down on small businesses doesn’t help bills get paid faster.
Funding cut jeopardizes popular Indiana Artisan program
A state-run program aimed at boosting business for local artisans—ranging from painters to syrup makers—and
turning them into a draw for tourists is in jeopardy because of dramatic funding cuts.
Organizing armies of volunteers
A company has started to organize logistics for trade associations and other groups that gather for conventions in Indianapolis
and want to "give back" to the city while they’re here.
My Health Care Manager lands $3 million investment
The company, which guides working adults and their parents through the maze of decisions and agencies involved in care for seniors, plans to use the money primarily to augment its sales staff and operations.
Bartering booms during recession
In a recession, cash is a commodity few small businesses can spare. That’s why more businesses are trading goods and services without exchanging cash.
HETRICK: To teach your children well, put away the parachutes
Asking our kids to take responsibility sometimes has unexpected consequences.
Region’s expertise in hybrid cars goes beyond high-profile players
Bright Automotive and EnerDel are well known for their development of components for hybrid cars, but the region has several
other players poised to be big players in the sector. In fact, few realize that North America’s largest producer
of electric motors for hybrid vehicles is based northeast of Indianapolis, in Pendleton.
Two businesses open at Flagship Enterprise Center
The Anderson-based Flagship Enterprise Center is on a roll. In the last two months, the small-business incubator
and growth-stage accelerator signed up two new clients: software developers Soveryn Inc. and Coeus Technology.
Economy pushes executives into small firms
In the recession, folks with former big-company careers
are increasingly taking jobs with small businesses. For some downsized executives, it’s about the desperate need for
a paycheck. Others, who felt impotent and pigeonholed in corporations, discover they prefer the challenge of entrepreneurship.
Fishers biz grows from dog-walking to full-service pet care
Cristi Melson started Purrs & Gurrs 2-1/2 years ago with an idea and some fliers she distributed door to door. She
didn’t have a formal business plan then and still doesn’t.
Green light for local IPOs?
If nothing else, you have to admire the patience shown by ExactTarget and Aprimo, two of the area’s hottest tech companies,
as they await better conditions to launch their initial public offerings.
INpact Medical Device Network matches start-ups with service providers
Industry groups in the life sciences, medical and information technology realms have helped lure companies to the region
and foster upstarts. Funding is almost always an issue, but it’s not the only barrier. Getting medical
devices to market often requires product design, development and marketing resources that aren’t
always apparent to upstarts.
Summer program turns teens into entrepreneurs
Eighteen students from Indianapolis’ Haughville neighborhood sold their wares— ranging from caps and sunglasses
to purses
to home-baked cookies—as part of a summer business-education program
for low-income youth.
Tenants trickling in to Purdue’s technology center
For a city feverishly growing its technology and life sciences sectors, it seemed a bit anticlimactic last January when
Purdue University dedicated its new technology center with only one tenant. But the lone tenant in the $12.8
million complex, FlamencoNets, a high-tech telecommunications firm, is about to get some company.